KS Black Tiger 6 String Neck Thickness [Archive] - Ken's Corner (Bass Forums Sponsored By KSB)

Curt Traynor

03-31-2010, 07:04 PM

Ken Smith

03-31-2010, 08:02 PM

Group...

The other week I played a 6 string Smith Black Tiger...
The neck on this thing was awesome! Very thin and easy to play!
While I was at that guitar shop I also got a chance to play a Zon bass.
...The Zon neck was thick and not very comfortable.

Just curious...
Does anyone know the neck thickness at the 1st and 12th frets for a 6 String Tiger?

Would like to compair it with other basses.

THANKS!

Smith Basses are handmade and carved by hand so there is some variation in the depth from front to back at any given area. Fingerboards are additionally re-leveled just before fretting and this thickness can vary as well.

What you do feel with a Smith Neck is the tone and the stiffness. The more stable the Neck, the easier it plays. Thicker Necks can play easier and feel thinner by the easy in which they perform and that in itself can be deceiving and confused with actual thickness or depth.

A thin Neck that is hard to play will feel thicker than it is. All 4s, 5, s and 6s we make are intended to be the same in taper, depth, thickness and profile. Then, human hands touch it and it becomes a musical instrument. More than just a Bass actually.

Black Tiger, GN, Elite, same specs, jigs and hands. Different Basses, everyone of them.

Be careful NOT to shop by measurements alone.

We measure only in thousandths with a dial caliper. Important measurements within the depth is for enough mass behind the truss rod and graphite routes. Especially at the Nut area of the Neck.

I don't have any numbers handy. If the Bass feels good, plays good and sounds good, then it's the RIGHT thickness.

I play the Double Bass as my first instrument. Thinner necks are not always easier to play and that's a much bigger fish to fry than an Electric bass.;)