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Build No.1: Sadhana #001 Spring 2006 |
The dust had barely settled from the
cutting of the design template when we got an inquiry
for something a little more exotic looking than our
standard Cortobass shape. I sent a picture of a mockup
using the template and a neck, and we were soon off and
carving on what would be the very first of our Sadhana
model!
Mark wanted "the most beautiful instrument you've
ever made", and together we worked up plans for a
9-piece body of Walnut, Maple and Purpleheart with a
center stringer of Ebony. As part of our tailoring
process, it was decided that a two pickup version with
the voiced tone control instead of the varitone, black
hardware, strap locks and a little extra carving on the
lower horn would be perfect.
As with most wood, it really came to life once we began
hand rubbing in the oil finish. With each cured coat it
looked warmer and warmer, and the figure in the Walnut
& Maple strips really popped. Purpleheart is a
stunning wood, looking almost maroon in dim light and
brightening in color shade dramatically in sunlight,
with a figure all its own. We are honored to work with
the wood.
After completion, Mark drove in from Missouri to pick up
what became almost immediately his main bass. Some fine food by the river in San Marcos and great talks
of music and inspiration later, the Birdsong crew fired
up the trusty '74 Dodge and returned to Wimberley, and
Sadhana number one got a first class ride home to St.
Louis.
The Sadhana shape came to me in vision, as most things
do. It is a combination of elements, certain curves and
contours that lodged themselves in my head until the
magical moment where I wake up in the middle of the
night and sketch the complete whole. The word Sadhana is
Sanskrit and speaks of aspiration to attain a
particular result, the practice by which we attain and
its discipline, spiritual practice... to me those vague
translations sum up some very deep facets of the
involvement in music & the building of
instruments.
Click on the thumbnails below for larger images of
Sadhana #001 |
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Birdsong Guitars
12111 Ranch Rd. 12 Suite 203B
Wimberley, Texas 78676
512.847.6014
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