LeftyBassist.com

I had been looking for some time for a new short scale bass. I did not like the sound of my 2013 Gibson SG, so I sold that , and up to now had been playing an Epiphone EB0 with a DiMarzio No. 1 pup. The Landing at NJ Guitar just did not do it for me. I did get interested in the Cortobass they had, to the point that I became interested in the builder more so than the particular one NJ had. I got in on a refurb deal for this one. Scott Beckworth of Birdsong had bought this one back to protect his reputation after the original owner had cut off the upper horn. A new walnut and maple body had been cut out but not yet routed at the time I contacted him. I got to select the pup location that I wanted. The original electronics and neck were then installed. Set up with flats and a Hipshot drop extender, too! It is taking me some time to get used to the body shape, but the tone and playability are all that I had hoped for!

Wow, that looks great! Purdy walnut.

I'm glad you're enjoying it.

That looks great Congrats!
I've always been curious about Birdsong basses.

Thank you! When I first committed to it, I could only have an inkling of how the grain of the wood would appear. I had no experience with other boutique basses, even with the Birdsong before this one came home. The Lace pickup he used has a slight growl to it, even with flats on it and the neck position placement, but it responds very well to changes in amp eq to get all the way down to old time blues thump, if I want that.

That is beautiful! I have also been curious about Birdsong. BTW, I see you are from Western CT - I grew up in New Milford CT left there about 30 years ago for upstate NY.

That is interesting, bhunt! I moved to Newtown in 1958 with my family, who were from Bethel. Grew up here, still live here. Met my wife from New Milford in the '70's. Her father was a pastor there at the time.
A lot has changed in New Milford over 30 years. If you haven't been down since, it would appear much busier while struggling badly to maintain its old New England charm. Although, it does resemble some of the larger towns in New Hampshire that you find along I-91.

Scott Beckwith is, as he calls himself, "The Captain of the Ship", at Birdsong. He maintains a very active website, posts progress photos of current builds with weekly narrative updates, and posts frequently on FB. He loves to discuss wants, needs, specs of basses with a (potential) client. I know of one instance where a client was having conversations with Scott for months before a piece of wood was selected, never mind cut. The base corporation is Wingfeather Enterprises, and there are a lot of you tube posts under the wingfeather and birdsong titles, demonstrating his different models, and discussing the different aspects of the company and his own philosophy.
Researching Birdsong Basses is very easy. He is very up front about everything he does, and even addresses the question of "Can you really afford this?' in one of the web site topics in FAQ.
Oh, I meant to mention, there is no upcharge for left hand or fretless.

I played this bass out this morning, and it seems like it was the first time in quite a while where I played without giving the bass itself a thought.
The neck seems a little thicker than the Epiphone EB0 neck, with a much shallower radius, and low frets. There is a zero fret. When you press down on a note with the low frets, the note is THERE, properly intonated, unlike with high or jumbo frets where if you apply different pressure on the string, you get a different note. This was somewhat frustrating to me on the EB0 with flats and high tension. Maybe fret wear will impact this bass sooner than one with jumbo frets, but I think the sound that I am getting is worth it.