35 years..

[John Adams]

Congratulations on making the best bass I have ever owned and the longevity and the continued quality control of your products.

I am curious as to demands through the years. 6400 basses in 35 years is over 180 basses produced per year on average. I know when I purchased mine from you in 89 there was something like a 10 month wait. A lot of us music students had seen the Pattitucci video and wanted one. I found someone in Toronto who had two on order and was getting them earlier than I ever could so I took one of his on order ( and was willing to pay a healthy premium to get it). Still best instrument investment I have ever made.

I was always curious about demand for Smiths. Has it been consistent through the decades? Was there one year that stands out production wise in terms of volume? It was a mad house when I wanted to buy mine.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by John Adams

I was always curious about demand for Smiths. Has it been consistent through the decades? Was there one year that stands out production wise in terms of volume? It was a mad house when I wanted to buy mine.

We have almost always been back ordered to some degree. We grew slowly from the beginning at a snails pace. At one point we expanded quite a bit after getting the new building. It was part of the terms for the loan. Making then 200 basses a year or more was a challenge and to keep the quality up as well. We got it up to about 500 basses or so with a quota of 40 a month but, most of them were bolt-ons. The neck thrus were made at about 100 a year or slightly more for years and years with a maximum of maybe 200 when we totaled 500 basses.

The extra basses were not really profitable because we didn't charge enough for them and they cost almost as much to make as the higher models. I had quality standards that would not allow us to make basses for the prices people wanted so we lost money on them. Many many pros play our bolt-on basses because they 'work' and were made to the same standards as the neck thrus. Same people, same parts and same woods. Just less bells and whistles. In 2001 after the 911 attacks we shrunk some and adjusted. Then in 2008 or so we shrunk a bit more once again with the financial crash.

Now, we are comfortable with a small crew of long time experienced workers that know what to do, day in and day out. We are back to making about 120 basses a year with very few bolt-ons as they cost almost as much as the neck-thrus like they should.

Coming to work everyday is like going to my second home. I live less than 2 miles away from the shop. I am watching the gold channel as I type this. Being at home or in my office is just a room with different furnishings to me.

[John Adams]

Hi Ken,

Thank you for taking the time to go through all that detail. I really appreciate it. I love hearing the stories of what went on behind the business. Thank you for sharing.

John