Custom Basses from Birdsong Guitars

What is a Birdsong "Custom"?
An alternative build with mix 'n match features from our various models. Some of the body styles you find in our Custom line started as models of their own with their own list of standard features. Still staying a small company and trying to keep it simple, they were moved here to become basic platforms for those ready for a Birdsong but who want something a little different than our standard models. Since we only use proven Birdsong features, we know however you envision yours it will look, feel, play, balance and sing like a Birdsong! You'll consult directly with me, owner & founder Scott Beckwith. I'll help you through the process and make sure we're capturing enough of "you" in there so it'll really be something special when you get it.

First you pick your body shape...

Cortobass	Fusion	Sadhana	Skyrider	Odyssey

Then we start with your style...
What are your favorite tones? What music do you play? We pick & choose between our standard Cortobass-type pickups, or the Cbass, Fusion... how about two humbuckers? Even a soapbar or two from the Hy5 or some combination of these can be done if I think it'll get you the best tool for what you're asking me for tonally. Now, some pickups won't fit with some features and I'll help you with that... but if it can be done from the parts & designs we use, we can make it happen.

Cortobass neck single: warm, woody yet clear tone
Cortobass bridge humbucker: barky, horn-like tone
Cortobass bridge humbucker in neck position: the fullest neck tone
High output humbucker: growly, aggressive tone for the bridge
Cbass pickup: punchy, P-style tone
Fusion pickup: (usually under a wood cover) a little more warmth & clarity
Fusion pickup in bridge position: mild, clear tone
Hy5 soapbar: depth & detail

Single pickup builds are great...
Combinations bring their basic flavor to the mix when working together. It's like cooking.

The voice desired also helps with wood selection. The wood is more of a "sonic seasoning" so if you really do want us to build it from wood from your Grandfather's workshop, yes it'll sound fine. Wood sounds good. Also, what do you like to look at? Light woods, dark woods, reds, figured, striped? Combinations? Tops? Laminates? Don't worry, just be open to our suggestions & artistic sense and we'll get it all together in one good phone consultation.

"Theme builds" are fun, either around a couple of specific woods, or something like "I love Jerry Garcia's guitars, do me up something like that cosmetically" or "All blonde & gold"... and any special physical themes such as for players who play primarily seated or have special bass weight needs. Heck, we can even come up with a 6-string guitar version of whatever you decide too. Pairs, sets, fretted, fretless, doubleneck, bolt-on or set-neck "Benchmade", "Can you 'Featherbass' a 5-string?"... "How about a Fusion / Skyrider hybrid with three humbuckers?" If you have the budget & patience, we'll probably take it on.

Here are some luthier terms...

STRINGER - a thick, bold stripe in the body.
PINSTRIPE - a thinner stripe in the body, usually used as accents to set off a stringer.
TOP - a thin layer of wood laminated onto the face of the instrument.
CONTROL PLATE - the stylized plate on the face that holds the controls.
OVERLAY - a veneer of thin wood laminated onto the headstock

Here are some ideas to get the ideas flowing...

Cosmetic "themes"		Front routed basses have a curvy control plate on the face that can be made of different materials. I like to at least match the truss rod cover to it, if not add a stringer of the same wood to bring it into the build in other ways. If we have a lot of black on the bass (hardware, pickups, etc.) I might suggest an Ebony stringer to tie it all together visually...
Entire "Theme builds"		...or we could think "Ebony & Maple" (for example) and use that as a theme, where everything on the bass is either or. Some great themes of past builds have been "All blonde & gold", "Mahogany & Macassar" where the reddish Mahogany of the body has been topped with striped Macassar Ebony down the center, matched with a Macassar control plate & headstock... and the "Rainbow basses" where we join a dozen or more pieces of random width & color wood strips for the body.
Hardware		Here too, we stick to what we know & love. Hipshot hardware, made in New York, is our hardware of choice; the Ultralite tuners in either Y or cloverleaf key, and the Style A bridge milled from brass (or aluminum where weight is a big concern).
Builds of meaning		Over the years we've been honored to build players their "last bass" and instruments that pay homage to meanings in the players' lives such as certain woods or a woodburned poem of a late father. Every build finds us using our skills, gifts & talents in service to creating a tool that will ultimately be YOUR creative VOICE; that's heavy. But sometimes we can even take it beyond that with a little woodburned symbol or phrase somewhere or use of materials of significance to you along your path. Please tell us about these things as we love to build that stuff into your bass!
Scrolls		The Jazz Scroll is our own design and we're happy to do it wherever it'll cosmetically work. There's a lot of hand chisel shaping and sanding involved, but if you really want to set your Custom build apart, the $300 upcharge is a drop in the bucket for such a stunning look, especially when done on a bass with a top of contrasting wood. It's shown here on a Spanish Cedar Hy5 with a Walnut top and a bit of extra bevel carving on the body. After 400 builds, I feel I don't have to answer to anyone if I want to put a scroll of my own design on one of my basses. Here it is!
Bolt-on or "Benchmade"?		Our bolt-ons are 5-bolt mounted into tight pockets. The necks are CNC carved & slotted for bass to bass consistency. Tonally they're about like a set neck... but if a real "premium" build is what you're after, we will start with a bench and a bunch of wood, and head luthier Jake will spokeshave, rasp & chisel you out a "Benchmade" completely by hand with a minimum of power tools. True luthiery for luthiery's sake... he'll glue in into the body and carve away the heel and you'll have something spectacular. These builds start at $2500 and take longer.
What's all this going to cost?		A special order Custom Birdsong starts at $2200. We throw in as much as possible for that depending on what the build looks like and then tally it up based on the work, woods & parts involved. Usually between $2500 - $3000 on the wild side. Hundreds of builds in, we still haven't done that many much more than that, despite creating some fancy instruments! And a Custom has the same money back approval as our more standard builds. No worries!
Come by!		Visit the Wingfeather workshop in San Marcos, Texas... home to Birdsong as well as D'Aquila Guitars, SD Curlee basses, and various builds our hands do on the side. We'll talk bass, work you up a project, pick out some wood, or just say hi. There's a killer Italian restaurant a few miles down the road owned by the same folks as the Mexican place we used to take our early clients of the original workshop to in Wimberley. Small world, or destiny, your pick. I'm just happy to be here at all. The workshop is less than a mile off Interstate 35 just South of San Marcos. Call us anytime at 512.392.4400... there's nothing like working up the details of a custom bass build eye-to-eye.


*Fusion body, single bridge humbucker*... the concept was to combine a special piece of Purpleheart the client had kept for 30 years with Texas Mesquite. The bass will have a Mesquite nut, neck end rout cover/thumbrest, and pickup cover for an unbroken line of Mesquite. Ebony pinstripes set off the solid Purpleheart wings. This is a "Benchmade" 100% hand carved set-neck instrument. Black hardware sets it off, along with a few subtle Turquoise inlays in the pickup & truss rod covers.	BEAD tuned 4-string; Skyrider body, Cbass pickup, with the DST stringing of our Hy5; it'll have a Maple fretboard & black hardware. The body is "blackwashed" Mahogany. *This "Custom" building* is the only way to get a Cbass pickup on the other basses, and the only way to customize a Cbass. If you want a fretless Walnut rear rout Cbass with gold hardware, it's a "Custom." *We can work up something special* for you now with no worries about what it is or how to number it!	*Odyssey body, "Double Fusion"* pickup arrangement, Cherry & Bloodwood theme. The pickup in the bridge position was moved back almost to the bridge for a tone very punchy in the upper midrange and a much more dynamic "both pickups on" tone with lots of lows and highs. Though not done on this bass, a thought is to wire the pickups together as one big 4-coil pickup. The wide spread brings amazing sensitivity to where you pluck, and it's definitely a tone that hasn't been "claimed".

*Fusion body of solid quilted Maple (this is not a top!) with Cbass pickup arrangement & rear routing.* My first really nice electric guitar back in about '86 was a used BC Rich Bich with solid quilted Maple wings. None of this veneer or "10 top" stuff, how about a "10 body"?? This really brings me home. It's what the phrase "expensive custom instrument" brings to my mind. The best of everything and a real challenge for the luthier.