Owner page
Owner page
Owner's Manual ~ updated
January 2010
Note: all specs are subject to change without notice. Everything is a work in
progress, as are we all. Changes will be posted on the Birdsong Guitars
site. If there are any questions feel free to call us at 512.847.5809. We
suggest printing the latest manual and keeping it with your instrument, as this
supercedes all previous material.
BRIDGES & STRINGS
The bridge fitted to your Birdsong bass is made to our specifications by
the Hipshot company of New York. It's their "Style A." Not cast
"mystery metal" or bent steel, it is milled from solid brass (unless
noted otherwise) for added mass and sustain, and gives you the option of
top-loading or stringing through the body. We STRONGLY recommend you
string through-body unless you prefer flatwounds. I'm
weird about the way the windings on flats separate over the sharp bend coming
out of a through-body stringing setup. They may work fine for you & sound
great, but they don't look happy and probably will fatigue there & break
prematurely. Of course, my idea of the lifespan of flatwounds can be measured in
years... I usually ship flats top-loaded for this reason.
There were a handful of earlier Cortobasses equipped with the Hipshot
"vintage style" bridges in brass.
The Hy5s have versions of our "Double String Through" stringing.
This is our design (US patent) and helps improve the feel & voice of the low
B. Current (DST on B only) Hy5s are strung with a regular scale set (.045
to .105) for the main 4 and a "long scale" (like for 35" scale
basses) .130 B string. For earlier Hy5s we recommend D'Addario EXL170-5SL
Nickel wound .045 - .130 Super Long scale. Some standard length sets have
enough "main string" to get past the nut, and some don't.
STRINGS USED CURRENTLY:
4-string fretted and EADG of Hy5: Curt Mangan .045 - .105 Nickel Roundwounds,
standard length.
4-string fretless or flatwound requests: D'Addario Chromes ECB82
.050 - .105, standard length.
Tapewound requests: Fender 9120M .058 -
.110 sound great and we through-body string these (the windings don't separate)
or top-load. Great strings. Note: Your nut slots will have to be widened to fit
these. Like plastic or bone, Ebony too can break if you're not careful.
Standard length 4-string sets
strung through-body wind up with 3/4 of a turn of main E string around
the post, but in 300+ instruments we haven't had a problem with that.
Stainless steel roundwound strings don't sound nearly as good on
any of these basses, so they are not
recommended.
Flats are not recommended on the Hy5 - that B is an odd duck. Sorry.
We obviously can't warranty the fretboard on our fretless necks if you choose to
use roundwound strings.
Restringing instructions are below in the "tech" section.
BRIDGE SADDLES may occasionally begin to rattle as playing vibration backs
the height adjustment screws ever so slightly back into the saddles. This is a
common occurrence with electric guitar & bass bridges over time. Saddle
adjustment screws on Birdsong instruments are treated to a tiny drop of Loc-Tite
or equivalent if needed during setup. This rattle is a faint metallic buzz
coming from the bridge. To find which saddle screw is vibrating, after picking a
note that causes the vibration, press your finger firmly to each saddle screw.
Repeat until the buzzing goes away when you touch the saddle - you’ve found
it. Take the appropriate allen wrench, back the screw out, coat with a drop of
Loc-Tite or equivalent, and screw it back in.
*******
HARDWARE & COMPONENTS:
A WORD ABOUT HARDWARE - Black hardware is more prone to scratching
during your restringing & adjustments over time than chrome or gold plating.
This is the nature of an "anodized" finish. Extra care should be taken
(it is in here during assembly) when you restring or work on your instrument.
And yes, the gold hardware is actually "gold plated" - there is
a 3 micron coating of very high quality gold on the surfaces. BUT it too
scratches & wears over time and due to your personal chemical composition
and none of this is covered under warranty.
THE GRIPPER STRAP BUTTONS - Your strap buttons are not on
"crooked" - look at how the big piece interacts with the slot on your
strap when it's on you - it should go across the slot (not be in
line with it) thereby not letting it slip off.
NUT
Most Birdsong basses are equipped with a ZERO FRET, which
effectively removes the nut from string height, tension, and tonal issues; now
that its sole purpose is to set the string spacing at that end of the fretboard,
we can use our favorite material and carve it out of wood. Ebony and/or Maple
are our main choices, though other dense woods such as Purpleheart may be used
for their cosmetic contribution to the instrument. If at some point it comes
unglued during a restring, two small drops of Titebond wood glue or similar will
secure it. DO NOT use super glues - they make future adjustments or repairs very
difficult. If through impact your nut breaks (I hate it when that happens), see
the repair tips below for nut blank measurements or contact us & we'll make
you a new nut, though some final fitting will be needed. In a pinch, being as
it's wood and not under a lot of tension (because of the zero fret), the pieces
could be carefully glued back together.
Some Cortobasses (especially from inventory) are equipped with necks that have a
standard nut & no zero fret. The nut is made from Ebony and the above
re-gluing info applies; however if it gets broken it's best to cut a new one.
We'll be happy to supply you with an Ebony blank for your local luthier.
NECK
Our necks are extremely strong. Instruments are set up with no relief and left
to settle in for a few days. This generally results in minimal relief, as they
just don't generally move much. Due to climatic changes from here to wherever
you may be, some movement is to be expected over time as the instrument adjusts
to its new climate. This is true in any new instrument. Any competent shop can
do the slight adjustments that may be necessary. If you tackle it, remember "righty
tighty" (for less relief) and "lefty loosey" (for more
relief). Don't turn more than 1/4 turn without letting it settle in again for a
few hours. More info below in the "notes for repairs" section. As
a short scale bass has less tension, which results in a larger string vibration,
more relief will be needed for very aggressive players used to a longer scale
higher-tension instrument... or you Michael Anthony types. For you Fieldy sorts,
proper setup doesn't matter... (...and here come the letters).
JACK
The input jack loosening up is another common occasional problem on all electric
instruments. Jacks are fitted with toothed washers and securely tightened on all
Birdsong instruments but over time with use they may loosen. Don’t just
tighten the nut - sometimes it has loosened to where this will cause the jack to
spin inside the cavity. The jack is attached to two small wires that, if spun
around enough, will break loose from the other components. To fix a loose jack,
carefully unscrew the jack plate, so you can hold the jack with your fingers or
small needle-nosed pliers as you tighten the nut with the appropriate sized
socket. (All Birdsong guitars and basses are equipped with Switchcraft jacks and
use a ½” socket.)
The Switchcraft jack is much sturdier and heavily built than typical (imported)
factory jacks. However this is a high wear component, and may loosen internally
over time. If the jack isn’t holding the plug securely or is cutting out,
carefully remove the jack plate and bend the lug coming off of the jack in
towards the hole slightly. Replace and try it; this takes care of it sometimes.
If not, replacement is a standard Switchcraft ¼” input jack, AllParts number
EP 0055. If it wears out under warranty, we’ll be happy to ship you one with
easy instructions on how to replace the part.
Of course if you have a long threaded jack fitted to your instrument (no visible
nut where you plug in), you'll need AllParts number EP0151. Same offer applies.
PICKUPS
The pickups in the Cortobass have been chosen by the designer after years of
experimentation. If he ever finds a better sounding pickup in this
application, he'll update the specs and equip the bass accordingly.
A few pickups have been used: The neck pickup on most basses has been a Lace
"gold sensor"; the CortoFusions have a specially chosen humbucker
used, mounted and wired so completely differently than it was designed for that
brand & model names are irrelevant. Contact us for details. The current Hy5s
have Kent Armstrong soapbars and we love them. As for bridge pickups:
The EMG Select SEHB humbucker, a humble but fantastic sounding pickup
by a company that wouldn't give us the time of day... (pre-2006)
The custom-designed Birdsong "Punchbucker", a further
refinement of that tone. The company that made them for us decided our orders
were too small to bother with and stopped the supply. And you thought this was
easy? This is why most companies just build P-basses and be done with it. Sigh.
(2006)
The high-output Lace we put in some single pickup basses needing a
growly aggressive thing since it doesn't play well with others...
and a milder Lace with a great tone we've used as standard equipment
since early 2007.
Older Hy5s used two different brand soapbars, selected for their tone.
A word about the pot taper - the main goal was to get the absolute best tone
from each pickup position. To do this, the pickups were chosen for their tone.
These chosen pickups are of different strength and at times even from different
manufacturers. Their ideal pots are of different value too. This results in some
loss of blendability and a bump in the taper about half to three quarters of the
way towards full volume when turning the pot. This happens to some extent anyway
in passive systems, as one pickup wants to dominate over the other. Why our
basses sound so good in the main (neck, bridge, combined) settings all the way
up is why this issue is present. A blend pot would smooth the balance but
degrade the tone, as you'd be putting two very different pickups through one
value pot... and I've never (20+ years) heard a blend pot in a
passive bass sound as good "in the middle" (both on full) as one with
separate volumes. The tone of our instruments built the company. This is a known
quirk and I consider it relatively minor and well worth what you give for what
you get, tone-wise. As always, I'm here to talk with you if you disagree.
VARITONE
Some Birdsongs have a 6-position varitone in place of a standard tone
knob.
The varitone is a series of tone filters designed to change the tone of
the bass with each setting of the switch. There are five settings and one bypass
setting which allows the stock, unaltered tone of the pickups to pass through.
Some varitone settings may be more effective than others depending on your
personal amplifier settings. Please note: this is not a circuit designed to
emulate the tones of other basses; it is here as an alternative to a tone
control with a single capacitor, most of which are not voiced to do anything but
turn your tone to meatmush.
According to the designer of this particular varitone, Dan
Torres of Torres Engineering, it is normal for a varitone to make an audible
“pop” as you switch through the settings at first. (Note: more recent
ones don't seem to do this - perhaps a spec change in the switch was made?) This
is caused by a discharge of voltage stored in the capacitors. It is recommended
that you run the varitone through all of the notches once or twice before you
turn the amp on & begin playing. And be nice with it; it's not a wah pedal.
Don't powershift it like a friggin' Trans Am, ok? It's a camera lens filter, not
a hammer.
From the first setting (bypass), the next few will cut the high frequencies at
increasingly lower points resulting in funky midrangey tones. The last two are
very deep sounding; with some sonic tweaking on your amp these could provide
interesting main tones, huge sounding with distortion or great for reggae or dub
clean. The varitone can also be modified by those with electronics experience, a
handful of capacitors and a soldering iron. This may, however, void the warranty
on certain electronic components. Please contact Birdsong Guitars for any
schematics or assistance.
Explore the tones and try them in a variety of pickup blends and amplifier
settings. I like & use them all, especially during recording sessions.
There's nothing like having more colors on the palette to paint with. Some
tonal colors are more visible than others depending on your amp setup, EQ, room,
ears, fingers, style, volume, etc. There IS a difference between all the
settings, they wouldn't be there otherwise.
CONTROLS
In the4s the Lace neck pickup is connected to a 250K pot, the bridge
position humbucker to a 500K. These volumes work independently and the pickups
may be blended to taste. Note that in passive circuits, it is difficult to gain
smooth blend tapers and the blending variations work much better
when the pickups are both backed off very slightly from full volume. CortoFusion
pot specs are different; please contact for details. Hy5s use 2 500K pots.
ANTI-SHOCK CIRCUIT
Your instrument may have a little extra doohickey in the wiring... the
grounding wire from under the bridge (which on electric guitars minimizes
electronic hum when your hands are on the strings) may be equipped with a .001
capacitor and a 100K-250K resistor in parallel that under certain conditions may
minimize electric shock. It is not a sure-fire prevention and no guarantees are
expressed or implied, but it is the least we can do to try. If the Universe
decides you need a good zap, however, there isn’t a capacitor around that’ll
spare you. So it is no substitute for checking the ground on your equipment and
generally being nice.
FINISH
The finish we use is a special oil blend. Please contact for assistance to
questions.
An oil finish will age and show wear. Preventive steps are the key - wash
your hands before playing, wipe the instrument down with a soft cloth after.
With a hand rubbed oil finish you have traded away a thick plastic
sound-deadening permanent lamination of your instrument for a more
natural finish that feels better in the hands, allows for better tone, and gives
a more organic and natural look to the wood. The oil finish protects against
moisture, but hard knocks and scrapes will show, and the finish will take on the
patina of something that is being used regularly.
This,
to us, is even more beautiful; you are in a relationship with this instrument,
it is NOT an appliance. You will both age, you will both scar. Wear spots
may be lightly sanded and boiled linseed oil mixed with clear poly should be
applied per instructions on the can. Light grime can be taken off the neck with
a gentle rubbing of #0000 or finer steel wool. We blend some poly into our oil,
but your guitar will still not stay looking new without some action of
prevention or maintenance on your part. We feel it is more important that the
wood be respected, and made to neither look nor feel like plastic.
And please know we humbly thank you for allowing us the privilege of building
your instrument. If we can ever be of assistance in any way, contact us; we
encourage you to keep in touch with us and keep us posted on yourselves and your
musical journey.
Birdsong Guitars
PO Box 1745
Wimberley, TX 78676
512.847.5809
info@birdsongguitars.com
www.birdsongguitars.com
Bass Tech Notes For Future Repairs / Modifications:
Pots are standard CTS, 250K audio for the neck & 500K audio for the
bridge. Some Fusions have a custom made 1meg pot. Instruments ordered with metal
set screw-type knobs have solid shaft pots, instruments ordered with wood knobs
generally have split-shaft pots. Exceptions happen.
Various truss rods have been used, 3mm to 6mm. Most common are 4s and 5s. Most
have been 2-way. I know it's confusing, it's confusing as #@$& here too.
The Varitone is based on a kit from Torres Engineering.
A Cortobass is star grounded, meaning all grounds go to a central point.
The circuit between the bridge ground wire and the star grounding point may be
an anti-shock circuit consisting of a .001 capacitor and a resistor of
100 - 250K wired in series.
Cortobass cavities have always been shielded, first with paint &
foil, then paint & copper. After serial number C-009 and all other models
are completely copper shielded with soldered joints.
The pickups on the Cortobass & Sadhana are set as follows:
Neck pickup is flush with the fretboard edges.
Bridge pickup is roughly 2mm lower into the body on the bass side, 3mm on the
treble side (EMG SEHB - marked Select in silver letters) or set flat somewhere
around there (Punchbucker - plain black face) and the Lace humbuckers (marked
LACE in gold or embossed) are level, at that height or slightly lower.
The jack is a standard mono Switchcraft ¼”.
The nut is Ebony, Maple, Purpleheart or other dense wood, grain running
side to side. Dimensions for cutting a rough blank are as follows: 39mm W x 8mm
H x 8mm. We like mm; they're easy to work with. I want to build your bass, not
do math homework. When we make them, we size the blank, fit the blank to the nut
slot, mark the top of the fretboard on the nut with a sharp pencil, mark the
string spacing, carefully slot it on a band or scroll saw, down to the top of
the fretboard on the playing side on instruments with the zero fret,
angling the slots back with the headstock pitch so the strings angle properly
and don't buzz in the nut. Clean up the slots, remove excess material, edges
& corners on top & shape the nut. Sand & buff with steel wool.
Install with 2 drops of Titebond wood glue or equivalent - NOT super glue! If I
have to explain why, please let someone else work on this bass.
Instruments from 2006-7 and the occasional "CortoBasic" may be
equipped with a traditional (non zero fret) nut arrangement. These are cut like
our fretless neck nuts - out of Ebony (black) generally, same technique as above
but the string slots are not cut to be level with the fretboard, obviously. They
are cut for suitable string height over the frets or board like slotting a
normal nut.
It is a good idea to check the gear screw on the back of the Hipshot Ultralight
tuners occasionally. If one over time comes loose and is lost, it is a phillips
head, 6/32 x 1/4" screw. Feel free to contact us for assistance, or Hipshot
directly at 1.800.262.5630.
Instruments are strobed on a Petersen VS-series, intonated to the attack
of the note (plucked with medium force), not the decay of the note. There is a
difference, and this works for me, so that's how I do it.
Action is generally set in the 2 to 3 mm range @ the 24th fret, from the
top of the fret to the underside of the string. Shorter scale basses have less
tension and appreciate slightly higher string height than longer scale, higher
tension instruments. Higher string height in general sounds better too, so raise
'em up and dig in, hoss! Players with a light touch can lower their strings
closer.
A nut on an instrument with a zero fret functions differently than a
standard one - all scale accuracy & tension is borne by the zero fret. I cut
the nut slots wide for a looser feel - bend a string at the first few frets and
this will become self-explanatory. You don’t have to fight the nut.
Strings are nickel roundwound .045 - .105 (4s) or .045 - .130 (5s);
fretless basses come with flat or tapewound strings unless roundwounds are
requested by the client. Please read your warranty sheet. More on string
selection is up in the first section. When stringing, trim what will leave you
at least 4 good winds. (Rather than measure how much to take off, measure how
long the string you're taking off is ~ total new string length is not always
consistent!) Insert the end into the hole in the center of the tuning
machine shaft. Yes, fully down into it. Then near the top, bend it around the
edge & wind neatly under tension the rest of the string. It should look
likeneat winds going all the way down the shaft, with 3/4 wrap of the full size
part of the E string. It should not look like a spool of yarn the cat got
a hold of. "Wind it all the way down the shaft." This
will get you the maximum benefit from the tension of the tilt-back headstock,
seat the strings properly in the nut & over the zero fret, and thereby give
the best tone & performance. Tune to pitch, grab & stretch them a bit.
Retune. Go play.
CortoClassic or other owners of our basses with other tuners should still
wind the string neatly all the way down the shaft for proper seating in the nut
and down pressure on the zero fret.
Birdsong basses should fit into any rectangular “universal” electric guitar
case and most guitar gig bags (though some can be a tight fit).
The finish consists of two poly & oil blends - contact for specifics.
We do not use filler on any of our bodies, so variations in grain texture are
normal & natural... we see these as character and not “flaws”. It is
part of working with natural materials.
Recommended source for parts: AllParts, Houston, TX USA 1-800-327-8942
Warranty
This Birdsong instrument is warranted by The Birdsong Hand Built Guitar Co.
(henceforth referred to as “Birdsong Guitars”) of Wimberley, Texas, to be
free of defects in materials and workmanship for five (5) years from date of
delivery, subject to limitations contained in this warranty. This warranty is
extended to the original owner only, and is not transferable to subsequent
owners.
WHAT WE WILL DO --
If at any time within five years of date of purchase this Birdsong instrument
malfunctions as a result of faulty materials or workmanship, it will be repaired
or replaced at our sole discretion.
The following conditions are specifically excluded from
the warranty:
1. Any unauthorized modifications or alterations
made to the instrument.
2. Any damage caused by misuse, negligence,
accident, improper use or unauthorized repair.
3. Damage caused by extremes of temperature or
humidity, as in leaving the instrument for long periods in a closed vehicle in a
hot climate, or submersion, for example.
4. Normal wear and tear, tonal characteristics,
worn frets, finish wear, or damage caused by contact with stands, hangers or
solvents.
5. Damage resulting from acts of God / natural
disasters.
6. Wear to fretless fretboards by use of roundwound strings.
HOW TO OBTAIN WARRANTY SERVICE --
Should you require warranty service for your Birdsong instrument, you should
contact Scott Beckwith at Birdsong Guitars via phone, email, or at PO Box 1745
Wimberley, TX 78676. We will then authorize you to return the guitar to us
and provide an address. Buyer is responsible for insured shipping cost to get
the instrument to us; we will pay shipping back after adjustment / repair.
We will notify you of the work to be done and an approximate date of completion.
If additional non-warranty work is indicated we will advise you. It is not
necessary to purchase non-warranty work to obtain service or materials covered
by this warranty. In the event of unexpected loss by fire, theft, or damage to
your instrument while at Birdsong Guitars, our responsibility shall be limited
to replacement with a new instrument of the same or most similar available
style.
No representative or other person is authorized to assume for Birdsong
Guitars any liability except as stated in this warranty. Birdsong Guitars makes
no other express warranty of any kind whatsoever. All implied warranties,
including warranties of merchantability and fitness for a particular purpose,
exceeding the duration of this warranty are hereby disclaimed and excluded from
this warranty. Birdsong Guitars disclaims liability for any incidental or
consequential damages.
Please review the legal page.
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