Available Anniversary bass! Go here.
Also: JUNE is 10% OFF on original Cortobasses month! Order now…
Birdsong News:
June 11, 2026
Since we’re in no danger from Fender, who is again targeting companies who build using their exact Stratocaster guitar shape, I’ll speak freely. I see both sides of the issue with having a proprietary shape (or song or painting or tool or whatever) of your own creation (or even merely that you own it) and the others just copy it… but you know it’s been public and done and unenforced since the 1950s. It’s an interesting argument and we’ll see where it winds up, but it’s sure wound up the guitarist and guitar building community. Here are three thoughts.
1) Anything that winds up the guitarist and guitar building community in these post-COVID years is likely a good thing, because it gets it all talked about and more guitars get played and sold and bought and it’s one more notch back to life again. Everything in this time runs on drama and conflict, so maybe it’ll actually help! 2) I think it’s a legally brilliant but absolute chickenshit way to go about establishing legal precedence by targeting tiny companies you know won’t fight back (for legal “victories” to establish your cause and case) when you’re the biggest guitar company in the world. If you have to resort to that to establish your argument, you’re likely going to lose in the court of public opinion regardless of how many less Strat copies there are in the world from now on, whatever you think that’s going to accomplish after decades of it being the most copied design and, quite frankly, you diluting your own product and image over the years far more than any imitations have.
And 3)… on Fender’s side… what in actual corn-fed chrome-plated tarnation are you doing if you can’t come up with an original curve to offer? I don’t care who you are - influence, even strong influence, is one thing - we all have it as artists and musicians and craftspeople. But building identical Fender copies is simply paint-by-numbers, you can even buy all the parts out of catalogs! As is any copycat crap. That’s not art. Be brave and be an artist! Why anyone would waste their time and talents and gifts and the tools of their teachers on simply copying something already done both to perfection AND to death a thousand times over is beyond me. Of course, the entire violin world is based on Stradavarius copies and the Dreadnought (Martin) is the industry standard acoustic guitar shape, so what do I know. Anyhow, an interesting development and I’m interested to see where it goes.
I’m not going to SAY I teared up at the clips of Rush’s return to the stage a few days ago, yet there I was watching clips of it all and it washed over me FAST my friends. Totally unexpected. I’m not a big Rush music enthusiast, but I love those guys, their interviews and attitude over the years, and it was so sad what happened to drummer Neil, then he came back, and then with age… it was over. Fascinating guys and great players. I had the gift of seeing them about 12 years ago with some of the Los Enanitos Verdes guys (very famous Argentinian rock band whose bassist Marciano played Birdsongs) and it was incredibly impressive. In 2026 the fact that they returned after so long in such good humor with an absolute monster drummer Anika Nilles who earned her - yes, HER - place and absolutely crushed it live in one of the most high-pressure moments one could have, I don’t know - I just lost it. I must have watched it a dozen times. Her victory? Theirs? Ours? The sheer joy and FUN of something?
In a world increasingly intrigued by fails and trolling and hoping others lose, here was a win in SO many ways. That moment, with those three snare hits in Limelight, the crowd reaction… two GREAT guys got their band back, nailed it in their 70s, millions of fans got to see something important to them come back to life, 20,000 had the time of their lives, and a 40-some-year-old woman just ignited a whole generation’s worth of excitement and discussion and new drummers to come. Her whole performance and those three hits just set so much GOOD so right in this moment in time and that joy was needed, and believe me - moments like that plant seeds far beyond the lighted stage. Rock and roll just shifted too. All of this, and who she is, and what she brought, is far more important than one band or show for so many reasons… and I felt it, and I know others did, and good things will come of this. And I’m glad I’m not the only one - by far, it appears - who lost their shit when she nailed it and the crowd exploded in joy. I am SO happy for her, and for the guys in the band, and for their fans.
Head Luthier Jake Goede has been kicking butt and taking names in the little workshop in the Texas woods, and the… THE - as in 1 of 1 - 22nd Anniversary bass is NOW AVAILABLE on the STORE page, with updated in-process pics from Head Luthier Jake Goede. It’s a Fusion this year, and it’s WILD!
Yes friends, we’re coming up on the anniversary of launching the company 22 years ago on July 4th 2004, when www.birdsongguitars.com went live. Before that, the first Birdsong instrument was completed in the pre-company years (2001, started in 2000) so that’s 25 or 26 depending on how you count it, and the first use of the Birdsong name was late ‘90s as a model of a guitar. I had started building original designs and signing Scott on the headstocks; I still do that almost 30 years later, on the side from running Birdsong (check that stuff out at www.sbeckwith.com). So, lots of firsts and years, but 7-4-04 was the big one and ON JULY 4th this year, and the 5th for those tied up on the actual day, there will be special offers and discounts on ordering, and a few special pieces offered. Being as our stuff is high end, any discount will save you hundreds and/or offset that matching headstock and gold or black hardware, or a fancy top or some stringers… this is what we do! We’re not going to build you another company’s bass, you’re getting a Birdsong.
So spread the word, and spread some joy, and spread some wings and be creative in all you do. It’s what the nutty ol’ world needs most right now. Cheers to you all over and I’m here for questions so you can have your choice made for the big weekend, and look here for another update or two before then! Between now and then, JUNE is 10% OFF on Cortobass orders, and it’d be good if that’s what you want to get in the que NOW before the anniversary weekend orders we’ll take - they’ll likely push the wait time up a bit.
OK, enough out of me. Stay cool, and stay tuned!
~Scott B.
512-395-5126 (calls, no texts)
email: birdsongbass@yahoo.com
May 1st, 2026
And a happy springtime to you, thanks for checking in!
Last month was a whirlwind, a giant road trip in part to visit the workshop and Head Luthier Jake, that guy in the picture. It was so good. Birdsongs are the best they’ve ever been, as it should be with decades of making them for you. But this is a special chapter in Birdsong’s journey… I always delegated parts of the build process, spreading it to other luthiers who needed the work. However much sawdust and wood shavings I got in my beard, it was never just my hands. Necks were big in this - made to my spec by a handful of others in a handful of different ways since 2004. In this chapter of Birdsong, you’re getting these basses completely hand crafted from bare wood planks to stage-ready instruments by one pair of hands! One pair of big, meaty mitts that have been working with Birdsongs since about 2008. I still run the business, but the shop is all Jake Goede. And these builds are special in that - it’s the single master craftsman vibe PLUS the decades-proven design performance! I am excited to see where Birdsong goes from here. What a run, and the adventure continues!
Another visit on the trip was to Jamie Hornbuckle, Birdsong co-founder (and wife of 20 years and now great friend). She’s doing GREAT, working in real estate still in the central Texas area. Always good to have some pizza and a beverage with someone you don’t have to explain yourself to, and we laughed and caught up and talked about Birdsong. She is loving the Jake vibe too these recent years, and… she helped save 175 pages of news page content from the old site! Many of the old blog posts back to 2015. As a writer and archivist, I wish I could have gotten them all, but that’s back through other site formats and you know, past a point… the past is gone. It’s here in ripples and morphed inspiration now its own with no tether back, but as far as gathering stones, let the waves on the shoreline do their thing. There’s much more beach to walk. But this is great and will end up in book form at some point. Bigger than big thanks to her!
And to Dax & Taryn, two incredible souls that are behind the scenes in my life and in Birdsong, without whom neither would be what they are. You don’t know them, but if you know Birdsong and vibe with it or me, you do know them - you know THEIR ripples. They’ve been helping the business since before day one.
Summer batch is underway, there was neck making and wood tracing and all kinds of sawdust everywhere, which is exactly what a Birdsong workshop should look like. I’ve always said, I don’t trust a clean mechanic’s shop. Where are the cars? That guy’s spending his time polishing his tools. I want the guy buried in work and smiling, with a trail of smiling customers and parts all over the place. This isn’t an assembly line, it’s alchemy! It’s a slow, controlled explosion. That guy’s making it happen. That’s been Birdsong since about a week after launching ourselves online in 2004. And, while I have some of my own sawdust and woodchips flying, the ones from Birdsong will always be special to me.
So… let’s make something special for you!
I’ll be updating THIS page more often, watch for info on the coming 22nd Anniversary bass, and what’s happening July 4th weekend for our Anniversary specials. Start getting your permissions and offloading that gear that just doesn’t serve you or feel good, and we’ll make you a bass you’ll play the rest of the way. What’s new? Stay tuned! If you have any questions or want to order and get in the que for summer or fall batches, I’m still your guy, even though my adventure continues in the rural northern Adirondacks.
512-395-5126
birdsongbass@yahoo.com
www.facebook.com/scott.beckwith.35
You can keep up with my own stuff and doings at www.sbeckwith.com
The BIRDSONG Facebook page… follow us, please, and tell your friends.
And remember, Jake has his own line of guitars and basses too, very much in the same family but different than what Birdsong offers. Whatever you need, he can come up with and make for you! www.goedeguitars.com
Thanks, wishing you and your circle all the best.
~Scott B.
March 13, 2026 “Beneath the bark”
There’s an inventory bass available, fresh off the bench!
A cherry and maple Cbass of selected woods with plenty of natural grain to look at, definitely no boring pieces for this one. Cherry is one of those woods that always holds some surprises in its grain, just waiting for that first coat of finish to reveal. And this piece was really something! Otherwise a standard workhorse Cbass where we blended the Birdsong Cortobass’ short scale ergonomics and form with the voice of a great old P-bass. We rarely have anything in inventory, our order book pretty much stays warm since 2004 and we slip an extra build in when we can to surprise you with. Surprise!
This one’s ready to fly the nest, only one, at $2700 USD including shipping in the continental US and a high quality padded bag.
Completely hand made in the Texas workshop by Head Luthier Jake Goede and ready to fly the nest, only one, at $2700 USD including shipping in the continental US and a high quality padded bag. Contact Scott by email at birdsongbass@yahoo.com or at 512-395-5126. “Thankyeh!”
Beneath the bark. Under the surface we see, lives are lived. They are very different lives; we share the planet but they live in different worlds. Sometimes, their lives become art. Sometimes it’s because to us with our eyes they ARE art. From the grain aberrations caused by a rubbing against the tree to the little holes and designs left by much smaller lives on their way through, to even the basic beauty of grain itself when a piece of tree is slab cut after its circular life… the beauty is there. It’s in there whether we ever see it or not. That’s life. In greater terms than what would present well to the eye as craft, it’s all. It’s you and me, it’s other beings. The tail wags from inside, the hug begins within, the poetry and art starts not with the page or the brushes or chisels, or hands even. The flower starts within a seed. It all lives beneath the bark.
It’s amazing what’s under there; I marvel at it with every piece I’ve been blessed to work over these decades, and what a journey it has been! I may sound like I’m on acid, but I assure you I’m not. I just live in a world of perpetual creation, and have for a long time, most of the time in a workshop beneath the bark. So even in winter, it’s hard NOT to feel springtime somewhere inside. In the smells of the working wood and rubbing oils, even in the sounds of the tools, TO the sounds of birds singing (where Birdsong got its name) and the music on sometimes as a sonic tapestry to filter the light. Sometimes by lantern with a pen. The faith in the inner workings. Creation happens. It happens around us and through us, much of it beneath the bark.
Once I saw it, I never looked at a tree or another or anything the same way again. I ran my hand over a handmade electric guitar 40 years ago and felt very slight variations in the quilted maple, and realized “This didn’t just appear…” It was a cause and result in the wood, somebody cut that tree, and other hands shaped and worked it into a guitar. There were greater hands involved than mine and this wasn’t just a thing or a product… it was a RESULT. What could my results be? What would result from my hands? What could result from this instrument? From my life? From the parts of it nobody sees? And the real journey began. These and I are ripples of lives now on or gone. Thank you for your interest in what we do, on their behalf, and for you. And all the best to you beneath the bark.
~ Scott B., Captain of The Ship
January 29, 2026
I was talking with a client the other day, he was ordering a second Birdsong and asked a familiar question. “I’m a Grateful Dead fan, and I was wondering about the name of the company…” Well, I’m going to tell you how Birdsong got its name. But first… it’s not the Dead song. By the way, did you know that song was written about Janis Joplin?
Birdsong the company went legit in 2004; as a name, a brand, it dates back to 2000. The first Birdsong instrument was a guitar named “Rainmaker” with its own story, completed in 2001. At this time in my life, I was just getting on my feet out deep in the rural Texas “Hill Country” woods; that guitar was made with the help of my friend “Uncle Johnny” in my corner of his workshop… a shop with its own story as well. But in there I showed Johnny how to make his wood art into guitars, and he showed ME how to make my guitars into wood art.
I was young and threw myself into a deep south summer and a defining life’s path out on some acreage with little prep, as an incomplete guy, but it was time. And I was going to settle that raw piece of land or die trying. I had no idea what I was made of or who I really was, but it was time to find out. There were lots of challenges in enduring and working it hard and living rough, clearing a spot and trying to put up a shack… again, another story. I was ill-prepared and ill-equipped. But when it’s time, it’s time for a big move, and you either do it and see where it takes you… or you don’t. And it doesn’t. From where you are, you start or you sit; it’s as simple as that.
In the middle of all of this, sleeping up under the stars on my van, I understood that so long as the birds were singing in the morning, everything was going to be alright. And they did. And it was. And that’s where Birdsong comes from. As well as the feather tattoo on my right arm. It was a new day, it was a new DAWN for me. And my soundtrack to going “back to the land” was birdsong.
That was 25 years ago, my adventure looks a little different now, but I have that same spirit that found its flight - and Birdsong looks a little different all these years on as well, but it does too. And that’s the story of how Birdsong got its name.
Check out the MODELS page, and the FAQ/ORDERING info, and get on board for a 2026 Birdsong. I still answer the phone, I still guide it all, and I still write up your orders and promise you absolute happiness with your bass and mean every word. If we can be a part of the music you make, we’d be honored to build one (or two!) for you, from our hands to yours!
Thanks and blessings,
~ Scott B.