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Birdsong Cortobass?

#21
ScottB said:
I also find it disheartening that a moderator of all people would represent the talkbass community so poorly by being so rude and disrespectful. Perhaps in the future, I'll just slap my name on Chinese P-bass copies and then we can have an intelligent exchange of ideas.
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Scott,
keep in mind that mods are people too. they can dislike and like anything they please. Hambone represents himself, not the entirety of talkbass.
I will keep my opinion out of this, because i can only see what the bass looks like. Maybe it sounds wonderful, but i cannot play it myself, unless you are in the area. (i know there are sound clips, but so does fender, and the way i seem to play, i cannot get my fender to sound anything like the samples on their site)
just a little bit of my thoughts...


millard, i don't feel there needs to be any apologies, otherwise there would be hundreds of emails from many TB members going to many bass,amp (especially behringer imo),effect and other bass-related companies apoligizing for the things they've said here.

just my thoughts again...


Charlie
 
#22
Scott and all at Birdsong need no defending but here goes anyway.It's generally a baaad idea to have strong opinions on matters you know nothing about! You know who I'm talking about. As for the cortobass, mine is excellent. The company is 100% reliable and goes the extra mile. And they're really nice people, which helps. Apart from that, STAND BY YO' BEDS ! 'SHUN.
 
#23
I am a huge fan of short and medium scale basses, and I have bought over a dozen different ones over the last few years just to compare them. There may be plenty of custom builders out there, but very few who understand how to change the _proportions_ and balance of the bass, not just the neck length. Same goes for production short/mediums, and they are often missing something in the construction quality or sound. Even if one or two builders "can" or "will" do it, most of them are not putting much effort into designing or marketing these shorter instruments.

So there is still _plenty_ of room in the market for somebody to produce a well-made, well-balanced, good-sounding short/medium scale bass. I look forward to trying a Cortobass and finding out _in person_ what it's like.
 
#24
I now have my second Cortobass (review coming soon) and I couldn't be happier. I know that I'm also not the only repeat customer -- which is pretty amazing for a company that is a little over a year old. I recently met Scott and Jamie and they are every bit as cool in person as they seem via email (we hooked up for the Chet Helms Memorial Tribal Stomp in Golden Gate Park -- were you there bongo?)

I have #002 (first Cortobass sold), #020 (first CortoGT) and have a reservation in for #200. :) I've had several other short-scale basses and played several more and none of them come close to feeling like a Cortobass. They are designed and built from the ground up to be a short-scale bass and you can tell when you strap one on.

Millard
 
#25
I think the Cortobasses rock as well. Their new model, the Sadhana is really something awesome - and I've ordered #001!
As for the company - top notch. Tons of communication through the process, attention to every little detail I ask for - I could go on and on. Great people making a great product.
 
#26
I was fortunate enough to get a pass to NAMM and I picked up a lot of different bass guitars and none of them are for me. The playability of the short-scale combined with a quality build process and great customer support has me locked in. I won't be going back to heavy basses with long necks.

I'm sure you'll love your new bass.

Millard
 
#27
Hambone said:
Way overpriced, obviously designed by a g****r player, and nothing special to boot.

You can do much better in a short scale to look to other builders. This guy is talking through his hat about how "different" his bass is. It's all standard - standard construction and standard materials. His hokey woodburning looks like a summer camp project. And look at his options list - he actually claims "gold plating" for an extra $120!!! That's outrageous.
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>>>Funny, I feel the same way about those $3500 Fender Jazz Bass clones....

Slug
 
#30
ScottB said:
With the absolute industry-wide glut of 31-1/2" scale, triple-laminate necked, 24-fret, zero-fret equipped, single-piece Honduran mahogany body, single coil by the neck, varitone equipped basses out there... :)
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Whatever happened to the 31-1/2" scale? All the copy on the website seems to say 31".

Was there a difference back then? Why the change now?
 
#33
The disrespectfull comment made by the moderator here is why I left Talkbass for a long time. It seems that if you don't own botique stuff, or can't afford the latest and greatest, some people on here, think that you are just a loser. I think that anybody should be able to buy and play whatever they want , and discuss their stuff, without being ridiculed by any of the members. Everyone has to start some where, and should be encouraged to enjoy playing whatever they may own. Suggestions can be made , but to just dis somebody is really bad. I know that Brady Muckelroy has used them, and if the moderator is half the player he is, I would be very surprised. Some of the best bass players I have heard on the road, don't have near as nice of equipment as I own, and when I hear them, I feel very humbled.
 
#34
joegeezer said:
The disrespectfull comment made by the moderator here is why I left Talkbass for a long time. It seems that if you don't own botique stuff, or can't afford the latest and greatest, some people on here, think that you are just a loser.
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I've been here for 6 years, and I've never found this to be the case. Case in point: the Essex mega thread. I know toes were stepped on in this thread, but let's not get it twisted, TB is not one of "those" sites. JMO.
 
#35
joegeezer said:
I know that Brady Muckelroy has used them, and if the moderator is half the player he is, I would be very surprised. Some of the best bass players I have heard on the road, don't have near as nice of equipment as I own, and when I hear them, I feel very humbled.
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i just find it interesting, in general, how many members spend such ridiculous amounts of money on what they call "GAS" . it seems sometimes that practice, and getting better , is made by buying higher end equipment. as opposed to sitting down for a few hours and learning something new.

if you look at these forums, the "performance, recording, etc." ones are somewhat neglected, while the ones alll about equipment is continuously filled with threads such as "should i buy this?, or BAD GAS". i myself have noticed how quick i am to want something ,then realize its not necessary, as well as making "should i buy this" posts. of course its necessary, and fun to discuss your instruments. however, it just seems sometimes we get obsessed with our gear, and forget about the really important thing.. playing.

kind of off topic, but hey, that happens all the time neway. :)

on topic, i do believe hambone can expresss his opinion. however, there are nicer ways of expressing that opinion, ESPECIALLY when there was no basis for criticism besides browsing the website. as far as playability, etc., he has no grounds. but for aesthetics and what he feels are decent prices, there is of course a legitimate excuse for comment.

let's be adults here.
 
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#37
I myself have wondered about all those $3500 jazz bass copies. What makes those private shop versions of the jbass style worth all that money, exactly?

Don't take this the wrong way, expensive clone defenders, I am seriously curious about what attention is paid to detail that makes them worth it all. (I have never played one or even seen one in person, but I look at the sites and it doesn't look really that much nicer than one from the Fender shop.)
 
#38
adept_inept said:
i just find it interesting, in general, how many members spend such ridiculous amounts of money on what they call "GAS" . it seems sometimes that practice, and getting better , is made by buying higher end equipment. as opposed to sitting down for a few hours and learning something new.
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Hey, quit pickin' on me! ;)

I'm always picking on myself about skills development, but I have to say that great equipment goes a long way to making you _sound_ better. I'm not a great player, but I'm always getting compliments on how good I sound. I may not play as many notes as some guys or string them together quite as well, but the ones I do hit sound great.

I also use a switchable pre-amp and a couple effects and a pick on some songs and fingers on others and bridge pickup on that one and neck pickup on the other so that I don't sound exactly the same every song. That costs money, too.

Do I wish I had more time to practice? Heck yeah. Do I own a bunch of good instructional books and do I dig into them and do scales and stuff? When the rest of the world calms down enough.

But Friday and Saturday and any other night we can play come along and I have to make the most of what I have to make the band sound good. So I try my best to hit the right notes at the right times, provide an interested stage presence, and make sure that whatever I do play sounds as good as possible.

Millard
 
#39
I know that Brady Muckelroy has used them, and if the moderator is half the player he is, I would be very surprised. Some of the best bass players I have heard on the road, don't have near as nice of equipment as I own, and when I hear them, I feel very humbled.[/QUOTE]

Just to clear things up; I don't OWN a Cortobass. Scott was nice enough to let me come into his shop and play some sound samples for his website. I'm 6'3"/ pretty big hands. I don't really need a shorter scale length in a bass guitar. However, the Cortobass I played sounded/ played great. The bass was, I believe, the FIRST (cerial # 1). Scott's building has, since, improved by leaps & bounds... I live near Birdsong Guitars (makers of the Cortobass) and have been fortunate to see a few works in progress. Hands down; Scott knows what he's doing. At the same time, he's not affraid to try something new. With any hand made instrument, the character of the builder shines through. Scott has a great thing going in what he's doing. You just don't find builders who dedicate their art to shorter scale basses. He's tapped into a wide-open market. I would certainly recomend a cortobass for a player who is interested in a quality, short-scale instrument that you can USE (not just hang up on the wall).
Brado
 
#40
Checking out this guy's site, it's aparent that he does'nt do 5 or six string instruments, is this because of personal or financial reasons? I'm sure its not because of experience as the basses really look cool, sort of like U S Masters basses, but different. I've got a few questions
Does he offer extended range basses?
Active electronics?
String spacing options?

The Carl Thompson-ish one looks really cool.
 

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