Features common to Birdsong basses:
Our proprietary 31" scale 24-fret neck
Maple neck with Rosewood fretboard
(fretless basses have unlined Ebony)
2-way truss rod for full neck adjustability
Necks are 1.5" wide at the nut (1.75" on the Hy5)
17.5mm string spacing @ bridge - 4s and 5s
5-bolt neck mounting - strong, stable and resonant
Hipshot hardware - brass bridge and ultralight tuners
Top-load AND through-body stringing ability
Quality pro parts right through to the Switchcraft jack
Pickup arrangements designed for rich & diverse tones
Passive wiring only - fully shielded & star grounded 
Less reach and lighter weight - most in the 7s and 8s
Perfect balance - no neck dive
Natural hand-rubbed oil finish
Seven day approval & five year warranty

Hardshell case & continental US shipping included in price!

Birdsong basses make fantastic piccolo basses too!

The Best of Both Worlds:
We use modern CNC carving and slotting of the necks for consistency & accuracy (that's the science part) and old-school luthiery in our joining, shaping, and routing of the bodies (the artist/craftsman part). Each Birdsong is hand finished, fitted, put together, and set up & adjusted in our own workshop.

Every detail of the design, from the properties of the woods to the pickup layout and wiring, right down to the strap buttons and strings we string them with has been tested and tweaked until it all clicked together as a finely tuned, dialed-in, complete design. 

This is why some things are optional on a Birdsong and others are not - we're not trying to reinvent it every time. It works very well and we tend to stay close to it. There is enough variation between the models to suit most styles, and bassists of all skill levels, sizes, shapes, and walks of life are playing Birdsongs. Guitar players love them too since they play so easy.

We bring our best to every build ~ we love what we do and that can't help but get built in too. Classy handcraft touches like wood knobs, carved arrowhead truss rod cover and burned-in headstock logo speak of these instruments' workshop heritage.

Once you've looked over the models, check out the gallery of past builds, so you can see what they look like in different woods and with different hardware (as well as some of the folks that play them), and there's a bunch more information on the info page.

The bass that built Birdsong. Played all over the world as a fantastic sounding alternative to bigger, heavier basses. After 20 years in music and having held, played and/or repaired hundreds of basses, I designed in everything I wanted and engineered out everything I didn't ~ into a professional quality bass about the size of a guitar.



We didn't invent the short scale bass, but we did design out all the shortcomings of the old designs and build in all the quality and tone lacking in the import student models. The Cortobass comes standard with a fully contoured Mahogany body and a varitone instead of a standard tone, weighs in the 7 pound range, and is a versatile and comfortable professional tool.

$1850

 

Options:
Matching headstock veneer (100, shown)
Regular but nicely voiced tone control (N/C)
Black (50) or gold (75) hardware
Rear routing, no control plate on the front (150)
Fretless ~ Ebony board, unlined (100)
Extreme upper fret access - a shave here, a carve there (25)
Engraved plaque for the case (25)
Vintage maroon tortoise control plate (25)
Wood control plate instead of pickguard material (75)
Wood thumbrest (25)

We put on side dots, if you'd like pearl dots in the fretboard face add 25. Inquire about other woods, stringers and multi-wood bodies.

  
All the advantages of the small, light 31" scale Cortobass but with vintage looks and a traditional P-flavored tone! 

Over the years one steady request has been for the comfort,  balance & quality of a Birdsong but with THE "traditional" single pickup bass tone. Just slapping a P-style pickup in a Cortobass wouldn't do it; there's more to it than that.

The Cbass (like all Birdsongs) has been thought out & engineered to keep the tone BIG and the bass small. So now there's no excuse to be strapped to some big, heavy, uncomfortable bass; strap on a Cbass and C for yourself!

$1750
Special introductory pre-order price
*** SEPTEMBER ONLY ***
$1600



Features:
Solid Alder body
Great Cortobass neck
Single P-style pickup
Cloverleaf tuning keys
Nicely voiced tone knob
Natural rubbed-oil finish
Chrome hardware

Your choice:
Rosewood or Maple fretboard
Tortoise or aged pearloid plate
Carved Rosewood thumbrest

A fusion tonally of big, round, deep upright bass and clear, punchy electric; a fusion visually of our Cortobass and Sadhana shapes. With a classy, jazzy vibe and an organic, warm voice that sounds as woody as it looks. 

Same great Cortobass neck & hardware, but this bass is equipped with a special pickup and the kind of clarity you won't find in other neck-pickup short scales... with plenty of all the lows & mids that make it perfect for jazz, blues, and acoustic accompaniment. And it can rock, too.

The Fusion comes with a Walnut body, belly contour only, well-voiced standard tone control, Ebony pickguard, and the black hardware is standard. A simple, elegant and earthy creative tool. Did we mention it can rock, too?

And if you're thinking fretless & tapewounds, this is definitely the place to start!

$2000

Options:
Matching headstock veneer (100)
Varitone (regular tone control is standard) (50)
Gold hardware (75)
Fretless ~ Ebony board, unlined (100)
Extreme upper fret access - a shave here, a carve there (25)
Engraved plaque for the case (25)
Additional or custom wood thumbrest (25)

We put on side dots, if you'd like pearl dots in the fretboard face add 25. 

They said it couldn't be done, and say it can't be... someday they'll say it never happened. But ask those who have actually played Birdsong's Hy5 ("High 5" or "Hybrid 5") and they'll tell you it's a real 5-string with depth, rich tone, and a B that speaks... in a bass not much bigger than a guitar!



Truly an answer for those uncomfortable with the reach and bulk of full and extended scale 5-strings but who still want the deep notes and ability to walk in one position on the fretboard. It comes standard much like the Cortobass ~ natural Mahogany body, chrome hardware, curvy black control plate, and all the mojo we can build in for you.

Features our Double String Through stringing (DST, patented) on the B. No special strings, use a 35" scale B and a standard length 4-string set. Two tons of tone in an 8 pound bass!

$2300
(The bass shown would be about $2700)



Options:
Matching headstock veneer (100, shown)
Regular but nicely voiced tone control (N/C, shown)
Black (50, shown) or gold (75) hardware
Rear routing, no control plate on the front (150, shown)
Fretless ~ Ebony board, unlined (100)
Extreme upper fret access - a shave here, a carve there (25)
Engraved plaque for the case (25)
Vintage maroon tortoise control plate (25)
Wood control plate instead of pickguard material (75)
Wood thumbrest (25)
"High C" tuning - EADGC. No B, no DST (-50)

We put on side dots, if you'd like pearl dots in the fretboard face add 25. Inquire about other woods, stringers and multi-wood bodies.