User:Msmith0957/Ken Smith Basses

Ken Smith Basses is an American Manufacturer of Electric Bass Guitars.

Origins
Ken Smith started out as a career Bass player on both Upright and Electric Bass Guitar. Smith's earliest motivations for Bass Building was out of the need for a better bass to play on gigs and in the studio. His credits include working in about 18 Broadway shows as a sub and a regular, playing on about 2,000 commercial jingles, movie sound tracks including two brief on screen appearances, Radio City Music Hall Orchestra, playing and recording with the Glenn Miller Band, backing up several famous singers in concert including Frank Sinatra Jr., Johnny Mathis, Pery Como, Shirley Bassey, Ginger Rogers, and many more. In late 1987, Smith officially retired from being a professional musician to pursue his growing Bass business. Inspired by his 1710 Rogeri Italian Double Bass, Ken sought out to design a superior electric bass than what was available in 1978.

In 1976, with the help of Carl Thompson, the first proto-type bass was made. Smith played that bass for a few years on his jobs and showed the bass around as well to other professional players as well as his bass students that he currently had been teaching privately. After encouragement from fellow players Anthony Jackson and Stanley Clarke, and a successful showing at the 1979 NAMM Show with the second proto-type made with the help of Stuart Spector and his employee Vinnie Fodera, Smith produced its first batch of 16 Bass blanks/carcasses (woodwork only) in the latter half of 1979 in collaboration with the Spector shop. Only one more group of 16 bass blanks were produced in that shop totaling 32 bass blanks in all. All of the assembly was done in NYC by Ken Smith at his Studio/office. In Mid 1980, Smith opened a small shop in Brooklyn of only 800 sqft with the help and assistance of Fodera who left Spector to work with and for Ken Smith. By late 1983, Fodera and two partners purchased the shop contents in order to start their own business. Within that agreement, Fodera would complete bass blanks with neck and body parts already started by Ken Smith. Most of these were completed by 1985 but the last few were completed in early 1986. Less than 200 bass carcasses were made in Brooklyn within the 3 entities between 1979 and 1986. All basses were completed with parts, hardware, electronics and set-up in NYC at the Ken Smith Studio/office.

In 1984-85, Smith started searching out other possibilities for making his basses. This moved the operation to Pennsylvania where a small shop that made furniture and guitar parts made about 100 bass parts in 2 piece form, aka dove-tail (hidden mortised neck joint). The necks were designed to mortise into the body instead of a bolt-on design. This started a few years earlier in the first Brooklyn shop along with Fodera in order to produce a less expensive model by design. All other basses were made in a modified neck-thru design, having a laminated heel in 2 pieces glued to the back of the multi-laminated neck that ran thru the body in front from end to end. To complete the assembly of all the wood parts and finish them, another builder Mike Dresdner, was contracted who was then in New Jersey. Smith would pick up the neck and body parts from the shop in Pa. and drive then to NJ. When completed, he would pick them up and drive them back to the shop in NYC and complete them.

During all of this time, Ken Smith was still an active full time professional Bass player in and around NY.

By late 1986 Mike Dresdner moved from NJ to PA to work in and lease space at the cabinet shop where we had started there. In 1987, Smith helped finance Dresdner to move and set-up a new shop in Perkasie, PA. with Dresdner contracted to make all of the bass blanks, still being completed in NYC. In that same year (1987) Smith moved his Studio/office from his Manhattan 13th street to an office building on 20th street, walking distance. This office was also 800 sqft, the same size as the first Brooklyn shop. All basses were completed and set-up in there from mid 1987 - 1995.

Around 1990, Dresdner moved to a larger building directly across from the 1987 facility. Within a year, Smith bought out his interest in the woodworking business and assumed the lease of the property. Within a year, Smith decided that her would move all of his operations to Pa. including Family and Home. In late 1994 Smith purchased a house in an adjacent town and moved the family out at the end of the school year the following June. By 1997 it was apparent that the current shop building of 10,000 sqft was less than optimum due to its original construction and layout. In late 1997 Smith entered into a purchase agreement on an old Pants Factory building of 14,000 sqft and a 30 car parking lot across the street. This is now the current home of Ken Smith basses since moving in completely in June of 1998.

Exotic Woods
Smith basses are well known for their unique selection of exotic woods from around the world, including Indonesia, Nicaragua, Africa, Bolivia, and indigenous woods of the United States. Each instrument's wood selections are hand picked by Smith and his small staff of bass builders. All wood is aged for years at a time, with some aged more than 12 years.

Smith Bass Construction
As a service to its customers, KSB offers factory visits to show the building process first hand.

Bolt-On
While waiting nearly 2 years for Japan to make the 6-string with a wide neck, Smith designed their own USA made bolt-on, first in a 6-string. These were based on the populat BT neck-thru model and made with body-wings and a center block to mimic the neck-thru BT models. These were considered internally as a a BT Bolt-on coined 'BTBO' but that name was never used for the model in marketing. There were 28 CR6-string models made in the latter half of 1991. Having met with Chuck Rainey earlier that year at the NAMM 1991 show and Chuck being Ken's favorite R&B bassist, Ken dedicated the model to Chuck Rainey with his initials on it, CR. Although the Chuck Rainey name was never used in the marketing of the bass directly, it became known as his model because of his famous recordings using a bolt-on Fender bass. The other definition for CR which was never used as well was 'Crunch Resonator'. Having been designed and completed before a name was finalized for the model, it still remains a dedication to this great musician. In 1992, the CR5-String was added to the line and the first CR4-string was completed by special order in May 1993 and then added to the line as well completing the model mix.

In 1996 the BSR model was designed which was a Fusion of the BT/CR and the BSR model that was then in production. Although being focused more on the Neck-thru models today, the Bolt-on basses are still offered in both the CR(BT) shape and the BSR shape.

Burner Series
In 1989, Smith went to Japan to produce a new affordable model based in the BT design that had become popular. Toshio Moridaira, a friend of Smith owned a large distribution company in Tokyo (MMI) and a modest sized Guitar factory in Nagano Japan (Morris Guitars). From 1987, it was decided to make only the neck-thru design being that with good jig work, it was not all that much harder than the perceived 2-pc mortise design then known and still now as the Dovetail construction. With only a neck-thru hand made model being offered in 4, 5 and 6-string, it seemed plausible to introduce a high quality import model first in 4 and 5 string and then by 1991, a 6-string as well.

Ken Smith Design (KSD) Basses
Designed and licensed by Ken Smith, KSD Basses are a Fender-style Jazz Bass targeting the lower-end market of Electric Basses.

Notable Players
Players of Ken Smith Basses range from the hobbyist to professional studio musicians. Al "The Burner" Turner, Trevor Lindsey, Melvin Lee Davis, Ricky Minor, Marcus Miller, "Ready" Freddie Washington, John Patitucci, Anthony Jackson, KC Hunter, and Phil Lesh have been known to play Smith Basses and Strings over the years.