burner neck dive
 

hello,

i've recently purchased a ken smith burner 5 here in spain and i have a couple of questions about it...

its serial number is 971500 DA6, so i guess it's from 1997, but it's a standard one? custom? deluxe? i haven't any photo here, but it looks like this one: http://www.kensmithbasses.com/models/bsrb/cm5.html

i have to say that i'm really in love with this bass... it sounds amazing, and the string spacing (16mm) it's perfect for my small hands, and playing style. anyway, i've noticed a problem when i play it stand up: the headstock falls a little bit towards the floor if i don't hold the fingerboard with my left hand... it seems the fingerboard's weighs more than the body what makes it a little bit unstable.

is there any solution? what can i do?

thanks for your time!

Neck dive?
 

This is not a problem but perfectly normal with that body cut (similar to the Smith BT body cuts). Because the upper horn is shorter is the reason why you are getting the "neck dive", not because the fingerboard "weighs more" than the body.

What you can do to help balance it out is simple. Assuming you are a right handed player, just use the forearm of your right arm and rest it on or near the upper rear part of the upper body wing. The rear part of the upper body wing would be under your right forearm anyway. It would just be a matter of learning how to apply whatever needed pressure/weight from your right forearm to balance out the overall bass to your liking.

I have a Burner 6-String and a few BT model Smiths with similar body cuts, so this is something I easily adapted to without any complaint.

FYI: The Smith BSR body cuts have a longer upper horn. Because of this, the BSR balances perfectly on a strap.

Yes - 1997
 

Yes, the bass was made in 1997 and based on the serial number you provided, you have a 6 String Burner. Your profile indicates you have a 5 string Burner. Are you sure the serial number is correct? Does it say DA6 or DA5?

SN Info....
 

Not sure what the "DA" in the serial number would indicatate. I have a "SK" in my serial number and am not sure what that indicates either. I do know mine is a Standard so maybe that's what the "S" indicates from my serial number? If so, I would suspect that the "D" in your SN would indicate Deluxe. If I'm right, we just need to know what the "A" and the "K" indicate. Maybe Ken can help us out with this?

Well....
 

Well, there are only 3 Burner models and if it "looks like" the one in the link, it would be a Custom. However, the serial number you provided should give you the answer you're looking for. Ken would have that answer.

Da6?
 

That's the Deluxe Ash 6. 6 string, natural blond ash.

Ok. How bout SK6?
 

Ok, so what would the "K" in SK6 indicate?

Black. K=Black, L=Blue

Both start with 'B' so I did it that way.

thanks for the replies!

my burner is a 5 string one, and yes, the end of serial number is DA5 ;)

about the neck diving, yes, i've used my forearm to balance the bass, but this is a little bit uncomfortable. ken, is there anything else i can do to deal with this? maybe changing the back strap button to another position?

anyway, if it can't be solved i don't care, i love it so much! ;)

Well....
 

Given the body cut, I doubt changing the strap button would solve your balance issue. Also, you could potentially hurt the resell value of your bass by doing such a modification.

Maybe you could strap it like some of the Acoustic Guitar Players by extending or modifying the length of your shoulder strap (ex. by using longer strips of leather or like durable material) and tie-off somewhere behind the nut or peg head?

Ok, I looked it up. You made a Typo. It's DA 5 at the end, not 6.

Hi Adrian,

Just a little trick.
If you will use an original Smith bass strap which is made such that it really doesn't slip on your shoulder when fixed in the right position, you will have no longer this diving problem.
I tryed with a BT6 and it worked very well.

Best regards

thank you very much, i will try for it for sure!

burner neck dive - Using 2 straps worked well for me
 

Hello Adrian, I played a Smith Burner very similar to yours for quite a few years. I think a they are great basses and I like the shorter horns for a number of reasons. In particular I like the way the entire bass hangs bit more left on my body which allows me easier upper fret access whereas with a longer horn I have to kind of switch holding positions if I really need to access that area completely comfortably. Of course though, any bass with a shorter horn will have less leverage to support the neck so the "neck dive" issue can arise.

Anyway, something I did that worked well for me was using two straps. One was a Smith strap with the strap locks and the other was a suede strap. The Smith strap was, and is, very comfortable. The suede strap provided some extra grip. I generally kept them separated a bit around my shoulder which spread the weight over a larger surface area. It took some effort to get both straps adjusted to lengths that worked well for me. It wasn't as simple as making them the exact same length. I had to go through some trial and error to get it just right but once I got them adjusted for the best fit on me then that worked great to help keep the neck from diving.

Also, if you have never played a bass with a shorter horn then you may need to get accustomed to using the technique of resting your right arm on the top back of the body and using a bit of downward pressure to keep the neck where you like it. Of course that technique becomes more difficult if you prefer to wear your bass very low.

Seeing that this post is not exactly new and that a couple of other people suggested using your right arm, I imagine you are already getting used to doing that.

Best wishes

thanks for your help! i've finally bought a ken smith bsr-b that fixed the neck dive problem! :) and it sounds as amazing as the burner!