Wood Etc. as it relates to Smith Basses..

[Tamás Száva]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Do you mean 'wider' pieces? No, currently all the Ash we have is cut into body wings and center blocks. We bought this lot of Ash in 1997 even before we moved into this building. It was about 500 bd.ft. of 8/4 (2 inch thick) kiln dried narrow width (5-6") lumber. In that same time be have purchased 25-50,000 bd.ft. each of figured Maples and various Walnuts. We rarely make a Bass using Ash these days as it is only used only our lower cost handmade Basses in the J and M series bolt-ons. Most of when we build are laminated bodies but in the solids, figured Maple is #1 by far followed by Black Walnut.

Yes, sorry I meant "narrower only?". I like the light weight and the sound of ash. but then It'll be an MW or GN with maple core and walnut t&b.
Or maybe an M with maple core, ash wings. Those ash parts must be very dry and resonate very well due to the long time they've been stocked.

[Tamás Száva]

To my ear walnut produces a bit clearer lows and more cutting highs, compared to ash, is that right?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Tamás Száva

To my ear walnut produces a bit clearer lows and more cutting highs, compared to ash, is that right?

Originally Posted by Tamás Száva

Yes, sorry I meant "narrower only?". I like the light weight and the sound of ash. but then It'll be an MW or GN with maple core and walnut t&b.
Or maybe an M with maple core, ash wings. Those ash parts must be very dry and resonate very well due to the long time they've been stocked.

All of our woods are aged for several years before going into our Basses. I still have some wood that was 5-10 years old when the Ash came in.

The 'Core' is the center or a 3, 5, or 7-piece laminated body wing. The piece in the middle of a Bolt-on body under the Pickups is the 'Center Block'. this is on both un-laminated Ms or laminated MWs. On a Neck-thrus like the GN you mentioned under the Pickups is the actual Neck and in the Back we laminate Bubinga and Maple top beef-up the thickness of the Neck to match the Body.

On the sound, what you hear is what you hear. On Smith Basses you may find different results than from other makers as the finish we use is entirely our own and produces part of the sound. For me, Ash is brighter and thinner sounding than Walnut. Walnut has more Mids and a thicker sound but both are clear sounding. Maple has less mids and has more under current lows and tight HIs.

[Tamás Száva]

Sorry again for having to correct me all the time, I wanted to write center block for the M, but was very tired in the evening. And thanks for the useful info.

[Keith Copeland]

Although I have not had the pleasure to actually play a Ken Smith, I have listened to enough songs featuring Smiths to convince me that I WANT ONE!!!!!! I have listened extensively to Al Turner's CD and The Annointed Pace Sisters CD featuring Darrell Freeman on bass and am floored by the sound of both!! Al's Black Tiger has amazing clarity and punch while Darrell's BSR bass (bubinga top and back w/ maple core?) seem to have more "growl", which appeals to my ear a little more. Does bubinga really have more "growl" than walnut?

As soon as I am blessed with the funds, I will either buy a new or used Smith 5 NT.


A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by bottomzone

Although I have not had the pleasure to actually play a Ken Smith, I have listened to enough songs featuring Smiths to convince me that I WANT ONE!!!!!! I have listened extensively to Al Turner's CD and The Annointed Pace Sisters CD featuring Darrell Freeman on bass and am floored by the sound of both!! Al's Black Tiger has amazing clarity and punch while Darrell's BSR bass (bubinga top and back w/ maple core?) seem to have more "growl", which appeals to my ear a little more. Does bubinga really have more "growl" than walnut?

As soon as I am blessed with the funds, I will either buy a new or used Smith 5 NT.


A Groove is a Terrible Thing to Waste!

Besides Bubinga there is Shedua. We happen to have a nice quantity of it in stock that is well figured. Our Bubinga stock is nearly gone and we will not re-stock until the Shedua has been mostly used up. These are structurally and tonally interchangeable woods. The main difference is the color. I happen to prefer the Shedua and it is also more figured as far as our stock goes.

On Tone, without hearing each Bass in your hands instead of a recording, who can say which Bass or wood has more growl?

[Tim Bishop]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

On Tone, without hearing each Bass in your hands instead of a recording, who can say which Bass or wood has more growl?

Exactly! +1 Ken.