We see the pieces every day. We make them; we see them in the wood. Heck, we see them in your dining room table! Any flat piece of wood, we look at thickness and grain orientation, and hmmm… where’s a good line to make a center joint? Can we get two halves? Maybe four for two bodies? Which models will fit? Oh I’m listening, believe me - I’m hearing about how you got there early and those chairs were 70% off so you piled all six of them in the cart… but I’m coveting your furniture, and it’s not to hold up my dish.
That beautiful body starts as dried or aged planks slabbed out, thicknessed, and surfaced. We use our body shape template to place the halves-to-be, then cut and dress the edges to join for perfect fit, however many pieces. Sometimes it’s done in one shot, other times we group and join them into a blank as we go for more complex glue-ups. No huge jigs, mainly little red Bessy and long orange Jorgensen hand clamps to line it all up and squeeze the glued edges together. Then, we measure and mark the center line, the body shape, and free the body from the blank.
We dress the edge, rout pockets and drill holes, round over, and carve in contours. On the workbench; not in a big silver machine by pushing a button. We know how the various woods taste, and I can tell you I’ve showered out dust and chips from places you don’t even want to think about. Then, the sanding process, and several coats of our hand-rubbed finishing oil blend. Those three show spalted pecan, mahogany or cherry, and black walnut.
Earlier in the process, it became a bass-in-progress from a plank; now it becomes a whole bass, as it is joined by the neck and hardware, pickups and electronics, strings and remaining parts and pieces… and we get them all wired and mounted and working together. Then you take your badass self and go bring it to the people! Rock them, mellow them, move them with your music. That’s how a Birdsong bass body comes to be, and we’re honored to be a part of what your music and its moments come to be!
As they say where bananas are picked, “Thanks a BUNCH!” - and many thanks to Head Luthier Jake Goede, carving out the best Birdsongs ever.
Questions or to work up an order:
Scott (512) 395-5126 anytime (calls)
birdsongbass@yahoo.com (email)