molan

I picked up this lovely Ken Smith, in a recent trade but I'm having a bit of a clear out at the moment and, as this was the latest acquisition, I decided it should be the first to go! It's 2002 Ken Smith BSR 4MW (bolt-on neck) model with, I think, a claro walnut top & rear and that classic, and classy, Smith tone. Nothing else ever sounds quite like a Smith. They are known for a very clear & precise articulate sound with nice lower mids and a sort of bright and open 'ring' to the high end. This doesn't necessarily mean they are overly bright and harsh though. You can get a surprising number of different sounds from the Smith onboard eq. In fact it's hard to get a 'bad' sound from one! I've been playing this at home through my Jule Monique/Demeter rig (also for sale) & it sounds lovely. Hard to explain just what a Smith sounds like but this clip gives you an idea (it's a different model & a 5 string but there is a real uniformity to that famous Smith sound from bass to bass): The necks on Smiths are particularly nice and will take a very, very, low action if required. I can genuinely play things on this bass that I wouldn't attempt on almost all of my others (although I certainly can't play like Peanut Woods, lol). Overall the Smith is in excellent condition. A few small marks on the lower rear but these would probably polish out if required. Front of the bass and fretboard look immaculate. It comes with the original Smith hardcase and, sheepskin padded, leather strap. Happy to ship anywhere in the UK or EU at cost. Payment via bank transfer or PayPal friends & family only. Photos are borrowed from the trade deal but i can take more if required:

I’d loosely allowed for: Monique: £1,200 800D: £500 NOW SOLD Bag: £75

Do bass amps come any better than this? Genuinely never thought I'd sell this but I'm using modelling amps these days and I have a few big bills to pay . . . NOTE THAT THIS WAS PREVIOUSLY ADVERTISED WITH A DEMETER POWER AMP BUT THIS HAS NOW BEEN SOLD SEPARATELY. There are pages & pages of personal reviews of Jule Potter's marvellous Monique, both here and over on Talkbass. It's simply one of the best valve/tube pre-amps ever made. Note that this particular one has the pull/push option on both line level and sensitivity. It's a fairly expensive job to work on these over here in the UK so it's much better to have one that already has this functionality. Works equally well on-stage or in a studio environment. I've used this set-up 2-3 times live and twice in a studio for recording. In fact the last time I recorded anything the studio engineer couldn't stop raving about how lovely Monique sounded. Normally he insists on using his own house DI system but was intrigued by Monique and made an exception for me As mentioned above they've only been gigged a few times and in the studio twice. The rest of time it's nestled in the little gig bag or sitting on top of my Bergantino 2x10 for home practice. It's immaculate and everything works without a single scratchy pot. From what i can see Monique is currently priced at over £1,600 and the gig bag adds another £150 making a total new price of £1,750. In all honesty, nothing in the world of bass amplification looks quite as funky as the Monique in Dove Cage format! I am happy to ship to UK or EU at cost provided that payment is made in advance - either by Bank Transfer or PayPal friends & family. First pic below is the actual unit & other pics are stock shots simply because they are better than I can take: Note: Minnie 800D is NOT included in this sale!

Still really like this one!

But have you got a ‘tribute back’ that can handle the weight 🤔 😂

I do love a Celinder! I generally prefer them with the active pre-amp but, as it happens, I just happen to have one stashed away 😉

My old bass! I think I was the first owner - no idea why I sold it 🤦‍♂️ Lovely thing with a fabulous woody / earthy tone. Records really well.

Perfect! Is the J the newer humcancelling version or a single coil?

Two quick questions: Any idea of weight? What is the width at the nut?

Does it have the classic 1.75” nut or the more modern 1.625” that Fender often use?

No one does quilt maple quite like Roger - beautiful bass!

Ah, I knew it had gone to a good home but couldn’t remember which one 🤦‍♂️

Great basses - inspired me to drag mine out of storage. Pretty much the same but bright pink instead of purple!

Link to red is above - this is the white one: https://ritter-instruments.com/instrument.php?id=1187

This one? https://ritter-instruments.com/instrument.php?id=1501

I used to own one almost identical to this but with a conventional 34” scale. Lovely thing it was too! I now have a pair of gloss finish Coras - one white & the other red. This would look great to go with those two but I’d need to sell stuff first

If I thought I could sell something quickly then I’d have this without a second thought. I have a US Lakland J in a, very funky, custom refinish by Martin Sims that is great to play but it’s a shade too heavy for me to gig with. This is a perfect gigging weight I think.

These are quite different beasts from the current 'Standard' models. If I remember rightly they were built in very small batches, maybe 10 - 20, and in the main custom shop by the, at the time, very limited number of luthiers. I think they were kind of a 'test' series to work out a way of batch-building to sit alongside the core custom lines. At the time the only way to get a Fodera was to place a full custom order. The idea behind these was to build the small batches in popular combinations but with no custom specs. All built alongside the custom basses. This allowed people to sample the full Fodera bass experience without the, circa 2 year, wait time and at a more affordable price (bearing mind that an 'affordable' Fodera is still a LOT of money to many players). The natural follow on to these was the Standard series we now have. Simpler construction, the biggest time saving is the straight headstock instead of angled back, followed by the rear cutaway, and generally larger build numbers. I've owned 5 or 6 Foderas and although my early standard is the lowest cost it's actually the only one I've hung on to! I certainly think these are worth a decent amount more than most of the current Standard models you'll see on the used market (although the newer Ltd editions are getting quite special / pricey now). Definitely worth £3K+