Installing Soaps on a Burner?

[Tom Albano]

Recently bought my 2nd Smith Bass, A Burner (Solid Ash, 5 string), Although this one is Really "Smithish" as it came with an Aguilar OBP-3 with 2 bands of mid. its an 18 volt system and the bass sounds very nice actually, the install is clean the cavity fit both batteries quite nicely although a bit tight.... Anyway

Was thinking about buying a set of soapbars and having the bass routed as well as a new Smith pre.

My question .... Would the soapbars work out OK with the tighter 16mm spacing?

- T

[Tim Bishop]

What P/U's are on it now?

[Tom Albano]

the standard Burner J PuPs with the full "Ken Smith" name on them

Im really just asking for curiosity but I do Kinda feel like Im missing something, it is a Smith, I want a Smith Preamp.
As for the soaps I was just curious if that would work

[Ken Smith]

Recently bought my 2nd Smith Bass, A Burner (Solid Ash, 5 string), Although this one is Really "Smithish" as it came with an Aguilar OBP-3 with 2 bands of mid. its an 18 volt system and the bass sounds very nice actually, the install is clean the cavity fit both batteries quite nicely although a bit tight.... Anyway

Was thinking about buying a set of soapbars and having the bass routed as well as a new Smith pre.

My question .... Would the soapbars work out OK with the tighter 16mm spacing?

- T

Only the Flat Tops will work. The Burner has a much narrower neck and bridge spacing. The pickups made for the 18mm model Smith basses will not line up between the poles and the strings. Also, routing that finish may be tricky. If you want a full Smith sound, get a full Smith bass, The Burner is the Burner.

[Tom Albano]

Only the Flat Tops will work. The Burner has a much narrower neck and bridge spacing. The pickups made for the 18mm model Smith basses will not line up between the poles and the strings. Also, routing that finish may be tricky. If you want a full Smith sound, get a full Smith bass, The Burner is the Burner.

Thanks Ken, I appreciate you posting, I just wanted to inquire... Maybe Ill grab a "P.A.P.A" one day soon.
Happy New Year
-T

[Tim Bishop]

Well, on the Burner, if I remember right, the spacing is 9mm at the Nut and 16mm at the bridge. With that spacing the strings would not line up over the poll pieces on the Smith P/U's for a Smith 5. Would it work, maybe, but I wouldn't do it. Why? Because I like precision and accuracy. I use the poll pieces on the Smith Soap-bars to "dial-in" each string up and down the neck for a consistent output level. The adjustments I make are small, however, my ear hears the the benefit of this adjustment (if needed). If you have strings falling outside the range of the poll pieces, I suspect you may have some challenges with output level consistency up and down the neck.

On my '99 burner 6, I have the Smith flat-top soap-bars. With the flat-top's there's no need to adjust.

[Tim Bishop]

Dang! I need to type faster I guess. Ken, once again has beat me to the punch on this. :mad::p:):rolleyes:;)

[Tom Albano]

Dang! I need to type faster I guess. Ken, once again has beat me to the punch on this. :mad::p:):rolleyes:;)

:)

Thanks Tim, I appreciate the effort, for real!
- T

[Tim Bishop]

I wonder if Ken has or could get after-market flat-tops for a 5? I've never seen them on a Smith, but might be worth asking.

[Tim Bishop]

If you do decide to experiment with this bass and make the mods, you'll need to keep in mind that you will need to re-shield where ever you route.

An alternative would be to sell that bass, keep your eye out for an older Smith CR, or M, MW, etc. models that have the Smith Soapbars and pre-amp already built in. You'd be surprised that you could find one in the price range you'd be pleased with.

[Ken Smith]

I wonder if Ken has or could get after-market flat-tops for a 5? I've never seen them on a Smith, but might be worth asking.

We make the Flattops in 4, 5, 6, and 7 string. For a while we didn't have them because the old masters to cast the rubber mold in needed to be replaced and the new ones we made were misplaced when we moved to this building in 1998. A few years later we just made new molds but never promoted the sale of our pickups after market during that time. We just used them as needed for special orders we were making. A couple of years ago, the missing wooden masters were found in a box from the move. Now we are set.