John Patitucci Smith/Jackson 6 on YouTube.com

[Jeff Jenkins]

Ken,
Ive been looking for old clips of mid-80's Smith BT'S to have basis for comparison to my 85 Dovetail 4 P/J 85205. Taking John P. out of the equation, Im curious of the tone on these sets of videos featuring this bass. First, that tone, is it only possible from the neck through, or should my setneck be capable of something close? Next, does JP's bass have the HAZLAB preamp like mine, or does it have the 86 and later Smith BT circuit? His bass appears to have two switches, just curious what the 2nd switch would do. Im thinking of sending you my bass for a fix on the nut and a fret dress, and maybe switching out the HAZLAB for the Smith BT circuit. Again, taking JP's hands and technical ability out of the equation, would my bass be capable of tone like that if it had the BT circuit, even though its set neck and P/J? Thanks and let me know a good time to send my bass to you.
-Jeff Jenkins

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Jeff Jenkins

Ken,
Ive been looking for old clips of mid-80's Smith BT'S to have basis for comparison to my 85 Dovetail 4 P/J 85205. Taking John P. out of the equation, Im curious of the tone on these sets of videos featuring this bass. First, that tone, is it only possible from the neck through, or should my setneck be capable of something close? Next, does JP's bass have the HAZLAB preamp like mine, or does it have the 86 and later Smith BT circuit? His bass appears to have two switches, just curious what the 2nd switch would do. Im thinking of sending you my bass for a fix on the nut and a fret dress, and maybe switching out the HAZLAB for the Smith BT circuit. Again, taking JP's hands and technical ability out of the equation, would my bass be capable of tone like that if it had the BT circuit, even though its set neck and P/J? Thanks and let me know a good time to send my bass to you.
-Jeff Jenkins

I think you are confused here. Let's clarify a few things. HAZ is a company that has made all of our Circuits since the start, not a model. BT is Bass/Treble. The early ones before 1987 had 4 knobs. Some had 3, 2 or 1 switch. The 2 switch models had stand-by and Phase. The singles had only Standby. The 3s I believe were v-v-b-t and the 3rd switch a pu selector. More old school guitar style. This was the first in 1981 but only made a few. Then it was 2 and finally 1 switch. All were the same BT 4-knob preamps. The late '86-'87 version (made till 1993) were the concentric version with 3 knob. The bs/tr a stack knob.

JPs Bass was a NT-6. Your Bass is a BO4. The Neck joint is a slightly different sound BUT the 6 string has so much more wood in the Neck and will affect the sound much more than the neck joint/set style. A 6 sounds different than a similarly made 4, period. Yours is P/J and his was Soapbars. That's another huge factor in the sound so that coupled with the Neck size you are comparing apples and oranges.

If your Bass came in for set-up/repairs, the Circuit would not be touched unless something was actually broken. It is the same Circuit most likely as the JP6 switches aside.

If you have any more questions, you are welcome to call me at the office during the week.

[Jeff Jenkins]

Yes, you are right, I was confused. I thought that HAZ made the pres up until 86 and then you went with a different pre. If it truly is the same pre, then there is no need for a change there. Of course I do understand the difference in wood from a six to a four, and of course I do expect more sustain from the N.T. and more punch from a set neck or B.O. I really like my bass, though JP's sounds great in that video, Im not a 6 man, and the P.J. sound was really what I wanted. Last Tuesday I had the opportunity of using my Smith in the studio for a theater project. I was amazed at the punchy Jazz sound combined at the same time with the round 60's P sound. I had the pickups both on and the bass and treble slightly boosted. This is going to be a great studio bass, but Im having trouble replicating that sound live. Anyway, I am going to be wanting to send this bass in for nut repair, fret dress, ASAP. Thanks.-Jeff