HAPPY AUTUMN!

Greetings Birdsong circle, and before I share what’s new and exciting here, we wish you a warm Thanksgiving gathering and wonderful Holy days to come. We are VERY grateful to have you with us and to be here still doing what we do for 20-plus years!

Jake has been working wood & wonders in the workshop, and he just updated the client progress page (you can peek too, to see some of what’s being crafted)… check that out at Birdsongs in progress!!

During a workshop cleanup, a couple of bass bodies were discovered! A gorgeous Walnut C-type (Cortobass, Corto2, Cbass… what would you like it to be?) blank and a wild Texas spalted pecan Fusion blank! What’s a Fusion? Well, as if on cue…

After a few special orders and requests for info, we’ve brought the Fusion bass - MY FAVORITE BIRDSONG MODEL - back to the menu for a bit! Order one for springtime and we’ll throw in an option - body matching headstock veneer, black or gold hardware, perhaps rear routing or a nice ebony stringer down the middle, “on the house!” More info on the MODELS page.

I’ve been out on the road and taking some cool pictures - it doesn’t look like this in the Texas “Hill Country” for sure, but I’ve been far over those hills. Here are some road and scenic shots from the past couple of months. It’s a beautiful country, get out and see whatever you can. Notice the details. Look up. Feel the breeze. Find the beauty.

I’m running a 10% OFF rest of November sale - can’t combine it with the Fusion offer, but we can figure out which will work best for your pocket - and if you want a Cortobass, Corto2, C-1, Cbass, or shockingly good little 5-string that’ll shake the walls, YOU’LL SAVE HUNDREDS too!

Orders? Questions? CALL 512-395-5126 anytime or send an email to birdsongbass@yahoo.com. That is Birdsong’s ONLY correct email, it has changed over the years. The workshop is working, basses are being made, and we have a lot of fun to look forward to the rest of this year and into 2025! Be well, play inspired, feel the music, and I’ll have a new news page update riiiiight here.

Thanks again so much, on behalf of all the hands past and present,

Hello From The Highway

Greetings from the road, Captain Scott the woodgnome here! Just rolled through Texas after diverting away from being Florida-bound (my people are all OK from the storms, I pray your circle is too), hung out at the workshop and sampled the latest Birdsong basses on the bench, wonderfully bench-made by Jake, as well as some of the other projects he has going on. They’re amazing, he’s amazing, and this all is amazing to see.

Right this moment, writing this, I’m in a motel room in Columbus, Ohio and on my way northeast. (You can keep up with my own travels and journey on this year at www.sbeckwith.com - I’ll have my own side projects rolling and rocking again in the spring, including all the 25” scale super short basses and some lap steels.) It’s a rainy morning out the window. Some folks love the grit of the city… it’s definitely a flavor. I grew up around it, so honestly I’m more wired for trees and two-lanes these days, especially after so long in the woods of the south. And those years pretty much soothed any city in me out of me, so I’m truly just passing through. I’ve cover enough ground - and still do - not to push it when I’m tired anymore; behind the wheel or in front of a workbench. Jake? Jake’s a force of nature. More focused and honed than 10 or 15 years ago, as one would expect with any pursuit, but still a force of nature. Me? I’m more of a stiff autumn breeze. “They call me the breeze… I keep rolling down the road.” I’ll tell you though, the little places I find full of fun old stuff (own a house from 1876 and drive by a shop like this in Kentucky full of barn and estate antiques without going in - I dare you - impossible - I didn’t think I had any more room in the van - I found some), the small towns, and just enjoying the highway time and its roadside cookin’… I’m good. :) I’ll be settled back in soon enough.

Hey, I’m extending a little sale I offered on Facebook through the weekend on the only Birdsong in inventory at the moment - a beautiful, subtly elegant 5 string of walnut and teak with master craftsman Jake’s maple pinstripe accent laminates. I can’t capture it in pictures, and you have to hear this bass to believe it. So here’s your chance at 11% OFF. One more once-over and it’s ready to go - no wait. No build time. That’s really rare for what we do and how busy we’ve kept since 2004! CALL ME on this one, as my internet will be spotty the next few days. 512-395-5126. That’s the only catch, you have to call and likely endure a bad pun or two. (I look forward to talking with you!)

OK, it’s time to hit the shower - no “Continental breakfast” in this place, lol - and hit the road. I usually van-camp it but there’s a lot of stuff in the back of CRAN-ONE the Caravan on this run (more “CRAM-ONE” at the moment), and really it is good to stretch out, kick back, and shower up EASILY every so often. Wishing you well wherever you are from wherever I am, on behalf of the little workshop in Texas where wood becomes Birdsongs! Stay tuned…

P.S.

Fall Greetings!

Greetings from points far north and far south, Birdsong friends all over! I, Scott, aka Chief Woodgnome, am up where the flannel is on and the leaves are changing; Head Luthier Jake is - well, where Birdsong ALWAYS is - in a Texas Hill Country workshop! We currently have two basses in inventory, one complete and ready to ship shortly. It just happens to be one of the best looking 5-strings Birdsong has ever made.

For more pics and details, check out the INVENTORY page.

The hands of Jake have been very busy this year, and continue to be - here are two special-order Fusion basses coming together. We really need to put it back into the lineup “officially”… they rock, roll, jazz, blues, and jam out - but with a sweet, round bass voice as if some upright bass was mixed in. Great for roots rock or acoustic accompaniment! All in a swoopy yet ELEGANT looking bass. These two are for clients… can we start one for you? Hmmmmmmm???

As for me, the wandering Captain freed into a chapter of here-and-there-ness (while still taking your calls and orders and running the business end of things) and pondering what I would like my NEXT twenty years to look like, I think it’s going to look like this…

Artsy shots from a little Adirondack homestead in the “North Country” of far northern New York. There’s a barn and house from 1876, and a workshop. I hope to settle there in the spring, to maintain my Birdsong management, build the small amounts of what I do (mini-basses and D’AQUILA guitars, www.sbeckwith.com), and continue my simple and creative life into its autumn season. ‘Til then, I’m still based out of Texas but roaming around on adventure. WHEREVER I am, I’ll be here for you for ALL Birdsong business and questions. Birdsong making will remain in Texas, as always… And you all, whether we’ve ever met or not, family to me. I wanted to share; I’m very excited for all of this. For Jake, for Birdsong, and for my dreams which now have a garden again. Be well, stay inspired, and spread the music. Another news page update in a couple of weeks… stay tuned!

Our ONLY email: birdsongbass@yahoo.com
Scott’s Birdsong phone: 512-395-5126

Listening to: The Eagles Greatest Hits; Van Morrison Moondance; Dr. John The Sun The Moon and Herbs; Coltrane Plays The Blues.

Body Talk

We see the pieces every day. We make them; we see them in the wood. Heck, we see them in your dining room table! Any flat piece of wood, we look at thickness and grain orientation, and hmmm… where’s a good line to make a center joint? Can we get two halves? Maybe four for two bodies? Which models will fit? Oh I’m listening, believe me - I’m hearing about how you got there early and those chairs were 70% off so you piled all six of them in the cart… but I’m coveting your furniture, and it’s not to hold up my dish.

That beautiful body starts as dried or aged planks slabbed out, thicknessed, and surfaced. We use our body shape template to place the halves-to-be, then cut and dress the edges to join for perfect fit, however many pieces. Sometimes it’s done in one shot, other times we group and join them into a blank as we go for more complex glue-ups. No huge jigs, mainly little red Bessy and long orange Jorgensen hand clamps to line it all up and squeeze the glued edges together. Then, we measure and mark the center line, the body shape, and free the body from the blank.

We dress the edge, rout pockets and drill holes, round over, and carve in contours. On the workbench; not in a big silver machine by pushing a button. We know how the various woods taste, and I can tell you I’ve showered out dust and chips from places you don’t even want to think about. Then, the sanding process, and several coats of our hand-rubbed finishing oil blend. Those three show spalted pecan, mahogany or cherry, and black walnut.

Earlier in the process, it became a bass-in-progress from a plank; now it becomes a whole bass, as it is joined by the neck and hardware, pickups and electronics, strings and remaining parts and pieces… and we get them all wired and mounted and working together. Then you take your badass self and go bring it to the people! Rock them, mellow them, move them with your music. That’s how a Birdsong bass body comes to be, and we’re honored to be a part of what your music and its moments come to be!

As they say where bananas are picked, “Thanks a BUNCH!” - and many thanks to Head Luthier Jake Goede, carving out the best Birdsongs ever.

Questions or to work up an order:
Scott (512) 395-5126 anytime (calls)
birdsongbass@yahoo.com (email)

Why Do We Buy?

I talk a lot about the balance of tool vs. talisman that IS a custom instrument or something hand crafted from other hands to yours. Even items of true quality… I mean, you can build a cabin with a $10 hammer and pawn shop tools and move in. I did that. But a quality tool is something. I remember my first expensive hiking boots as an adult. What a difference. And not just in price, but in VALUE. Past the barest essential function every shoe has, or every hammer has, or every bass guitar has in common, what is it? And what makes one special specifically over another even past feel and looks and craft and wow factor? Why do we buy when the offer is on the table, when it’s on the screen and you just KNOW or it’s in front of you and that magic extra something is there?

Here I am at Martin Guitars in Nazareth, PA. It was a bucket list check-off to go, and I guess a souvenir hat wasn’t going to cut it. A Custom Shop 000 Cherry Hill sure did, though! And, though I have always been buying and dancing with and selling guitars, after so long, I think I know what it feels like to get a Birdsong. I love instruments, I’ve owned hundreds even aside from the music shops I’ve been involved in. They fascinate me; all kinds. All price ranges. But this? This wasn’t something I do every day. Or ever, really. Or likely again. But I’ve been on the other side of it for a lot of people over the decades!

And that pretty much started right here, at The Music Shop in Melrose, MA. I took a detour in my wanders and stopped by. Don’t worry, Head Luthier Jake’s in TX making the basses and they’re actually better than ever! That says something for a 20-year brand known for doing it right in the first place. And THAT all started as my chapter in this little store. Though I’d bolted together parts and modified and repaired guitars and basses, behind this glass in 1998 was the first time I tasted sawdust. And once you taste the dust, the nature of what’s possible and the scope of your craft change significantly. I thought after 24 years and 2 owners later I’d just sneak up and take a selfie, but it was about four seconds before the door opened. “Scott? Is that you?”

Yeah, it’s me. The adventure continued for sure! And it keeps rolling now. And I think in many cases it’s not just the value - what you get for what you give, whatever the numbers involved - but the experience. Not only what transfers in the intangible from craftspeople’s hearts and souls through their hands to yours, not even legacy. I mean, we dance with that a little after 20 years… that’s really something in this business. It’s a certain little glow on everything; it’s in the conversation, the making, the offering, us and the client. All feel that extra warmth of legacy. But Martin’s been around for 191. Think about that. I bought a new Martin to make old memories. And you buy a new Birdsong to do the same. Tool? Check. Legend? Check. Devotion to the client? Check. Great instrument? Check. Now… down the road when we’re done playing, done sharing this active soundtrack musicians get to craft out of moments and inspiration and share with others, what will we have? The instruments will be in other hands to continue their journeys. The tools will be in other workshops to keep serving the process of creation, in other hands themselves. And we will have the memories… of the experience of discovering that special instrument that is OUR VOICE, and of the times making the music, and those moments being played BY it, and the ripples out of all of this… and we will never doubt that we have truly lived.

Peace be with you, and stay tuned…

Listening to: Lots of music while roaming, but a couple of standouts on this last run have been Robert Plant’s The Principle of Moments and the John Coltrane & Kenny Burrell album. Sublime, each in their own manner.

The Magic Is In The Moment You Make

It's 4AM and I'm thirstier than a desert pharoah, but that's what I get for popcorn before bed. The motel offered "popcorn night", a perk I had never even considered... but as a traveler who does get his money's worth, was obligated to pack so densely it was like a little popcorn planet with its own gravitational pull. Well, it drew in my face, I can tell you that! And really, there are only so many three-trip dawn assaults on gratis continental breakfasts one can make. So, no backpack bagels or banana in the pocket this morning. I'm just happy to be here. But thirsty, man. Really, really thirsty.

How did I get here? Well I, Captain Scott, am on what my land down under friends may call "Walkabout." More of a drive-about really, but off on the road for business, adventure, and new horizons. Voyages in my little starship to "Explore strange new worlds, to seek out new life and new civilizations," quoth James Kirk. This is my chapter, and I am out seeking. My hands, wrists, and eyes are very grateful to Birdsong Head Luthier Jake Goede for, in Olympic terms, grabbing the passed baton and running like hell with it. On this past road trip I popped in to the Texas Hill Country and saw and played the latest of the most beautifully made Birdsongs ever. Basses that may have formed from client calls in, for example, a Florida hotel with a giant gold statue of a dog's ass by the front door, or taken deep in the Adirondacks, or aboard the housetruck Moondancer in a truck stop parking lot in Mississippi during near hurricane conditions. Call and be a part of your own adventure - I'm here for you wherever I am and the basses are the best value they've ever been with Birdsong absolute legend Jake hand crafting each one!

Here and now, though? I can tell you this - among other happenings and quests of this run, the legendary and much looked-for Birdsong doubleneck bass was found, and in a series of surprising twists involving 20 states, two vehicles, and an amazing pizza, is where it will spend its next chapter. The whole story of the bass itself is really something, including all of this, some of which will be told in time and some not. Much like the continuing chapters of Scott's Big Adventure, which began at 18, setting out in a '77 Dodge van with a duffel bag and a guitar to see what could happen. Here I am at 55 in a much newer Grand Caravan yet with duffel bag and guitar, seeing what can happen. Not a traditional journey for most, but certainly for me. This is how things start when you're me.

Also along this leg was delivered a wild, special order, lined fretless 6-string Bliss bass, in person, to this happy guy who let me play Birdsong 5-string #1 from many years ago. Client as a word feels a little cold; I have love for all of you, we're a circle of sorts. The extended Birdsong family. And, this kind of thing has happened over the years - Scott The Birdsong Guy popping over to hand you your new bass - magic every time, so much for me too. This chapter of my life and how my role in Birdsong evolved last year, kind of lends this time to... like, while we have this open window, let's jump through it, shall we? SO… there's a SUMMER SPECIAL on right now of 15% OFF... OR I WILL HAND DELIVER your bass, regale you with tales of music and machine, answer any questions, and eat your pizza. Now how's that for an offer, hah? HAH? Obviously, realities of season and schedule and location apply, but we can talk about that while we figure out the woods and whether you'd like a body-matching headstock veneer or gold hardware or what not.

Here's an inventory build that qualifies - one of the 20th Anniversary basses! A custom one-off Cortobass of spalted Texas pecan, a little real turquoise fill, some black walnut, figured maple, wild exotic cocobolo, and a Scott-carved full scroll! It just needs hardware and sound-makers and trim plates, and then to either be shipped off as a heck of a bargain or delivered by a little hairy guy with mirrored shades, fedora, and a guitar case. Do not be alarmed, that's the regular world disguise of the woodgnome; it's a GOOD thing! You will laugh, I will get to tell you eye-to-eye how grateful I am for you, and it will be so much more than a purchase... however cool obtaining a Birdsong may be. It's that so much more that really makes life, and the stories along the way that become our book.

In this moment that's you in your world reading this, me in another typing this up eating cold Chinese food (which, like cold pizza, is its own delicacy). Life is magic in either spot - it's up to us to work that extra bit in, or really just allow it to happen, wherever we can... to seek THAT in the moments while we attain and obtain and take care of business. That magic is what makes the stories and it doesn't always have to make sense if it makes for a great story.

Be well and stay tuned,

Contact anytime:
512.395.5126 (calls) or
birdsongbass@yahoo.com

Listening to: SO much music over the miles, but here are a few standouts. Herbie Hancock The New Standard is great jazz from familiar songs in outstanding fidelity; Van Morrison Moondance ("The caravan is on its way..." Yes it is, bud. It sure is...); and the Rolling Stones Exile on Main St. I've always been more of a Sticky Fingers fan, but loving this one on this drive.