New Product in the Wings!

[Ken Smith]

For the past few years we have been toying with an idea that I'm going to share with you now. Although it is not yet ready for Market, it IS in the final stages of Design.

The Product is an outboard B.M.T. Preamp with a Practice Amp feature built in as well.

It is the exact same Preamp as used on our Basses but has been physically re-designed to fit in a small Box that can be clicked on and off with a foot switch.

With so many passive Fender type Basses on the market today, this will give you a Smith Preamp without needing any modifications to the Bass. Currently when a person installs a new preamp (ours or some other) it is IN the Bass. When you sell that Bass for whatever reason, taking it out might not be a good thing to do especially if it leaves unused holes that were added for the modification. In addition, the Bass you sell may not fetch any higher higher price due to the modification done to the instrument. With the Preamp outboard, you can sell the Bass and KEEP the Preamp to use with any other Bass you like.

With the D.I.P. switches inside the Box, this can also be used for the Double Bass that has a Pickup on it or even a Guitar. Actually, you can probably play Trumpet thru it as well as anything else you like since the EQ frequencies span such a broad range.

Taking a trip by Car, on a Bus or Train somewhere? Sit in the back seat (of the Car, recommended ) and plug your instrument in, hook up your head phones, use the PreAmp/Practice Amp on batteries or plug it into the DC charger (normally used for phone, GPS or lighter.. 'don't smoke') and practice while the other person Drives... Even with a Smith Bass, you can use this product if for nothing else but to practice with on a trip or late at night at home, in your Dorm room or even back stage on your Gig Breaks because it has the headphone feature.

So, do you guys think this is something you can find a use for?

Your thoughts? Questions?

The name of the Product? Well, it has a name but you will see it printed on the box when it comes out..

[ED LOZANO]

Genius again Ken. I don't believe there is anything comparable on the market. Any thoughts on weight, dimension, and cost that you would be willing to share with us? I realize that it is only in the planing stages, but if you did design such a wonderful tool, I'm sure the other manufactures would scurry to follow suit, as usual. It sounds too good to be true for all the Fender owners dying to achieve your trademark sound!

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by ED LOZANO

Genius again Ken. I don't believe there is anything comparable on the market. Any thoughts on weight, dimension, and cost that you would be willing to share with us? I realize that it is only in the planing stages, but if you did design such a wonderful tool, I'm sure the other manufactures would scurry to follow suit, as usual. It sounds too good to be true for all the Fender owners dying to achieve your trademark sound!

Weight? .. Haven't completed one in the actual box yet but normal/average 'stomp box' weight if there is such a thing.

Dimension? .. Stomp Box on the medium to smaller size. It has a few knobs and stuff so it's not tiny but can be held in your hand. A belt-clip feature is on the table as well but not sure on that yet.

Cost? .. It will probably cost more than our 18V B.M.T. Preamp in Bulk that we sell now due to the fact is is that plus a Practice Amp and it's in a box so it's just more stuff.

I can say this, I think it looks pretty as far as the color I chose and the name is or will be 'catchy' to say the least.

Copied? Well, the market is not that huge for high end 'boxes' but we do expect some copy-cat action to occur.

[Allan Todd]

I think this would be a hot seller, my dad for one would probably buy one for recording as he loves the sound of my smith over his jazz bass.
as for running it from the mains would it be possible to have a voltage selector switch on it Ken?

[Michael Wilson]

Bravo Ken!!! I would buy the 1st proto type for my other non-Smith bass. This is great............

Mike

[Bob Faulkner]

You mention this will have dip switches. It would be much more convenient if the features they provide were available without having to open the box. Are you planning on putting external switches in place of the dip switches so the user can easily adjust the settings on the fly?

Would a rack mountable version be possible?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Allan Todd

I think this would be a hot seller, my dad for one would probably buy one for recording as he loves the sound of my smith over his jazz bass.
as for running it from the mains would it be possible to have a voltage selector switch on it Ken?

Currently it has a 110v adapter to charge or run it thru the wall or as an 18v unit without line power. Adding a 110/220 converter internally would raise the production cost.