FYI, George Furlanetto had that trademark design and shape with neck-through bodies, oil-finished figured maple and Padauk back in the early 80's, LONG before Ken Smith's instruments became popular almost a decade later. He switched to bolt-on necks as he claimed that the instruments produced better sustain and clarity throughout their tonal range. His original instruments had Bartolini pickups until he developed his own unique line which you see today. I used to visit his little shop in Hamilton, Ontario on King William Street when it was called 'The Guitar Clinic' before he moved to a larger space in the industrial part of Hamilton's North end where he expanded his business and production line. His instruments inspired me to take up woodworking in college. George is truly a master craftsman. 🙏
Good point on the thing about pickup placement, i dont think anyone would really get angry about it, I mean shoot if you look at it, both Spector and Sadowsky nabbed those pickup placements for basses of theirs as well, Spector, Ken Smith, and Fodera all worked with or for one another at some point, it's only natural for ideas to blend together.
That Smith-inspired F Bass Deluxe looks and sounds great, but nothing can touch a Ken Smith in my humble opinion!!! Whenever I see a Ken Smith video, I miss the Black Tiger 5 I had many years ago and still regret selling it!!!
I prefer the standard BN5 but found the “slap” tone of the inspired BN5 to be really great as well. Next to both F Bass, the Smith sounds a bit anemic with a midrange I’m not super fond of. Thanks for taking the time to make this video!
Donovan, you described the tones of the basses PERFECTLY! I strongly prefer the conventional BN5's tone; it is more versatile and useable in more songs. Next I like the BN5 deluxe with alternate pickup placements. It is more versatile and far more usable than the Smith. The Smith has a chirpy, novelty tone that's nice to hear once in awhile, but I definitely would NOT want that tone in all the songs I play. BTW, I don't like "Smith-inspired" as a name for the model. Grumpy Smith should NOT be the one immortalized in Furlanetto's work! How 'bout the "FBass BN5 FSE Deluxe" (FSE = FretSpot Exclusive).
