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Alembic Club » Swap Shop and Wish Lists » Seen on craigslist, eBay, and elsewhere » Archive through November 26, 2013 » Stanley Clarke Selling a personal bass on Ebay « Previous Next »

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jazzyvee
Senior Member
Username: jazzyvee

Post Number: 3455
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Thursday, May 02, 2013 - 6:16 am:   Edit Post

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-1981-Custom-Ken-Smith-STANLEY-CLARKE-Flying-V-Bass-Guitar-MUST-SEE-/190819926555?pt=Guitar&hash=item2c6dc1021b


Don't all rush at once.... :-)
Jazzyvee
that_sustain
Intermediate Member
Username: that_sustain

Post Number: 154
Registered: 8-2012
Posted on Thursday, May 02, 2013 - 6:27 am:   Edit Post

I've never seen the pics included in that sale. Is that the New Barbarians?
slawie
Senior Member
Username: slawie

Post Number: 515
Registered: 8-2002
Posted on Thursday, May 02, 2013 - 6:48 am:   Edit Post

That shape is, not quite my cup of tea. Nice wood though.
slawie
pasewark
Advanced Member
Username: pasewark

Post Number: 212
Registered: 4-2003
Posted on Thursday, May 02, 2013 - 7:45 am:   Edit Post

Everything looks so....random.
tmoney61092
Senior Member
Username: tmoney61092

Post Number: 869
Registered: 9-2008
Posted on Thursday, May 02, 2013 - 7:49 am:   Edit Post

This wins "most random bass ever" in my opinion, I'd love to hear it though

~Taylor
lbpesq
Senior Member
Username: lbpesq

Post Number: 5434
Registered: 7-2004
Posted on Thursday, May 02, 2013 - 8:18 am:   Edit Post

Notice that the Alembics get the couch ... everything else is on the floor!

hehehehe

Bill tgo
cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member
Username: cozmik_cowboy

Post Number: 1471
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Thursday, May 02, 2013 - 4:16 pm:   Edit Post

I like this! The V body in general is not my favorite, but this take on it has a strange elegance; move the decimal in the price one place left, though.........

Peter
klinkepeter
Intermediate Member
Username: klinkepeter

Post Number: 109
Registered: 2-2008
Posted on Monday, May 20, 2013 - 8:24 am:   Edit Post

kinda ugly but seems to have some history, anyway:17500$ is a lot of money for a bass probably will not be played seriously on stage
sonicus
Senior Member
Username: sonicus

Post Number: 2907
Registered: 5-2009
Posted on Monday, May 20, 2013 - 8:45 am:   Edit Post

I would call that the Caudal Fin (tail fin)
811952
Senior Member
Username: 811952

Post Number: 2305
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Sunday, May 26, 2013 - 2:14 pm:   Edit Post

It's a Ken Smith. What more needs to be said?

John
pauldo
Senior Member
Username: pauldo

Post Number: 987
Registered: 6-2006
Posted on Monday, May 27, 2013 - 6:38 am:   Edit Post

Daniel, that does look like the New Barbarians.
Sorry about the hijack . . .
I had a bootleg cassette w/ Stan doing a killer solo on "Am I Groovin' You?". Some wanker stole my car stereo and took that cassette, they also took a cassette that had the last on-air hour of WZMF recorded on it.

I wish they would have stolen the whole car (Mercury Monarch) and left the cassettes . . . :-(
jacko
Senior Member
Username: jacko

Post Number: 3372
Registered: 10-2002
Posted on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - 7:26 am:   Edit Post

John..
"It's a Ken Smith. What more needs to be said?"

is that good or bad? I listened to hadrien Feraud playing a Ken Smith at a UK bassday a few years ago and it was the worst sounding performance of the day. He was using a markbass rig but other players used the same rig and sounded great (even with a P bass) so I'm tempted to say it was the bass - especially since I bought his solo album on the day and the bass is very dull and muffled all the way through.

Graeme

p.s. this is the only ken smith bass I've heard up close. I have John Patitucci's first couple of solo albums and the smith on those sounds fine..... but they're on vinyl :-)
that_sustain
Intermediate Member
Username: that_sustain

Post Number: 165
Registered: 8-2012
Posted on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - 8:20 am:   Edit Post

Thanks Paul. I've read about that tour being a vacation for Stanley.

There are some switches on the early Smiths that look like Alembic parts.
lidon2001
Senior Member
Username: lidon2001

Post Number: 515
Registered: 4-2005
Posted on Tuesday, May 28, 2013 - 11:25 pm:   Edit Post

Milwaukee was definitely not a vacation stop on that tour; I was there.

Here's some pics:

http://rollingstonesyesterdayspapers.blogspot.com/2011/11/new-barbarians-concert-photos-milwaukee.html
bigbadbill
Senior Member
Username: bigbadbill

Post Number: 537
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Friday, June 21, 2013 - 5:09 pm:   Edit Post

Graeme, I saw Feraud at Bass Day and loved his sound. Thought the performance was a bit too out for me but after Stanley he has my favourite solo sound.
jazzyvee
Senior Member
Username: jazzyvee

Post Number: 3547
Registered: 6-2002
Posted on Monday, July 29, 2013 - 10:42 am:   Edit Post

Seems like two offers have been made on the bass.

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Vintage-1981-Custom-Ken-Smith-STANLEY-CLARKE-Flying-V-Bass-Guitar-MUST-SEE-/190819926555?pt=Guitar&hash=item2c6dc1021b

Jazzyvee
811952
Senior Member
Username: 811952

Post Number: 2341
Registered: 10-2003
Posted on Monday, July 29, 2013 - 10:52 am:   Edit Post

Graeme, I'm not a Ken Smith bass fan. ;-) He's the only guy I've ever met who told me I was playing the instrument wrong.

John
hifiguy
Advanced Member
Username: hifiguy

Post Number: 378
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Monday, July 29, 2013 - 5:34 pm:   Edit Post

That is NOT an attractive bass, at least IMO, regardless of provenance.
jim777
New
Username: jim777

Post Number: 4
Registered: 9-2013
Posted on Thursday, September 12, 2013 - 1:46 pm:   Edit Post

"It's a Ken Smith. What more needs to be said?

John"

At the time this bass was made, Vinnie Fodera was doing 95%+ of Ken's woodworking in NY. I think you can definitely credit Ken with the electronics package (filters galore) on this one but this bass was almost certainly built by Vinnie Fodera for Ken Smith, not by Ken himself.
pasewark
Advanced Member
Username: pasewark

Post Number: 223
Registered: 4-2003
Posted on Thursday, September 12, 2013 - 2:17 pm:   Edit Post

Ghastly
charles_holmes
Advanced Member
Username: charles_holmes

Post Number: 270
Registered: 3-2009
Posted on Thursday, September 12, 2013 - 4:54 pm:   Edit Post

Referring to the July 29, 2013 post,I'm unclear as to how you were playing the bass wrong. Were you playing it with your toes?
cozmik_cowboy
Senior Member
Username: cozmik_cowboy

Post Number: 1569
Registered: 10-2006
Posted on Thursday, September 12, 2013 - 9:42 pm:   Edit Post

And what if he was? I saw John McEuan play banjo with his toes once; sounded pretty darn good!

Peter
jim777
New
Username: jim777

Post Number: 5
Registered: 9-2013
Posted on Friday, September 13, 2013 - 9:52 pm:   Edit Post

I know Ken can be a VERY opinionated guy, but honestly I love his basses. I think he was very influenced by Alembic on the visual side, and I think it has served him well. I would never turn up a chance to play one of his basses just because he can be so...persnickety? Yes, persnickety. You don't hear that word as much as you might, like 'zany'. He's also sort of a PITA lol :-)
mtjam
Member
Username: mtjam

Post Number: 76
Registered: 11-2011
Posted on Saturday, September 14, 2013 - 3:49 am:   Edit Post

I had a Ken Smith 5-string BSRM5 for a while, but I never got the sound I wanted from it. It was a very solidly built bass, relatively lightweight, and felt great. However, the sound just never did it for me. I have watched other people play different Smith models and make them sound excellent, though.

I always loved the look of Smith basses since I first saw them on their string packages I used to get when I first started playing bass in the 80s. Then my hero, Phil Lesh, played one for a while so that made them even cooler in my mind.

I have read before about Ken Smith's sometimes abrasive personality, but I never had to deal with him myself. Bringing my rambling back to Alembic, I am so glad I have finally found my sound with my Distillate, Orion, and Series 2 basses.

Also, I have found my dealings with Alembic to be the best! Those Wickershams make the ultimate basses, and are always a pleasure to talk to.

I suppose that's why we are all here...for life!
bassmanblue
New
Username: bassmanblue

Post Number: 3
Registered: 9-2013
Posted on Thursday, September 19, 2013 - 11:14 am:   Edit Post

after a good look at this bass it's not so much a flying v as a tulip a flower/ it is a one on a kind but there is something odd about it

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