Custom order BT 5?

[Fernando Vergara]

Ken,,can you make a Custom Smith for me??
How about a BT Elite 5 with a Flamed Maple top and back..Mahogany core 5 piece neck tru with the stripes going all the way down the back with 5 piece body Ebony board; Big Black headstock and 3 knob pre amp.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Fernando Vergara

Ken,,can you make a Custom Smith for me??
How about a BT Elite 5 with a Flamed Maple top and back..Mahogany core 5 piece neck thru with the stripes going all the way down the back with 5 piece body Ebony board; Big Black headstock and 3 knob pre amp.

To make the Neck that way we can't control the bend direction. That's why we make them with the heel cap. We can test which direction the wood 'breathes' naturally and put the fingerboard on the 'strong' side. With the Neck/heel/head all in one piece we have to make and cut the 2 necks out of a longer and thicker block of laminated pieced. The bigger the block, the more 'spring' the necks can have when cut out.

Trust me, the way we build now is more time consuming but better yeild in neck bend control and quality in the end.

The 3-knob circuit is possible but not probable. You can never upgrade it to have a midrange. At least not the current 2-band concentric design we have.

Still, it's possible to make as you have requested but the bass would be much more expensive to do a one-off than to buy it the way we make them now.

[Fernando Vergara]

I understand now why but i hear people all over saying'' if Ken would make the BT's like he did back in the late 80's i would order one in a heart beat.Scores of my friends also tell me the same thing.

I think you should really consider making a Limited Edition run of the late 80's BT's,, I guarrantee that your sales would go OVER THE ROOF!!

Thanks,,

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Fernando Vergara

I understand now why but i hear people all over saying'' if Ken would make the BT's like he did back in the late 80's i would order one in a heart beat.Scores of my friends also tell me the same thing.

I think you should really consider making a Limited Edition run of the late 80's BT's,, I guarrantee that your sales would go OVER THE ROOF!!

Thanks,,

It is not the 'old' style construction they are hearing or feeling. It is the OLD Aged Bass after being played. Trust me, if it would be better to build them that way, we would. I have a 1985 bass here. From 1979-1985 we made them the same just about as we do now. From 1986-1996, we tried it another way but went back.

If both styles are the same age, you would like either one depending on the bass in hand. I can control the neck strength better the way we make them now like we did in the beginning 'before' the stripes went all the way thru in the back. Only after those basses hit 18-20 years old did they start asking about them. It is the playing age that mellowed those basses, not the neck style. Find one of the 20th anniversary basses made in 1998 or the first few BT models in 1996-1997 after we just started making the new/old style again and compare it to a bass a few years older at most. Then come talk to me BUT, it must be a similar age within 3 years at most, the same BT model and the same exact wood combination.

For the circuit, just leave the Mid flat. The Bass and Treble is set the same. Just a slightly different circuit layout to fit the 4/5 knob circuit.

The funny think is back in the early 1990s people were telling me that the BT was old already and we needed a new model. The complained the head was too big, ugly looking, the body not sexy and the bass neck heavy. So, I made the BMT, sexy body, smaller head, 3 band eq and a better strap balance. Now 15 years or so later NOT You ALL like the BT model as it was?

Sounds crazy to me. I wish I had all the comments

[Anton Hasias]

I think that old VS new it's a long debate and not only in the bass making field.
I know keyboard players who gave their ****ogue synth for a dime just to buy the new smplers and digital DX7.(now they are crying)
Considering Smith basses I am glad that this question arises, because it means that, as deserved, the Smith basses will touch the status of highly desired instruments and enters in the real vintage high value basses.
Maybe Smith company is a little company but I think that this bass crafting heritage must be taken care of.
For example Fender and many others next, a long time ago, opened the "Custom Shop" in order to run some classic models and also to satisfy all the people who wanted to have a vintage Fender-like without paying tens of thousands of $$.
In my opinion considering Smith basses, the BT line made the historical mark in the bass' world and it will be more and more desired even that all the drawbacks were solved with the comming of the BMT model.
And sorry, if the BT was good enough for John Pattituci to make some stellar albums, I think it is more than good for the most of us...

At least here in Europe, Smith created and is known as the New Age of the Modern Bass Pioneer.
So to cut my story short, I really belive that everywhere on our civilised bass planet there are many Smith bass fans and many hardcore enthusiasts. They are the guys who will also participate to spread the Smith name and qualities.
Maybe it's hard to have a Custom Shop in the Fender's way, as long as Smith is already a custom bass, but making from time to time some "Limited Edition" or "Historical Edition" in order to highlight the Smith heritage and to feed all the hungry die hard Smith fan base (who anyway will make these special edition sold out long before Ken will have the time to cut the first wood top) it is not just a good idea, from my point of view it's a MUST.

Best regards

[Michael Wilson]

Maybe if we keep asking, begging, and kicking, Ken will hear our cry. Ken is not a easy guy to crack, but he is a business man and a bass player. One day he will wake up from his bass making dream and say, "LET'S DO IT".

[Fernando Vergara]

Yes Sir Mike,,There is about a million of us old school and new school BT players that are eagerly waiting in line,,,,,,,,,,,
Antons reply was on the money!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!