Yes, you can rawk/rock out on a Smith Bass...
 

It's really too bad this forum has slowed so much. I've spent hours like a lot of enthusiasts looking at Smith "data". But it is the era of Facebook and instant gratification... Currently I play in a Kinks tribute band and tonight I played my fretless BSR4GN through an early 1980s Ampeg SVT rig (basically the St. Louis Music rendition of the Magnavox SVT amps) -- the most midrangey thing on the planet. It was a "white glove" gig and I'm not going to complain about not having to bring an amp. With so much mids, you can't cover up mistakes so easily, and you can really hear it when you do mess up! People dug it a lot even if it didn't look the part. We forget that music is subject to interpretation, and I love playing fretless everywhere possible. And yes, you can rock out on a through-neck Smith fretless to great effect. No doubt one can rock out on a fretted Smith, too.

In case you were wondering.

Yes, FB is the new media over forums BUT, Forums are easier to search and follow than a FB thread. Both have their use I think.

On playing, the touch of the player on his bass, how soft or hard, action etc. will make the sound respond faster or slower. A lot goes in to the different sounds people get.

And that is it exactly. I played my 1995 BT5 at a honky-tonk country VFW dance gig last week. By confining my picking hand to the space between the front pickup and the end of the fretboard, and using a gentler attack than normal, I produced a sound that carried the band perfectly under two guitars, pedal steel, and fiddle. My 1965 Precision never left its case.

I purposely went for a personal challenge at this gig: it was in an unfamiliar room (never played there before) and I didn't know how it would sound on stage, and I knew the amp would not be the most articulate sounding amp and I sing backup vocals, too. A lot of songs we play allow for that playing at the end of the fingerboard and you get that fat fretless sound, and because this SVT had so much mids to it, getting growly was really easy. I can't express myself on my other fretless basses the way I can on my Smith.

(My singing is 10 years behind my playing...)

Lol.. Cant help you with that.. :cool:

Strings....
 

I would also add: Strings can make all the difference. 'Smith Medium Taper Cores (steels)' are what I've always used on my Smiths. Tried others (only out of curiosity), however, ALWAYS went back to the Smith Taper Cores. If you're looking for more of a 60's/Motown sound, try 'Smith Slick Rounds'. Either way, you won't be disappointed.:cool:

TC Burners
 

I always use Taper Core Burners on my Smith fretless, and now also on my second Smith, a fretted BSR4M. They tend to sound their best (to me) when the nickel plating dulls and turns gray where my right fingers have been plucking them. The BSR4M which arrived last Wednesday is, even with TC Burners, a very bright bass. I've been playing it an average of 90 minutes daily since it arrived to break it in...if a TC flatwound Smith string existed, I might use it on the BSR4M!