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The Ken Smith Club, Part 2

#901
greenbass said:
Is it the Ebony one? 7&7 is top shelf Ken Smith wow
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#911
Hey guys, need a little help. I remember reading about a change in production at Ken Smith some years back. I know of the more recent involvement of Mr Brubaker from 2019 (phenomenal builder!). I recall something about a change in managers a few years ago? Does anyone know when this was? I've been trying to find the post on talkbass for a week but no luck. Any knowledge on this would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.
 
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#912
Rumblefisher said:
Hey guys, need a little help. I remember reading about a change in production at Ken Smith some years back. I know of the more recent involvement of Mr Brubaker from 2019 (phenomenal builder!). I recall something about a change in managers a few years ago? Does anyone know when this was? I've been trying to find the post on talkbass for a week but no luck. Any knowledge on this would be much appreciated, thanks in advance.
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If I get the details wrong here then I apologize in advance. I believe a few years ago a long-serving and well loved employee of Ken's, who was a key person in the build/finish process, passed away very unexpectedly. This may have motivated the discussions with Brubaker, so to speak, but I don't know if those had started before that event or not. Could that be the staff change you're thinking of?
 
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#913
mysteryclock said:
If I get the details wrong here then I apologize in advance. I believe a few years ago a long-serving and well loved employee of Ken's, who was a key person in the build/finish process, passed away very unexpectedly. This may have motivated the discussions with Brubaker, so to speak, but I don't know if those had started before that event or not. Could that be the staff change you're thinking of?
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Yes! Do you know around when that was? My motivation here is that I was having a discussion with someone who mentioned the "Golden era" of Smiths. My contention was that pretty much any Smith is top notch in construction quality, whereas the opposing view was that 1990s and early 00s were somehow better. Just trying to parse out why, and a 'change in production manager' was the reason cited.
 
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#914
Rumblefisher said:
Yes! Do you know around when that was? My motivation here is that I was having a discussion with someone who mentioned the "Golden era" of Smiths. My contention was that pretty much any Smith is top notch in construction quality, whereas the opposing view was that 1990s and early 00s were somehow better. Just trying to parse out why, and a 'change in production manager' was the reason cited.
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General consensus was the pre 1990s instruments were slightly better build and quality control. Which arguably increases their resale value but I would think any Ken Smith instrument is of higher quality compared to most. Whether they're worth $4,500 or more is subjective to the owner. All I can say is my '85 Chuck Rainey five is wonderful. Seems China is scooping up a lot of them so if there is an interest you best get with it.
 
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