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Birdsong Club Pt 2

#25
I LOVE my Hy5 fretted. Is anyone out there playing a Hy5 fretless? I plan on ordering one when I get enough dollars put together. Scott is GREAT to work with.His guitars are second to none in design and sound...I would recommend a Birdsong to anyone looking for a QUALITY shortscale. (Gee, I sound like a commercial.)I don't mean to sound that way,I just REALLY enjoy my 5.
Kent:bassist:
 
#26
Hi Folks!!

Here's my new Birdsong.

Rainbow Cortobass with a Fusion body. Scott matched the knobs and the truss rod cover with woods from the rainbow body which I thought was most awesome!

Have trouble puttin' the thing down. :)

deb
 

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#32
I grew up eating TV dinners with my parents watching MASH every night in reruns - I'm frightened by how many little bits of trivia (such as "wearing vertical strips to appear taller/slimmer") to those evenings.

Back on topic - vertical striped butcher block Sadhana - whattya'll think?
 
#33
Sorry to change the subject a bit, but I was wondering how much different the neck on the Hy5 is compared to the neck on the Cortobass.

Also, I took my Cortobass in to my local Long And Mcquade (it's like GC in the states) and had it restrung and had a drop-D tuner installed. The guitar tech said the neck had a bit of back bow (I'm going to take it back in to get a set-up done) and he also recommended I get a case humidifier for it. Has anyone gotten one for their Birdsongs?
 
#36
Jade: I don't use a humidifier. Also, maybe you want to talk to your teacher to see if a setup is really neccessary. Repair shops can find something wrong with any instrument.

I've got a amplifier-cab system (Bass Buddy preamp with a Vestax PowerAmp/LDS 12/6 cab) that I'm extremely happy with and I just need to tweak the strings/strap before I'm all set.

I tried out several strings just for fun:

Ken Smith Stainless Steel Compressors (45-105)
Curt Mangan (45-105)--the standard ones Scott uses
Curt Mangan (40-100)
R.Cocco Nickle Roundwound (45-105)

Ken Smith strings were very meaty and powerful. The tone is a bit muted, kinda in between roundwound and flatwound. Just didn't sound right on the Birdsong. I think I'm gonna try these on a Fender I have lying around.

The Mangan's sounded great. The Mangan's have more sizzle up top. But, the R. Cocco were better, to my ears. Warmer and more even between strings. I'm going to send Scott the R.Cocco strings and see what he has to say. Got the R.Cocco strings on sale for $24.

My hands down fave was the Mangan Light (40-100). Just personal preference in terms of feeling and sound. I like the lower tension, thinner strings. Very uniform sound across the strings and neck. These strings just sing for me.

Next we go strap hunting!

deb
 
#37
Well it looks like my Cortobass will soon hit the client's page. I was waiting on some figured Walnut but decided to go with one of the Cherry bodies in inventory:

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It's been a long wait since August but I can finally start to see it come together!

Does anyone have a Cherry Birdsong? I was wondering about the tonal characteristics vs. Walnut or Mahagony.

Deb - nice looking custom Corto!
 
#38
Thanks, I'm diggin' the Birdsong! And, congratulations on your order!

I had a lengthy correspondence with Scott on the subject of wood tones. Scott says a Birdsong, by design, will sound like a Birdsong regardless of what woods are used. 90-95% of the tone will be the same. He said that he can hear subtle differences with different woods but that is because his ears are fine tuned to the design after building so many of them. Personally, I wouldn't expect much of a difference between cherry/mahogany/walnut. Maybe something very slight even to a refined ear.

If you're still curious, Scott is probably the best resource as he's built and played hundreds of these basses and could articulate the tone differences with quite a bit more clarity.

deb

RLS said:
Well it looks like my Cortobass will soon hit the client's page. I was waiting on some figured Walnut but decided to go with one of the Cherry bodies in inventory:

Does anyone have a Cherry Birdsong? I was wondering about the tonal characteristics vs. Walnut or Mahagony.

Deb - nice looking custom Corto!
Click to expand...
 
#39
RLS said:
... I was wondering about the tonal characteristics vs. Walnut or Mahagony....
Click to expand...

Here are some specifics regarding hardwoods. As you can see there is really very little difference between mahogany, cherry and walnut.

Domestic Hardwoods

Species / # per CF / specific gravity

1 Basswood / 23 / 0.41
2 Sassafras / 28 / 0.45
3 Poplar / 32 / 0.51
4 Mahogany African / 34-36 / .54-.59
5 Mahogany American / 34-40 / .54-.64
6 Elm American / 35 / 0.56
7 Ash American / 35 / 0.66
8 Cherry American / 36 / 0.58
9 Sycamore / 38 / 0.61
10 Maple Soft / 30-39 / .54-.63
11 Walnut American / 40 / 0.64
12 Elm Rock / 43 / 0.70
13 Maple Rock / 45 / 0.72
14 Beech American / 46 / 0.74
15 Zebrano / 46 / 0.74
16 Pecan / 46 / 0.75
17 Oak White / 47 / 0.76
18 Oak Red / 48 / 0.77
19 Holly / 50 / 0.80
20 Mesquite / 50 / 0.80
21 Hickory / 51 / 0.82
22 Persimmon / 52 / 0.83
23 Jacaranda / 53 / 0.85
24 Myrtle / 53 / 0.85
25 Purpleheart / 54 / 0.86
26 Wenge / 55 / 0.88
 
#40
Here's what Scott wrote to me when I was discussing cherry with him:

This bass will sound just like a Birdsong should - woody, warm, punchy, with depth & clarity. They all sound like that, maybe with a pinch of salt on one or a dash of pepper on the other. Just slight different personalities.

For balance & tone, I'll pit it against anything! Cherry's good sounding for anything... it's a rocker, acerola.

Sweet. Have a Cherry nice day!​

:D
 

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