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Smith BSR5GN matching fretted and fretless


Kiwi
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In case anyone missed the sub-heading, both are now:




After a unfair and insulting accusation of product placement by Ken Smith on his forum last night when I was trying to be helpful to other members, I've decided I no longer want to be associated with Smith basses or Ken Smith. :) Besides which the money would be useful right now.

So up for sale are my matching fretted and fretless BSR5GN basses:

[b]2002 Smith BSR5GN[/b]



I bought this from Bob at the Bass Palace and its been my main gigging instrument for the last 5 years. There are a few very small barely visible and stone chip sized indentations mainly as a result of normal wear and tear and the finish being so soft. The bass features a 5 piece laminated neck of bubinga and maple with mahogany wings and 5A quilted maple facings with an ebony fingerboard. The bass is completely stock, has been well looked after and has just been fitted with a brand new set of Elixir strings.



Price is £1800 and includes a Smith hard case, a Smith strap and allen keys plus any other case candy I can find.


[b]2005 Smith BSR5GN fretless[/b]



I bought this from Evan at Bass NW in 2005 and its been my main fretless. There is virtually no wear or marks and the bass has been well looked after. The instrument is completely stock and features a 3 band eq with series/parallel switches as an extra option.

The bass features a 5 piece laminated neck of bubinga and maple with flame maple wings and walnut top with an unlined ebony fingerboard.



Price is £1900 because fretless basses are slightly less common and includes a Smith hard case, a Smith strap and allen keys plus any other case candy I can find.

Both instruments play like butter and have that typical Smith scoop with sweet treble and lots of warmth and growl. Goes without saying that they will be missed.


[b]T&C's[/b]
They will be available through this forum for the next 2 weeks and then I will be taking them to the Gallery for sale on consignment. The price of them will obviously increase to account for the Gallery's 15% commission.

Shipping is likely to be around £25 per bass but I would prefer to meet if possible for petrol money.

Feel free to PM me with questions or for more pics. :huh: No offers thanks because I know these basses WILL sell at these prices. Re: trades, I'm only interested in a headless Status Stealth 5 string or Series 2000 5 string or a Yamaha BBNEII + cash adjustment.

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Wow, this is staggering.

I would love that fretted 5. I started to scheme about how I could afford it, but truly, I can hardly justify it.

Good luck (grudgingly) with the sale. Want to spill what happened on the KS forum? By PM if you'd rather!

I've had dealings with Mr Smith and know how I feel about him.

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[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='317330' date='Oct 29 2008, 09:42 AM']Let just say as a Smith owner/player for the last 5 years I expect to be given the benefit of any doubt over my motives for posting there. I'll PM you with the details.[/quote] :huh:
Me too please.
Oh man, you know how much I covet that beautiful fretted 5... oh god, if I could even remotely afford it, I'd take it in a heartbeat... :)

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[quote name='Rich' post='317352' date='Oct 29 2008, 10:11 AM']:huh:
Me too please.
Oh man, you know how much I covet that beautiful fretted 5... oh god, if I could even remotely afford it, I'd take it in a heartbeat... :)[/quote]
I do mate and nothing would make me happier than to pass the fretted 5 on to you. :huh:

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OB1, the exchange was by PM. I know I'm not the only one who has had encounters so I'd prefer to avoid getting into the specifics in public or to encourage anyone to slag Ken Smith off on this thread. :)

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[quote name='walbassist' post='317398' date='Oct 29 2008, 11:09 AM']I think I've found the original post that has caused this. I assume it escalated somewhat in the PMs Steve?[/quote]
I've responded by PM, Gareth.

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I know it's not my place to tell you want to do, but it seems a bit radical to no longer play a bass because of whatever happened between you and the builder. I understand that you don't want to be associated with Ken Smith anymore for whatever reasons. But if the basses are as nice as you say they are, then I reckon neither of you are really benefiting from you selling them. He's losing an endorsement, and you're losing out on two very nice basses right?

/opinion :) (I don't know what happened on the Ken smith forums, so my opinion could be totally wrong)

Good luck with the sale!

Edited by thedonutman
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OMG !
That fretted is loverly....
Don't know what happened between you and Mr Smith but I had a bass built by a person who became very unhelpful and nasty. Couldn't keep the bass after that ! Every time I pick it up it would remind me of what happened and I would get upset and angry. Shame.

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[quote name='thedonutman' post='317486' date='Oct 29 2008, 12:38 PM']I know it's not my place to tell you want to do, but it seems a bit radical to no longer play a bass because of whatever happened between you and the builder. I understand that you don't want to be associated with Ken Smith anymore for whatever reasons. But if the basses are as nice as you say they are, then I reckon neither of you are really benefiting from you selling them. He's losing an endorsement, and you're losing out on two very nice basses right?

/opinion :huh: (I don't know what happened on the Ken smith forums, so my opinion could be totally wrong)

Good luck with the sale![/quote]
Fair enough donutman. :) I was thinking about retiring the Smith 5 fretted before it got too much player wear anyway. Its a great bass, however I was planning on keeping it for sentimental reasons. Obviously now thats changed.

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Without sounding like Janice from Friends, "oh my god" the fretted one is one beautiful piece of (b)ass. I wish I had a real job and not a PhD bursary!!!

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[quote name='walbassist' post='317398' date='Oct 29 2008, 11:09 AM']I know Ken can be fairly brusque, but this is sad indeed.[/quote]

+1

I've saw a thread on TalkBass a year or so ago where KS was surprisingly brusque..

Good luck with the sales CK!

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[quote name='flippyfloop' post='317606' date='Oct 29 2008, 02:32 PM']How much does the fretted weigh ?[/quote]
I can't actually tell you, I'm afraid! I don't have a set of bathroom scales or any other way of weighing it. It feels about the same as my stingray/cutlass/spector 6 if that means anything? Certainly not remarkably heavy or light. A number of other Basschatters have played it at BassBashes and remarked on how comfortable and easily it plays.

[quote name='silverfoxnik' post='317639' date='Oct 29 2008, 03:04 PM']+1

I've saw a thread on TalkBass a year or so ago where KS was surprisingly brusque..

Good luck with the sales CK![/quote]
Cheers Nik, its my understanding that the Talkbass thread lead to him setting up his own forum.

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[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='317656' date='Oct 29 2008, 03:22 PM']Cheers Nik, its my understanding that the Talkbass thread lead to him setting up his own forum.[/quote]
Interesting! It would appear then that basses are definitely his forte, whilst internet forums may very well not be...

That fretted bass is absolutely gorgeous by the way.. Perhaps you should keep just one of them to avoid completely 'throwing the baby out with the bath water', as the saying goes?

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Jamie: Hmm, sorry mate. If I could help you out, I would. Unfortunately I'm getting a bit particular in my old age :)

Paul : Not quite angry enough to do that I'm afraid. Nothing wrong with SX basses though. :huh:

Nik: I know it looks like I'm firing off on one, but I've been vascillating over selling anyway because of my work situation as you'll have seen in my collection thread. This event has made the decision a lot easier and less clouded by sentimentality. I know how to get a Smith-esque sound from a custom instrument (the secret isn't that mysterious) and I don't intend to get a new Smith in the future any more than I intend to purchase a new Musicman bass (for pretty much the same reasons as it so happens.)

BTW: already had a very serious bite on the Smith 5 fretted.

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