Karl Clews
10-03-2011, 03:53 PM
Hi there,
I'm a new member, having just acquired a 97 Burner. I've been looking for one of these for quite some time, as a way of testing the water before I take the plunge to find a 'real' Smith, after having heard one at a blues jam session in London about 10 years ago. I don't know who the player was, or what song he was playing - I just remember that the tone of his Smith was the most gorgeous bass sound I'd ever heard, even through the knackered old house amp. I've had many basses since then, from 80s Steinbergers, through Jazzes, Stingrays, Status and Alembic, but I've never found anything to compare with the sound I heard that night.
Anyway, my new acquisition is finished in solid black. However, I'm not a great fan of paint finishes - I much prefer the look of wood. So I'm wondering, if I strip the paint off, what's underneath - what body woods were used in these basses, and is it likely that they will be worth seeing, or should I just stick with the black finish? I would be very grateful to hear from anyone out there who's tried such a refinishing job on a 90s Burner, or from KS himself, if he can tell me what the woods underneath the paint may look like. If the woods were particularly pretty, then I'm guessing the decision wouldn't have been made in the first place to paint over them, but maybe that's not necessarily the case? I'm just going off my previous experience with stripping down an old 80s Aria - that turned out to be made of plywood ... I imagine Burners were made out of something more substantial!
Many thanks, anyway!
Karl
I'm a new member, having just acquired a 97 Burner. I've been looking for one of these for quite some time, as a way of testing the water before I take the plunge to find a 'real' Smith, after having heard one at a blues jam session in London about 10 years ago. I don't know who the player was, or what song he was playing - I just remember that the tone of his Smith was the most gorgeous bass sound I'd ever heard, even through the knackered old house amp. I've had many basses since then, from 80s Steinbergers, through Jazzes, Stingrays, Status and Alembic, but I've never found anything to compare with the sound I heard that night.
Anyway, my new acquisition is finished in solid black. However, I'm not a great fan of paint finishes - I much prefer the look of wood. So I'm wondering, if I strip the paint off, what's underneath - what body woods were used in these basses, and is it likely that they will be worth seeing, or should I just stick with the black finish? I would be very grateful to hear from anyone out there who's tried such a refinishing job on a 90s Burner, or from KS himself, if he can tell me what the woods underneath the paint may look like. If the woods were particularly pretty, then I'm guessing the decision wouldn't have been made in the first place to paint over them, but maybe that's not necessarily the case? I'm just going off my previous experience with stripping down an old 80s Aria - that turned out to be made of plywood ... I imagine Burners were made out of something more substantial!
Many thanks, anyway!
Karl