Smith Basses

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by danilo ninkovic

Hello Mr. Smith
I have a Ken Smith bass which is more than 10 year old, but I am not the first owner. Someone before has took off the label inside the back plate..so I thought maybe it would be better to engrave the date of production and other data inside the back plate,,and maybe your signature as a sign that you adjust each bass you personally.

The serial number WAS stamped into the end of the fingerboard. If the bass was re-fretted then it might have been sanded off if the fingerboard was re-leveled. The fact that you have neither the number nor the Label leads me to suspect this as a stolen bass at one point. There is no other reason to remove these valuable markings.

Some years ago a bass came into the shop with neither markings. I have other hidden marks on the bass and was able to identify the bass, when it was made and who 'we' originally sold it to which was then a dealer in Europe. The bass was never reported stolen to us so we had no legal right to hold it and just repaired it and returned it. I think we might have re-stamped the number into the bass and put a new label in it with the original date.

I would have to have your bass in my hands to do this, and the doors closed as I look for the hidden marks. Secret stuff, you understand..