Next Year makes 30 Right?

[Tim Bishop]

The 25th. Ann. certainly says it all for me.

[Virgilio Venditti]

The Proto-type Bass made in '76-'77 was my personal working-Bass so I don't count that as part of the company time wise.

Any picture? Is it still working fine after all this time?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Virgilio Venditti

Any picture? Is it still working fine after all this time?

I assume so but in someone else's hands. I sold that Bass shortly after the company (KSB) was started to LaBella Strings for testing their Bass strings. That same Bass was used by me for a few years for testing strings for them as well. LaBella helped me get started in this business so when Richard Cocco Jr. (now owner or E.&O. Mari/Labella) called and asked to buy the Bass from me which had been used to test all of their developments back then, I could not refuse. Some years later, they sold the Bass after it had been sitting around barely used to a player they thought worthy of it. I don't know where it is now, sorry..

[Virgilio Venditti]

Thanks, Ken! Too bad it is hidden somewhere!!! Maybe the owner does not even know its "sentimental" value. Was it similar "a lot" or "not that much" to the first production basses? In other words: could you tell with a glance "...yes: it's a Ken Smith"?

Thank you, V.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Virgilio Venditti

Thanks, Ken! Too bad it is hidden somewhere!!! Maybe the owner does not even know its "sentimental" value. Was it similar "a lot" or "not that much" to the first production basses? In other words: could you tell with a glance "...yes: it's a Ken Smith"?

Thank you, V.

Hummm... Well, yes. It does look Smith'ish but the first run of Basses were slightly different as we made a second Prototype copy of the first Proto' that was made as mentioned above. The basic design was there but in tooling up all the patterns and jigs to make the first production run, some slight changes were made. The Circuit on the first Bass was quite different and the second Proto' and first run had those even bigger circuit plates which was an expanded idea by far of the actual Prototype from 1976/'77.

I have a few pictures of these Prototypes here on my wall but I can't scan them for now. Maybe sometime in the future I will rip-up my photo collage, scan and post them and then restore the framed collage afterwards.

Visitors to my Shop can ask to see them as they are framed and leaning against a window behind my Computer desk in my office 'out-of-sight'. It's just that way, no real reason.