Since I took this thread way off topic, let me try to bring it back.....
As far as Smith basses go, they are all over the church scene in the Detroit area. My first 5-string was a Ken Smith Burner. Mainly because the guys I saw play at some of the larger churches played what I later found out were much higher end Ken Smith basses.
On one hand, I have only twice bought basses specifically because of an artist I liked (Stanley Clarke in both cases). But by the time I made either of those purchases, I was very solidly placed in the brand (Alembic). When I got my Alembic Stanley Clarke Signature Bass, it was my second Alembic. When I bought one of Stanley's basses from him, it was the 5th of 6 Alembics I have purchased over time.
Ironically, I also have basses similar to two Music Man basses that Louis Johnson used to play. I did not, however, buy those because of Louis. I bought them because they were similar to my first really good bass. I had a '79 Music Man Sabre as my only bass for 20 years. I sold it to buy the Ken Smith Burner that I mentioned earlier. Mistake. Not that the Ken Smith was bad. It was ok. It's just that the Sabre was all that and I never should have parted with it. After a while I decided I had to find one to get back to my roots and found two.....and a Music Man Stingray.
Not sure I'd drop the kind of coin involved in getting a Fodera just because someone I liked switched to them. For example, if Stanley Clarke suddenly switched to Fodera, I'd still have my Alembics and Music Man basses. No need to switch.
