I owned a PA made Chuck Rainey 5 string for 10 years. Got it in 93’. Played with the same drummer in a wedding band for 18 years. Every time I took it outta the case, he’d say…”man, would you just get a jazz bass?”
He hated that bass. The sound was crystal clear. Extremely articulate, yet forgiving of less than perfect technique. But he played with other bass players that all used Jazz basses, and just couldn’t get comfortable with the thinner, more succinct tone of the Smith.
Also, in the NYC, Jersey region where I worked, the majority of the working cats pulled Jazz basses out of their case when they got on the bandstand. I think Bandleaders found comfort in that. I personally had no love for Jazz basses for many years. But, when I did sub gigs, and the sub pulled out a 7 string Conklin or some other non standard boutique bass, I’d usually hear about it at the next gig.
Ultimately, I moved to a TRB-5P, which was closer to a Fender sound with its P/J + piezo ( if you wanted it) config. The band had added a lot of Salsa, and Italian waltz’s and were focused on ethnic weddings. The Smith did not bode well for those tunes. The round, warm, almost muddy tone needed for hardcore Latin was not there.
I could get it with the TRB’s P pickup, plucking over the fingerboard. I would even use an envelope filter set so it wouldn’t activate, and I’d get an extremely thick, low bass tone. I could also bring in the bridge pickup and a bit of piezo, and get super crispy high end. Being able to blend piezo with 2 magnetic pickups offers a vast array of tones. Especially with the 2 band on board and brandy new strings.
Point being, Smiths are a distinct flavor of bass. In the right hands they're spectacular. But they are different. In every way.
I also met Ken Smith before I ever got the bass. I knocked on his Manhattan shop door in the early 90’s just before the PA move. He welcomed me without an appointment. He was congenial, and seemed enthusiastic to show me the different woods he used, and tell me about the Chuck Rainey I was interested in.
He called me when the bass was finished and told me it would be at the Sam Ash in White Plains in the next day or so. When I walked into Sam Ash, the salesman was handing MY BASS to a prospect to try out. Oblivious that it had already been built FOR ME. I was pissed. I screamed, HEY… Thats my F#@%n’ bass. Put that Sh*& down.
I ended up meeting him again in Percasie PA to get the bass set up for free, and discuss the pre. Thats where I learned that you don’t dime the tone controls. To set your sound at the amp with the bass flat, then tweak using the onboard.
During that meeting he was still congenial, and gave me a tour of the new shop. he seemed happy. Content. But serious. Driven. Secure in his knowledge. My experience with him was nothing but positive. But, that could be an exception.
Just know, they cost that much because there’s probably more hours in a hand built Ken Smith than most basses made today. And it shows. If you ever get a chance to play one. Close your eyes, and listen. The difference is striking.
Very un-Fender like though, so that will probably not appeal to a lot of players. I also agree with some posters that they are not the most attractive basses available.
