THE ROGUE VS SMITH

[Malachiah (yekcko)]

Has anyone compared their five string Rogue to a Ken smith bass, I play gospel, and I have a Rogue, please share opinions!
 

[Rami Sourour (rami)]

That's a REALLY beautiful Rogue you've got there!!!  
I've tried Ken Smith basses on several occasions.  4's, 5's and 6's.   No comparison.  They don't have the great balance of the Rogue, or that great feeling neck.  I'm not going to use this opportunity to put down any other maker's product, but just remember that before Alembic, nobody else made basses like that.  Ken Smith's basses are nice, but he owe's his success to the influence of Alembic (As do ALL other high end bass manufacturers).  Why buy a Honda when you can own a Harley?   Ken Smith can't make a bass that will make me convert.  
 
Just my opinion....  
 
Sincerely,
 
Rami

[Rami Sourour (rami)]

Another thing about Ken Smith basses...they all look alike!!!  Where's the creativity and style in his basses?  Alembics on the other hand show a true artistic beauty as well as masterful woodworking.  There's the difference between a bass put together with nice woods and a true work of art incorporating exotics woods.
You can become attached to an Alembic bass, where with others you can buy and sell them without a second thought.  They're keepers.
 
Once again, just my opinion.
 
Rami

[Matt Bulmer (prime)]

Hey Mal,
 
Welcome to the board!
 
That is a nice bass. I played that a few months back at Gguitars and thought it was pretty intense. I hadn't been a fan of the Rogue until I played that bass. As far as Ken Smith, I'm with Rami. I played the Smiths at Gguitars and while I can say that the Smiths were very high quality, I did not appreciate their sound as much as I appreciated the sound of the Alembics. I'd suggest you go over to Gguitars (unless you got the bass online) and compare them yourself. I think you'll be glad you've got the Rogue.
 
Matt

[Dino Monoxelos (dean_m)]

Uh Oh Rami,
 
Here's another Harley/Alembic reference!!!  Do I see another thread starting here!?!?
 
HA!!
 
Happy New Year!!

[Malachiah (yekcko)]

What does Dino mean by this statement
 
Here's another Harley/Alembic reference!!! Do I see another thread starting here!?!?  
 
should I not have ask the question regarding The Rouge vs Smith I was seeking sincere responses from owners/players of the rogue who have tried Kens Smiths basses, not trying to start a debate, BTW, let me clear this up.... I own a high end Alembic Rouge, as you can see in the picture, but not a high end Smith bass, I have their entry level Burner bass, and its a VERY good sounding bass, But before I spend my money getting a Smith high end bass, I wanted to know from my fellow Rogue owners/players if it would even be worth it, or if they felt the Rouge is more than enough and then some! can you feel me?
Peace!

[Matt Bulmer (prime)]

I think Dino is referring to a similar discussion (Ken Smith / Alembic) a while back in the old yahoo group, where someone used Harleys as a metaphor for Alembics and Japanese bikes as a metaphor for the Alembic-influenced basses, namely the Ken Smiths.  
 
As far as the question I think it's totally valid and as near as I can tell you've gotten nothing but honest opinions from people who own (Rami) or have played (myself) both the Rogues and the Smiths. I have played the exact bass that you posted the picture of and compared it to equivalent Smiths in the same sitting on the same amp and can say that I honestly liked the Rogue MUCH better than the Smiths.  
 
1 thing I did NOT like in particular about the Smiths was the EXTREMELY, SUPER-DUPER, CRAZY WIDE, each string is in it's own stinking timezone string spacing.  Also if I were going to spend as much money as a High end Smith  costs , I'd want the ability to customize the bass to a fair extent, and you are not going to get that at Ken Smith.
 
Matt

[Dino Monoxelos (dean_m)]

Malachiah,
 
I was only trying to be funny and I didn't mean anything by it.  What happened a while back was, in one of the threads, we had started talking about Harley's and next thing you know, after about 7 or 8 messages, we got completely off the subject and on to motorcycles.  I truley do apologize, I was only trying to add a bit of humor.  As much as I take playing music and helping out fellow Alembic players seriously, I also try to add some humor as well.
On a more serious note though, I've played a few Rogues in the past as well as the Ken Smiths.  As nice as the Ken Smith's are, I do agree with Matt and Rami.  The Rogue will become a part of you as will any Alembic.  I'm sure we've all owned numerous basses in the past but, for some reason they all seem like just basses to a certain degree.  An Alembic becomes part of the family.  That's why most of us name our Alembics!!
When I'm long gone from this world, I know my grandkids will probably still be playing my Alembics!!!    
On a service standpoint, I really don't know what kind of support Smith offers, I'm sure everyone in this club can attest to the level of support you will get from the folks at Alembic though!!!  
Anyway, good luck with your new family member and again I apologize for the misunderstanding!!
 
Have a Happy & Peaceful New Year,
 
Dino

[Rami Sourour (rami)]

I think Matt made the most important point when he mentioned that Alembic will let you customize your Rogue to whatever you can imagine.  I know of no other company that will let you completely redesign an already existing model.  You choose the number of strings, the woods, the electronics, you can even modify the body shape.  Alembic is the dream factory where they'll build whatever you can imagine.  I doubt Ken Smith will go that far - I may be mistaken, but I've never seen a Ken Smith bass like this!  
 
http://www.alembic.com/info/fc_trip.html
 
This has got to be the wildest Rogue I've ever seen!!!
 
Go for it!!!
 
Best wishes guys!
 
Rami

[Malachiah (yekcko)]

Dino, no problems my friend, I just wanted to make sure I was not in the wrong or I said something on this forum that I should not have said, since I am new to this forum, and love it! I appreciate your concern enough to offer an apology, and thanks for the info and your opinion regarding the two basses. I think I need to name my bass now.  
 
Much peace to you my friend!!!!

[Malachiah (yekcko)]

HEY RAMI!!!!!!!!!
 
I checked out the link http://www.alembic.com/info/fc_trip.html  
 
THAT IS ONE BEAUTIFUL BASS, I THINK I WILL TRY TO ENLARGE IT AND PUT IT IN A FRAME, SINCE THATS AS CLOSE TO ONE AS I CAN GET FOR NOW!!!!
 
THANKS FOR THE INFO REGARDING MY QUESTIONS!!!

[Armando (omega_heart81)]

I'm sorry, but I think you didn't get this 3d in the right way... 'cause everyone has different tastes... 'cause this is the Alembic Club, so why should we love Smiths??? ;-)
And, last but not least, 'cause every builder has its own choice about his product. Who owns a Smith is probably looking for a good, solid bass with a signature tone and very well done. There's a lot of people who just don't care about the design or about the woods/electronics options. They play a bass, if they like it, they'll buy it... play and simple! :-)
I'm not a Smith owner, though, but I wanted to share my point of view before I get my first Alembic :-)

[Daniel Tracey (dannobasso)]

I got a chance to meet tripo at Summer NAMM in Nashville. I was walking around and I saw that bass. I knew it from the site and struck up a conversation. Trip demonstrates GK amps. He let me try it out. This bass is amazing. I have a 7str fretless that is almost as wide so it was not too much of a stretch. He is an amazing player and designed the bass to be played a la stick (touch / tap) and fingerstyle as well as slap. It all works! I have a stickbass and this thing kicked it's ass! Check out Trip's banner on the page and support this guy.
 
About the opinions on Smiths, people may buy them because Alembic's advertising is not as evident. We live in a society that is more impressed by big shiny pictures as opposed to small b&w ads in a few bass magazines. They are also cheaper and stores can stock them easier. Alembics are almost like discovering a fantastic spot that is off the beaten path. We let others know how to get  there but they aren't willing to make the trip. Funny that some of the cats we know will spend more on a vacation in Cancun and drink and smoke to great expense but say that Alembics are too expensive. Besidies the appearence of an Alembic on a stage produces high expectations from the musical patrons. He must be good if he has one of those!
Perhaps too much pressure for some. Too many disjointed points, must sleep now gig tomorrow. Have a safe and happy New Year's Eve!

[Rami Sourour (rami)]

You'll have to excuse my shameless self promotion, but these are my babies:
 
http://www.alembic.com/info/fc_rami.html
 
My vision of the ultimate Rogue!

[Kent Fossgreen (xlrogue6)]

I've tried several Smiths over the years (to be fair, most of my demos were at NAMM shows, not the best venue for appreciating subleties!) and they always strike me as fairly well built but very vanilla in character.  Compared to my various Alembics, they are much more restricted in timbral range.  But then, just about anything non-Alembic strikes me as timbrally challenged.  Call me spoiled....