Ah darn...is that a newer thing? The first Smith I played was an all maple bass...maple body, top, neck, and fretboard. Why do you say that's a good thing? I don't mind maple fretboards....
And thanks!!
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Ah darn...is that a newer thing? The first Smith I played was an all maple bass...maple body, top, neck, and fretboard. Why do you say that's a good thing? I don't mind maple fretboards....
And thanks!!
Maple fingerboard on a US Smith would be super rare. I think I saw only one and it was a weird beast with an unusual body shape too. He uses ebony or morado because they sound best for the sound he's after. You know a Smith bass when you hear one and that's part of it.
Oh wow, I must have played a rare one then...I'll never forget the first Smith I ever played lol. Makes sense about the sound though!
Greetings KS owners and fans. So I just bought this one:
Yes, BSR - with bubinga over mahogany, maple neck with macassar ebony fingerboard.
And beautiful quote.
Wondering if you should visit our group.
The Praise and Worship Band Bassists Club
Well the bass was delivered today. My first Ken Smith bass. It even has that glorious "new bass" smell. I'm kind of in shock about how good the build quality is. I've had a chance to play it a bit and will be gigging with it tonight. All I know is...now I know what all the fuss is about.
You should write car commercials.
Played my first Smith with the s/p switches today...wow. I found I just wanted to use it in series, great burp and growl. I am now a Smithaholic and the hunt is on.
You should write car commercials.
Played my first Smith with the s/p switches today...wow. I found I just wanted to use it in series, great burp and growl. I am now a Smithaholic and the hunt is on.
I typically run the neck pickup parallel, bridge in series. That fattens up the bridge sound a bit and makes for a good volume balance between the two pickups. Since I don't use the 50/50 position much and tend not to like a very scooped tone, it works for me. But if I want a more "classic" Smith slap tone, easy to flick the switch.
Having worked through my initial setup and getting acclimated, I'm reminded of the reasons I like Smith basses. The tone is on the compressed/focused side which helps it cut, and I can just fiddle with the blend knob and get a bunch of tones I like.
6-string goodness
^ That has to be one of the top five best looking tops I've ever seen, on any bass.
drool
drool
You should write car commercials.
Would probably make more money than playing bass LOL
@nostatic That's some top shelf bass porn there. Looks like a zebra wood top. I do a fair amount of slap soloing and bass lines, for that matter. I go parallel on both pickups, balance slightly shifted forward, slight bass boost, near maximum treble boost, and mid cut. Glorious.
Yeah, it does have a zebrawood vibe but the grain is a bit less defined with the shedua and the colors are a bit broader (that most zebra I've seen). I have owned a lot of stupid-gorgeous basses over the past decade or so, but this one is easily in the top 5, maybe top 3. My YYD remains my #1 instrument on most every level, but sometimes you need more than 4 strings.
I only do some slap as seasoning. If anything I actually cut a bit of treble and boost a bit of mids and lows (if I'm on the bridge pickup), but that's my fingerstyle thing.
Smiths are actually more flexible than a lot give them credit for.
Wonderful BMT Elite from the 90s
Very slim fast neck. Completely love it.
Walnut on mahogany with Mac ebony board.
Very slim fast neck. Completely love it.
Walnut on mahogany with Mac ebony board.
