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Birdsong Club Pt 2

#1,581
Hi Scott
I almost bought a Cortobass about 10 years ago, we had a few emails back and forth and I ended up going with a Landing because I wanted Dark Star pickups and Jimmy chambered the body and it ended up at about 6.2 lbs. It's a gorgeous bass but I still miss not having gotten a Birdsong. And yes, pedals, kind of went nuts with those in the last 2 years or so but I think I've managed to save myself and will start flipping soon, and will probably end up with a Birdsong down payment.....so I may be calling you before you know it....thanks Scott
 
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#1,582
loopee said:
Hi Scott
I almost bought a Cortobass about 10 years ago, we had a few emails back and forth and I ended up going with a Landing because I wanted Dark Star pickups and Jimmy chambered the body and it ended up at about 6.2 lbs. It's a gorgeous bass but I still miss not having gotten a Birdsong. And yes, pedals, kind of went nuts with those in the last 2 years or so but I think I've managed to save myself and will start flipping soon, and will probably end up with a Birdsong down payment.....so I may be calling you before you know it....thanks Scott
Click to expand...
Do you know how Thin The Herd, Birdsong, and Landing are related? The TBass is said to be produced by Customs Build AKA Thin The Herd, but it says it was designed by Birdsong, and yet, Landing has been creating Custom TBasses for many years. Eh, how does that work?
 
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#1,584
Design is more than a shape, and when you design (that includes all aspects of what pickups & parts, where they go, all aspects of scale/radius/etc., working out known issues of given designs, and on) for another company you try to keep it close to their product line. It's like being asked to write a song for a blues artist - you can't show up with a prog tune or a 10 minute jazz odyssey. It'll look similar in many cases. But you can take what you might know really well about all the other ingredients in the recipe of this whole instrument - that they may not - and work that in. That may be why you get consulted. So no, nobody designed that body shape but Leo's circle in the late '40s... but really then of course we have to look at Bigsby guitars which predate Fenders... but in most cases (other than just pure copies right down to screw hole positions we see everywhere), everything else is different - by design.

Loopee I almost built with Dark Stars 4 or 5 times back then but every time either the clients changed their minds or something else, and it just never happened. Honestly on basses I prefer working mostly with humbucking pickups - the only single I use is in one specific spot for one specific voice and even that is very low noise. Call anytime, and it doesn't have to be with money ready. That all gets worked with in its time... but I've always got time to talk a bit with anyone with questions about what we do and why and where any of that may come together as an answer or not. That and working on basses is where my passion is and my head is there 90% of the time.

Should be a much more productive week in the shop next week, this week is our "Winter." In south-central Texas not much in the lives of folks we know gets built and insulated with 16 degrees F in mind or a few days steady below freezing. Once everything cools down that much it takes a good sunny warm day to warm it all back up. We'll be back in the 50s and 60s by the weekend. Did get in a big wood haul of mahogany, poplar, Spanish cedar & walnut on Monday though! As always thanks to everyone for the comments & questions. ~Ol' Long-john Scotty
 
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#1,588
For any of my clients, associates or friends who have worked with HDCustom Guitar Supply, our authorized online dealer (and a rather big source for parts and accessories for other folks), the owner Josh has passed away and their operations have ceased for now. I have no connection to the instruments that were in stock, as they were built to order for and belonged to HDC, not me. I have no more information that I can share, but it is tragic for his family, friends, and those running his various enterprises with him and our condolences are with them all. He did a lot for his community and helped the music to happen as best he could. May the connections he helped put together over the years continue in their own ways to help each other, and may their successes carry ripples of the man’s life and work - and best - with them. [email protected]
 
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#1,589
ScottB said:
For any of my clients, associates or friends who have worked with HDCustom Guitar Supply, our authorized online dealer (and a rather big source for parts and accessories for other folks), the owner Josh has passed away and their operations have ceased for now. I have no connection to the instruments that were in stock, as they were built to order for and belonged to HDC, not me. I have no more information that I can share, but it is tragic for his family, friends, and those running his various enterprises with him and our condolences are with them all. He did a lot for his community and helped the music to happen as best he could. May the connections he helped put together over the years continue in their own ways to help each other, and may their successes carry ripples of the man’s life and work - and best - with them. [email protected]
Click to expand...

So sorry for his family's loss, and for the loss of your business associate, Scott.
 
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#1,595
I traded a beautiful 5 string from local builder Bob Mick, which was too much bass for me and hard to move due to lack of brand recognition.
Mine is Mahogany and Maple. Very playable bass and my hands still hurt from a long Friday night gig and this may be the answer, that I didn't know I was looking for.
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