Are Ken Smith Basses heavy or is it just me?

[Ray C. Parrish]

I have always like heavy basses. The position of the neck just seems more stable especially when you are doing difficult lines that require you to change position quickly up and down the neck. Sounds a little corny, but it's true!

[Jason Mendelson]

Personally think my BMTE6G Fretted and BSRE6G Frettless are perfect weight...

The Frettless is lighter for some reason

[Bob Faulkner]

Originally Posted by Jason Mendelson

The Frettless is lighter for some reason

Less metal!

[Jason Mendelson]

hence the

[Steve_M]

FWIW it's always possible to chamber denser body cores out if weight is an issue for some. Alembic do it with super dense mahogany and the range of basses I'm currently developing will feature it as well although I prefer the sound of alder for the prototypes. But we might offer mahogany as an option too.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Steve_M

FWIW it's always possible to chamber denser body cores out if weight is an issue for some. Alembic do it with super dense mahogany and the range of basses I'm currently developing will feature it as well although I prefer the sound of alder for the prototypes. But we might offer mahogany as an option too.

First off, our Basses are not Heavy. Some of the woods you guys request for the Body Tops & Backs like Ebony, Cocobolo and several others are heavy, not the Bass they were put on. Also, Mahogany is NOT a dense wood by any means or measurement that I am aware of.

Chambering the Body also creates overtones that you can't control not to mention possible Glue drips internally. We have made some of these back in the 1980s and it's not any kind of improvement. If anything, it lightens the body area and makes the neck feel heavier.

Our Basses are not light either. They are what they are, solid! Take the Pickups, Bridge and Circuit components and weigh them. These are not plastic toy components. They have a bit of mass on their own. Maple and Walnut were the first woods we used for body materials and I would be more than happy to stick with them. The problem is that some people want something else and they often weigh more. The bigger the Neck (6 over 5 etc), the more the bass will weigh.

I can't see the point in this Thread by the Title it has. It starts out with a false assumption. If our Basses were really heavy, we would not still be making them after 30 years, I think.

Steve M., are you working for Alembic now, promoting them or starting your own company? If so to any of the above, remember what forum you are on.

[Bob Faulkner]

Ya I'm not sure where the heavy idea came from.

My Smith bass is not the lightest I own, but it's also not the heaviest I own either. It darn sure is the best bass I own, hands down.

[Michael Wilson]

If anybody does not like the weight of there Smith i will be glad to take them of your hands[for free of course] There is nothing and i mean nothing like my 91 BTG6 Ebony. I sent it to Ken for some TLC and when he heard the tone, his words were and i quote, "This Bass Is Slammin" No more to be said.

[Michael Wilson]

Ken,

Do you make custom basses? like a bass with a maple fingerboard. If not why? if i wanted any type of wood combo for a custom bass would that be a issue for you to make.

Mike

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Michael Wilson

Ken,

Do you make custom basses? like a bass with a maple fingerboard. If not why? if i wanted any type of wood combo for a custom bass would that be a issue for you to make.

Mike

We offer what we offer because I feel that is the best for what we make in general.

Maple is way softer than Morado for a Fingerboard and even softer than the harder Ebony. That is going backwards. They gave up Maple when Ebony got popular, about 100 years ago. Fender solid Maple necks were made for cost, not quality.

I am not going to cut down some tree for an idea someone has about a Bass. I have already what I think makes a good Bass. We are not new at doing this. I think 30 years doing says something.

On the "Custom" question we do make Custom combinations of the woods within what we offer. Not trying at all to be harsh on my reply above but to get the results I am comfortable with in advance, I need to stick with what I already know. I do not want to experiment with your money.