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Birdsong Cortobass?

#81
Well coming from the point of view of a carpenter, I know that woodshop prices can get very high, especially for custom-work beyond the mere milling of mouldings, etc.

A musical instrument has certain tolerances to be met, and depending on the wood this kind of tripping can go from straight-forward to downright maddening. If you're not picky enough (i.e., taking your time) you can put a pretty meaningful screw into your marketability when your neck warps, etc. (TB provides plenty of examples of this).

And yet... $1800 for something that doesn't look like a Ritter with spalted Maple does, on the surface, push it a bit.

It's a market. I have an older Peavey (US) I paid $300 for, and it's a kick-arse bass- trumps 2 of the 3 Rickies I've had for sound (in a way) and definitely for playability. I have a Squier parts-bass that sounds awesome and plays very nicely. So what we're after for our big $$ is "extroadinary", which is the buzz among some of us for the Birdsong. Pix never do it right, so we're just going to have to try one.
 
#82
Yep, that's what I did. I caught a Mequite, single pup, fretless Birdsong in inventory and bought it. But I am used to risks like that because I live in a very rural area where the selection is minimal and buying on faith via the internet is the standard. In the case of Birdsong I was rewarded for my faith; you might not agree. The thing is, Scott has a return policy so you can't get burned.
 
#84
A lot of hand work - glueing, shaping, routing, etc. - goes into these basses. Also, with the small number of basses he produces, his discount on hardware is probably minimal. Hardware is good quality. Scott hand selects the wood and typically uses solid wood, even on exotic builds. I think considering the above, the basses are fairly priced.
 
#85
I play one of Scott's Hy5s and I'll tell you what...It's the nicest 5-string I've ever played. It cost me $2500.00, but as far as I'm concerned it is worth EVERY penney I paid for it. It is made of Zebrawood which is a dense wood with a beautiful DEEP sound. Also,his design allows for a GREAT soundingB-string,which you wouldn't think could be possible
with a short-scale.I would match the sound of this bass with any out there,and I feel like Scott is an EXCELLENT builder.
Kent:bassist:
 
#86
K.Ross said:
I play one of Scott's Hy5s and I'll tell you what...It's the nicest 5-string I've ever played. It cost me $2500.00, but as far as I'm concerned it is worth EVERY penney I paid for it. It is made of Zebrawood which is a dense wood with a beautiful DEEP sound. Also,his design allows for a GREAT soundingB-string,which you wouldn't think could be possible
with a short-scale.I would match the sound of this bass with any out there,and I feel like Scott is an EXCELLENT builder.
Kent:bassist:
Click to expand...

Oh, you have the zebrawood Hy5. Very nice looking bass!

Lucky guy!
 
#90
etoncrow said:
I had a Lakland JO5 and I still have a Warwick Corvette fretless 5. The low B on the Birdsong Hy5 is every bit as "low" and chest thumping as as of them. I can say the same thing about the E on the fours...my Cortobass fours are actually stronger sounding than the Glaub P or the Casady I had and a lot more versatile..
Click to expand...

Thanks etoncrow. I was mostly concerned with the low E output (due to someone saying that the first few frets on the E string was lacking), so I appreciate your response. I wonder if that other person made that comment due perhaps to using an amp that didn't put out enough wattage needed for the low freqs. As we all know, the lower the freq, the more power is needed to achieve the same volume.
 
#91
Seems like Scott and crew are busy making fine instruments right thru this economic hard time. Is Hambone busy??:rollno: His comments were not only disrespectful, they were indicative of his own ignorance. :scowl:
Scott and Jake are building some top shelf stuff! ;)
 
#92
Well put, najarjuna. Scott and Jake are making some top shelf stuff, and they are great people. I just put in my order for a Spanish Cedar Cortobass. By the time I get it, I should have all my other basses sold, since I know the Songbird is all I will need.
 

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