WE are the crew that makes your basses! Can't believe it? 
Well BELIEVE, my friends ~ it's real and it's happening!
From our devoted hands to yours... being played now
worldwide, made by us with love in Wimberley, Texas!




 

Scott Beckwith 
Captain of the ship
Creative force of Nature
Nutty professor of Birdsong

Scott has been designing and building guitars since 1989.
A player for over 24 years with extensive studio and live experience on guitar and bass in a variety of styles, he has owned scores of instruments, two music shops, and taught hundreds of students.

Major passions & pursuits include spiritual studies, psychedelic jazz, road culture, bad puns and working with the wood.

Oh, and old Mopars...
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"Let's talk about vibration."









Jamie Hornbuckle
The rock that makes it roll
Wife of the nutty professor

Our fearless leader is ably and enthusiastically aided by Jamie, who sands, Emails, accounts, receives, pays, shapes, and in a million ways helps Scott to focus on what he does best... do five things at once, get distracted, and make a really big mess. It wouldn't be happening without her.

She's into creative healthy cooking, communing with good folks, reading, working with the land, learning & seeking... and she wants the world to know she loves Bossa-Nova. 

















Travis Reed

Shown here clamping up some Maple, T also can be found elbow-deep under the hood of a car most of the time - working with tools is in his genetic makeup. I've known him for years... a great old soul. 

He was on the short list we made at Birdsong's inception and eventually the timing was right and he came aboard.  







Jake Goede

He's smiling 'cause he knows things. 

Jake came into our lives a year or so ago, just before he went to (drumroll please) luthiery school! Now he's out, knows what to do with a fret file, built one of the best sounding acoustic guitars I've ever played, can carve like a Sicilian, and will be working with us on some really exciting things.

He'll also be getting his own JG Guitars up and running and we'll keep you posted on that too. 

Welcome aboard, brother!









Andy picks up Cortobass #007, early 2005
God, it seems like just yesterday...


Sadhana #006, solid Zebrawood, 2006


Ben visits to check on Cortobasses #49 & 50...
while here he gets to see an early 2000 prototype.
(2006)


Group shot from the assembly room... August, 2006.
The Birdsong Hand Built Guitar Co. was hatched after a series of signs culminating in a road trip and visit with some inspiring friends in December of 2003. First flight was achieved July 4, 2004 with the offering of the Cortobass - a professional short scale bass guitar.

Since #002 rolled out headed for Millard in sunny California, our little bass line has refined & expanded, finding hands & homes all over the world. It really is true that the journey of a thousand miles begins with one step...



Grabbing a bite to eat in San Marcos before hitting the road, a mysterious woman with much light and wearing much turquoise approaches our table on her way out and introduces herself.

She felt compelled to come over after watching us give thanks for our food... "You work with wood," she said matter-of-factly to me. Truth was I hadn't been and wasn't sure I would again... burned out, discouraged, on to other things. Bummed because I live and breathe this guitar stuff, but I felt so uninspired... it was a crossroads in life; I just couldn't seem to pull it all together... too much going on... too many directions... 
"You work with the wood... I just see things." 
 "Margaret" then left us, stunned and pondering. 
Okay, I get it, I get it. YES, I DO work with the wood. Put one foot in front of the other. Pick something and let it lead the way. A new chapter began... 

Some signs are small, and some subtle as a flying mallet.


The central Texas "Hill Country" vibrates with a creative energy that has drawn artists and craftspeople to the area for some time. We are proud to be located in such a beautiful and inspiring place. It doesn't hurt that our facility used to be a place for bikers to get their Harleys wrenched on & turned into choppers, either...




Scott's original designs can be traced back to models such as the Bean, the Birdsong, the Blues Dawg, and a number of unique custom guitars & basses built for customers at a tiny music shop in Melrose, Massachusetts during the mid to late '90s.

If you want an instrument, there are many choices. If you want an instrument designed from a blank piece of notebook paper & built by souls who live and breathe this stuff, whose cosmic and spiritual path it is to design & build this instrument for you... 
there aren't all that many!


Thanks & best wishes from
the whole Birdsong family!