More fakes on Ebay..

[Ken Smith]

This is a total Fake. I will copy the AD and Pics here so you guys and the rest of the world know what is NOT a Smith Bass in any way, shape or form..



Here is what the AD says (the Seller is 'manco720' from Sapulpa, OK)

"This is a great bass guitar I bought off of ebay awhile back. I moved and need the money so I have to sell it! It says Ken Smith & C.R. Customs on the headstock and is an extremely nice bass. The action & bridge need readjusted. I put heavier strings on it and tried to adjust it myself, when I switched back to regular strings and tried to readjust it again I had some buzzing that wasn't originally there before I messed with it. There are some dings and nicks in the red paint on the body but overall it is in good condition. The neck feels great and it plays and sounds great except for needing the setup to eliminate the buzzing I caused. The electronics work, it stays in tune well, it has a nice tone and sound in my opinion. I will also throw in a gig bag I have for it.
I am selling this bass as-is, as pictured in need of professional setup. I don't really know any more than I have already listed here, but feel free to ask questions."


Someone please call Ebay and get this guy and his fake Squashed!

[Eric Rene Roy]

Amazing that you have to deal with this crap! I hope we never have to.

Actually we do....all my text and pictures too of our clef guts is being ripped off by some indian company and no matter how many eMails I write neither the company or eBay will remove the ads. Jeeze...go ask that indian company what PC even is in the text!

Anyway, sorry for the rant. Hope you have some lawyer bassists who can help you out!

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Eric Rene Roy

Amazing that you have to deal with this crap! I hope we never have to.

Actually we do....all my text and pictures too of our clef guts is being ripped off by some indian company and no matter how many eMails I write neither the company or eBay will remove the ads. Jeeze...go ask that indian company what PC even is in the text!

Anyway, sorry for the rant. Hope you have some lawyer bassists who can help you out!

Lawyer bassists? Well, counterfeiting is a federal crime. In the past with this same issue back in the Tx/Ok area I spoke with the FBI down there. Then it stopped for awhile. The 'Cash America' Pawn Shops had a few of these come thru. I suspect they would buy it from some individual and then market it. I spoke as well with their Legal Dept. It did stop a few years ago but now this one has just popped up. The Bass itself is not anything but a cheap Bass but it is using my name and one of my Model #s. It is the Name I am concerned about.

We also had some problem with a guy in Brazil trying to make Smith-looking knock-offs. I spoke with him directly. He joined both the TB forum and this one as well. He has since stopped and made his own design or at least doesn't copy me anymore.

Most people know enough to ask us before buying such an obvious non-Smith Bass with our name on it. Still, it takes time to chase things down and make sure no one falls victim to the Scam.

Hey, at least we are worth copying. That says something for success I heard. If only I could take to the Bank each act of flattery..

[Richard Hall]

Enlighten me on how the copyright thing works. I understand it is enfringement to put a manufacturers name on a guitar falsely. What about builders who make instruments that look similiar to a Ken Smith? We know there are a lot out there...

[Jo Dorn]

Over here ebay seems to react on complaints regarding fakes and copyright violation. I saw a few F...-copies beeing taken from the ebay-platform recently. It seems that on the German market only very few high-class instrument-fakes are offered, allthough there is a high amonut of 'vintage'-fakes concerning Les Paul guitars and Strats. Maybe the high-class brands like Ken Smith and Spector etc. aren't so well known to a larger amount of people over here, so copying isn't lucrative enough.