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  #1  
Old 09-28-2010, 01:38 PM
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Ray House Ray House is offline
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Default Hello from the abyss

I searched all of Nashville Tn for a few weeks (March 1998) and finally found the perfect bass at Rock Block.

After 12 years, (some with many hours of practice and some years with darkness so black that I did not even touch a bass or guitar) I am back in love and desperately trying to save my life with music.

So straight out of the swamps of the deep south, Ken eventually acquired the swamp ash and maple needed to create my bass. After a little photography and testing, the bass eventually made it to me in what seems like destiny.

I found my number 1.



Last edited by Ray House; 09-29-2010 at 02:02 AM. Reason: pic
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  #2  
Old 09-28-2010, 01:55 PM
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Default Can relate......

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Originally Posted by Ray House View Post
....After 12 years, (some with many hours of practice and some years with darkness so black that I did not even touch a bass or guitar) I am back in love and desperately trying to save my life with music....
Hey Ray! Welcome! I suspect many can relate to those like moments.
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Old 09-28-2010, 01:56 PM
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Question Pic.....

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Originally Posted by Ray House View Post
I searched all of Nashville Tn for a few weeks (March 1998) and finally found the perfect bass at Rock Block.

So straight out of the swamps of the deep south, Ken eventually acquired the swamp ash and maple needed to create my bass. After a little photography and testing, the bass eventually made it to me in what seems like destiny.

I found my number 1.
Ya have a pic?
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Old 09-28-2010, 03:36 PM
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Default

Thank you for the warm welcome Tim.

It is much appreciated!!!
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Old 09-28-2010, 04:10 PM
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Thumbs up There it is....

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Thank you for the warm welcome Tim.

It is much appreciated!!!
You're welcome! That bass looks like a great player, Ray. I'd bet it feels, plays and sounds great!
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Old 09-29-2010, 01:59 AM
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Default Exactly

It feels, plays, and sounds awesome.

The swamp ash, maple, and bubinga are progressing wonderfully as the bass vibrations and a stable environment (temp/humidity) hone the molecules for an ideal transmission of music.

This bass is great at reproducing the unplugged sounds in an amplified situation.
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Old 09-29-2010, 02:02 AM
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Thumbs up Great...

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....This bass is great at reproducing the unplugged sounds in an amplified situation.
That's great and makes perfect sense. Enjoy!
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Old 09-29-2010, 02:09 AM
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Question Bubinga?

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....The swamp ash, maple, and bubinga are progressing wonderfully as the bass vibrations and a stable environment (temp/humidity) hone the molecules for an ideal transmission of music....
BTW - Where is bubinga being used in this bass?
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Old 09-29-2010, 03:00 AM
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Default

To the best of my knowledge, it's the fretboard.

Ken, please correct me if I'm wrong.
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Old 09-29-2010, 09:07 AM
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Default Bubinga?

Ray, the fretboard is most likely Pau Ferro.
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Old 09-29-2010, 09:58 AM
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Lightbulb fb wood..

Quote:
Originally Posted by Tim Bishop View Post
Ray, the fretboard is most likely Pau Ferro.
Tim, Ray, for awhile in the beginning, the Js and some Ms were made with Bubinga fingerboards before switching to Morado. This one looks like Bubinga on the FB.

Here's the reason. Before Morado became commercially popular in the Guitar industry only a select few were using the wood. It was not at that time sold as sliced/cut fingerboard blanks. It was sold as lumber, 1" planks, random width, random length, random grain. Some pieces were quarter grain/vertical and some flat grain. Wide flat grain pieces we used for Tops. Narrow flat grain we used for neck strips. All of the 1" lumber had to be re-sawn, sliced in half.

Morado is very dense and its makup was hell on blades. In one shipment of lumber we were slicing we had 5 foot boards about 4-5 inches wide, mostly quartered fb grain but not all. We had an order for Japan to make about 300 FB blanks which were used on the Burners after 1993. We would get about 5 or 6 boards sliced in the band saw and then the blade was shot. For re-sawing Morado I would by 3 boxes of blades at a time, about 6-10 per box I think. These were 1" or so blades for a big old Porter Cable saw, 5hp or so. Could cut a Buick in half.. lol

Bubinga was also sold only as lumber and still is. The Morado in comparison is a much smaller tree, more defects in the lumber, lower yield per foot and only some of it suitable for FB cuts. The Bubinga is huge long, wide boards, mostly quarter grain, mostly defect free so much much higher yield in cutting parts out of it. One board I remember took two of us to move. It was about 24 inches wide, 16 feet long and was perfect just like a prime fingerboards. Two of these boards would make a Presidential conference table.

A few years later I met a wood supplier/importer than just starting cutting Fingerboard blanks in Bolivia (or Brazil?) out of Morado, perfectly quarter grained and wide and long for 5 and 6 string fingerboards. They also had regular boards for Guitar and 4-string bass that they would then sell in place of Rosewood to some major guitar companies that would make the switch from Rosewood.

We bought over the next few years 2-3,000 boards or so. A lot. I can't remember the quantity but I would buy several years of wood each order. It was such a good deal and no more re-sawing Morado for FBs and, we could replace the Bubinga FBs as well. At that point, the Js and Ms were switched to Morado. The first few years of these models however were made with beautiful quartered Bubinga boards which we made from lumber ourselves.

So, there you have the explanation why and how this bass came to have a Bubinga board..
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  #12  
Old 09-29-2010, 07:24 PM
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Default I was 95% sure but I can be wrong

The basses are wonderful with any of the woods Ken selects for his fretboards.

Your knowledge and articulate expression and passion relating to the creation of Ken Smith Basses is a beautiful thing. Reading about your history and experiences is like watching a really interesting documentary on tv.

Thank you Ken, you're awesome!!!

Last edited by Ray House; 09-29-2010 at 07:26 PM. Reason: I can't smell
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  #13  
Old 10-01-2010, 08:19 PM
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Ray House Ray House is offline
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Default #13 Another Octave Begins

Truth be told Music be bold.

My heros are inspiration, no longer a meal.

Sometimes numb sometimes real,
music is the only thing
that I can feel.
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