My first Smith ... a long journey.

[Michele Caramazza]

Some days have passed since I received the bass and I'm goin' on writing my impressions.
I'm taking my time on this one. I'm not in a rush and I'm givin' the bass some time to settle in before making any adjustment. The action is a little higher than what I'm accustomed to but it came from the other side of the pond and currently it's hot and humid here so it won't be a wise move to touch it now. Anyway it's more than playable and I'm quite happy for now. Later it could benefit of a minimal truss rod adjustment or even just a little lowering on the bridge saddles. We'll see...
I'm playing the bass exclusively straight flat by now: I want to be well aware of the instrument's own voice before dealing with the preamp that however seems to be very powerful and effective.
I'm also deliberately leaving the gain trim pot at the factory setting: I want to do couple of gigs with full band setting before deciding I need more output volume.
I'm more and more amazed at how the neck fits my left hand. That was a concern for me as I recently experienced tendonitis issues in my left wrist and was really worried about it. Since I got the Smith I played it exclusively and my left wrist is ok and in perfetc working order so it's probably an issue related with another instrument.
Another positive fact about the Smith is it's weight. I don't have a scale handy but it should be around 10 lbs and, man ... the weight coupled with the perfect balance make this baby the most solid feeling instrument I ever had. Love this feeling!