Ken Smith In The UK?

[AndyTravis]

can we get new Ken Smith Basses in the Uk?
I know Bernie Goodfellow was/is looking after the KSD Proto J line, but who looks after the daddy line?

Does anyone use one on here?

[lee650]

As far as i know, no one stocks new ones, ive recently aquired a BSR5 MW bloody lovely very happy with it ,was imported from the states by molan who bought it privately, bit of a gamble as i,d always lusted after one but had never ever played one - lee

Edited November 1, 2009 by lee650

[Kiwi]

Nobody does. In fact Alex told me that Ken once refused to take orders from the Bass Gallery because they hadn't sold enough of his instruments in the past. Go figure the business logic behind that one! But it seems clear that he's not that interested in the UK regardless of its potential as a market.

You'll have to import from the US, I'm afraid.

[leschirons]

[quote name='Crazykiwi' post='642293' date='Nov 1 2009, 05:15 AM']Nobody does. In fact Alex told me that Ken once refused to take orders from the Bass Gallery because they hadn't sold enough of his instruments in the past. Go figure the business logic behind that one! But it seems clear that he's not that interested in the UK regardless of its potential as a market.

You'll have to import from the US, I'm afraid.[/quote]

Now there's a man that knows how to run a business. DUH. It seems he's too far up his own arse.

[Lfalex v1.1]

In fairness, the handmade Smiths are hardly sold in massive volumes, so they're going to be a bit harder to get. On the other hand, if ]you import a new one, at least you can specify whatever options they cater for. The downside is that you aren't going to get to play YOUR one until it arrives.
And as for the KS business model, Status Graphite don't supply any shops directly (although for different reasons), and it doesn't seem to have damaged their reputation unduly. That said, I wonder if the Smith customer service experience can match Rob and Dawn's (rightly) legendary customer care.

Edited November 1, 2009 by Lfalex v1.1

[lee650]

Yeah here,s hoping i dont have to rely on mr Smith in the future, he sounds a bit of a tit, that being the case, im going to need some more wax/oil for the finish, has anyone used an alternative to the smith one or am i going to have to geal directly? thanks for any help lads - lee

[Gwilym]

I remember doing some research into importing a Smith bass a year or so ago - I can't find the link, but there was some info up on the Ken Smith forum. Basically, at one time at least, they weren't exporting any Smith basses to Europe because they did not conform to the EU RoHs Directive which seeks to limit harmful substances contained in electrical goods/components and this also includes musical instruments by virtue of their hardware/electronics/pickups. These regulations came into effect in 2006. I don't know if this is still the case though.

With regards to Ken not selling to the Gallery - this might seem idiosyncratic, but in some ways makes perfect sense. i.e. if Smith make a finite number of stock and they have retailers that have a proven track record of selling Smith basses, then surely you would give those retailers priority with the stock you have?

[Mr. Foxen]

I'm trying to get hold of some Ken Smith strings, favourite ones I've ever used, but had to get someone to pick them up whilst on a trip to America.

[peteb]

[quote name='AndyTravis' post='642276' date='Nov 1 2009, 01:16 AM']Does anyone use one on here?[/quote]
I've got a Ken Smith Burner 4 string - their budget range but still a cracking bass!

A guy out of a support band a while ago had a KS jazz and that was a very nice bass as well

[AndyTravis]

It does seem a shame that Mr.Smith has decided to not have a UK Agent. I'd buy one, if not two...i have only ever tried a six string, two too many, but still, an amazing bit of kit.

[chardbass]

I used to have a bolt-on Smith 5-er that I bought from the Bass Centre in its Wapping days ('98/9 ish)
Great bass but fell out with it as quick as I got into it.
Sold it for snip too
The US market for Smith must be huge compared to over here as it seems to be one of THE gospel basses to have along with MTD.

[Josh]

[quote name='chardbass' post='643041' date='Nov 2 2009, 01:00 AM']I used to have a bolt-on Smith 5-er that I bought from the Bass Centre in its Wapping days ('98/9 ish)
Great bass but fell out with it as quick as I got into it.
Sold it for snip too
The US market for Smith must be huge compared to over here as it seems to be one of THE gospel basses to have along with MTD.[/quote]

+ 1 on all of that.

And can definitely back up the last part as well.

[poptart]

Ken Smith basses are now available from Bass Direct, strings and accessories will also be stocked, please let me know if you need any information.

[url="http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_specialists/SMITH_bass_guitars.html"]http://www.bassdirect.co.uk/bass_guitar_sp...ss_guitars.html[/url]

Regards

Mark