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Standard radius (which I think is pretty flat once you get to the end of the fingerboard).
I'm still figuring out where some of the tones are. My buddy Steubig came over and gave it the thumbs up. One interesting thing is that I find the plucking area for my BSR5TN fretted to cover a fairly narrow range. The bass really speaks plucking mostly in the area between the two pickups. This fretless otoh, sounds gorgeous when you run the neck pickup and pluck over the fingerboard. And then go to the bridge pickup, move your had toward the bridge, and it snarls like a pitbull.
I'm still figuring out where some of the tones are. My buddy Steubig came over and gave it the thumbs up. One interesting thing is that I find the plucking area for my BSR5TN fretted to cover a fairly narrow range. The bass really speaks plucking mostly in the area between the two pickups. This fretless otoh, sounds gorgeous when you run the neck pickup and pluck over the fingerboard. And then go to the bridge pickup, move your had toward the bridge, and it snarls like a pitbull.
Ken doesn't have much - this is some old stuff he had in the shop. He uses mahogany if someone wants a bit less weight and/or that tone profile.
So now half dozen gigs and a bunch of hours on the fretless and I can't put the damn thing down. Spectacular bass, and for the life of me I don't know why there aren't more fretless Smiths out there. The preamp/pickups really work well for that application.
A new beast in the house, ordered direct from Ken. Walnut over alder (Ken doesn't have or use much alder - I wanted a bit less weight). This thing punches like mad. First gig tomorrow but having cycled through a lot of nice instruments over the past few years, this one will likely be a perfect fit. Very focused tone. 9.3 lbs of fun.
Wow - That is a sweet bass! You don't see a lot of Smith fretless basses.
You've got to try Invalid Link Removed with your fretless. Best flats I've ever tried, pricey AND incredible. Six months on my fls BSR5P now. First time ever that I've had flats stayed on for more then a few days.
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Those are really thin gauge. I'm running Smith nickel 125-40 right now and like them. I thought about running TI flats which aren't cheap either. Flats would be a bit easier on the fingerboard, but the rounds have a nice zing.
Interesting on the OMNI strings. I've got an omni and two spare sets. I also have a number of basses with flats but never thought to try the omni strings on an electric bass
Dumb question, but will these strings actually fit on a 34-35" bass? I guess I am asking if the taper slim is enough at the tuner end to fit in the tuner, wind, etc.
peterpalmieri, I only tried them on my fretless. They feel too delicate to be used on frets, to me.
Baird6869, although it says on the package 34-35 inch scale... take a look at the photo. They will not fit a 35 scale bass.
Baird6869, although it says on the package 34-35 inch scale... take a look at the photo. They will not fit a 35 scale bass.
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Curious what you mean by delicate? I know they use the same strings on a fretted omni. I use TIs and labellas DTF extra lights
on fretted basses. DTF extra lights on a short scale and TI rounds on a jazz bass. I have fallen in love with light Gaige strings. It may not be for everyone.
on fretted basses. DTF extra lights on a short scale and TI rounds on a jazz bass. I have fallen in love with light Gaige strings. It may not be for everyone.
@nostatic, awesome fretless man. I've never played a Smith fretless...I don't even know if I've ever heard a Smith fretless!
Here is me messing around on Stella with my BSRGN- this bass is 5/8 from the 2002 limited run he did.
The eq needs to be adjusted. I pumped the highs to try and get my idol's (john patitucci) clear, glassy sound, but it just resulted in hissssss.
Here is me messing around on Stella with my BSRGN- this bass is 5/8 from the 2002 limited run he did.
The eq needs to be adjusted. I pumped the highs to try and get my idol's (john patitucci) clear, glassy sound, but it just resulted in hissssss.
The twin of the fretless showed up today.
Beautiful basses. Do you see them taking the place of the butterflies? They seem like very different basses.
Very different voices. Basically I love the Smith fretless tone, and the fretted is cool as it gives a kind of nasty P-bass tone. They really don't sound like typical Smiths I've heard on youtube/etc - not sure if it is my amp, my technique, or the wood combination (or some mixture).
The YYD stays as my main 4-string fretted and has its own thing going on. I'm selling my Fodera 4-string fretless (which is a ridiculously good bass) and keeping my Rob Allen 4-string fretless. Basically this is the current setup:
The YYD stays as my main 4-string fretted and has its own thing going on. I'm selling my Fodera 4-string fretless (which is a ridiculously good bass) and keeping my Rob Allen 4-string fretless. Basically this is the current setup:
Amazing looking pair!The twin of the fretless showed up today.
I am starting to think a matching pair is the way to go. If not just for consistent feel and tone (from an ease of EQing on gigs).
steubig is a huge proponent of this and I've swung over to his thinking. I kinda did that with my pair of Monarch 5s but didn't go all the way with the spec that my gut said and they never really clicked as I'd hoped. With these I played a hunch on the fretless and when it worked I asked Ken to build the exact same thing but with frets. The alder was one of the few pieces he had sitting around. He mostly builds with walnut/maple body combos with some mahogany as an alternative. Over all my experiments with custom basses the past few years I've settled on alder as my favorite body wood (and oddly enough walnut tops on the Smiths and my RA) and ebony as the fingerboard. With this pair it will be really easy to take the pair to a gig and swap back and forth. I can get the preamp set up identically and know what the preamp will do. The YYS is still a one-of-a-kind and won't leave the rotation.
