Birdsong Guitars Cortobass

Cortobass S/N 5C1-011, built by hand on 3/30/05 in Texas with the intention of being an ultra light-weight for an old aching back out of a solid Poplar plank, rubbed oil natural finish. The neck is maple, frets and knobs are made of rosewood. The bridge is machined aluminum. Being a short-scale base, it comes in a hard case guitar-sized.

Unique sounding, different than most others. The pickups are cortobass standard (there's a twist). They put a humbucker bridge end, and single coil pickup neck position. This makes the guitar far from dark sounding. The single coil pickup rich and full sounding, and the HB bridge unit is not bright, but rather punchy. Blended they can growl.

Another twist is a 6-position Varitone. Takes some getting used to. Kind of heavy handed variations, kind of like step-switching a wah wah. But, a couple-three positions are nice, and depending on the venue and or equipment used (or even the key playing in)even out the sound.

The deliverd guitar was setup nearly perfectly. The neck was straight and two-octave intonation right on. The neck pickup id cocked front to back though. Not sure if on purpose or not. I have left it alone, sinde I love the sound.

Nice woodburning detailing (logo, S/N, etc.)

After three months the neck has a developed very slight bow. I suppose that that is natural/normal. Nothing overt.

Other than the jack nut loosening up once and a while, very solid. The finish still looks brand new.

All the customer support I have used was prior to receiving the guitar. We has many conversations about materials, construction details, and the electronics. All were friendly and knowledgable. There is a 5-year limited warranty.

Love the smell as well (wood, oil, and I am told sage). Still smells great agter 3 months.

The Cortobass was hand built in the USA By Birdsong Guitars May 2005
in honduras Mahogany with mapple neck, rosewood fretboard, the hardware is gold plated, it's a 4-string, two pickups, a Lace Sensor neck and EMG bridge and a varitone.
The short scale is truly pleasant for my shoulders and my shorts hands.
The Cortobass comes in france in its hardcase and via UPS

I "love" the palette of tones with the two pickups and the varitone with passive electronic. The others guys of my band, we play blues-rock, said it sound better through the mix that my active Music Man Sterling, that is what I think too.I plug it in Eden traveler 550 head with two Aguilar 112 cabs and its wonderful

It's exactly what I was expected, the lightweight, the smooth feeling of the neck with great playability, the woodwork and blackwash finish

The Cortobass seems very well built with strong materials and good hardware, the company did outstanding work

It was a real pleasure to deal with the Company. Scott and Jamie are very kind. The communications during the ordering were easy, they have sended me some pictures during the progress in the Cortobass. It was their first ordering for Europe, we were both very excited. We keep in touch.

I am a French bassist, that can explain my poor locution, and a new Cortobass owner since only two weeks, But I can maintain that the Cortobass is really a great bass. Birdsong has built a masterpiece, it is really a personnal instrument, and now it's MY BASS.
I am proud to be a Cortobass owner.

Hand-built in the USA in 2004, 4-string, solid Honduran mahogany body, 24 frets with zero fret, Lace Sensor neck pick up and EMG Select bridge pickup with separate and blendable volume controls plus a 6-position Vartione with true bypass plus 5 particular voicings (rather than a tone bleed knob). Neck is maple with a rosewood fretboard and has a substantial yet not chunky feel. Hipshot (r) Ultralite tuners and brass milled bridge that can be strung through-body or not. Beautiful natural finish. Nice TKL hard case included.

Scale length is 31", making it shorter than a typical bass, which is one of its selling points. Compact size makes it lighter and shorter scale means less tension on the strings, making bends and faster runs easier to do.

With the two very different pickups and the Varitone control, many sounds are possible. I play in a rock band as well as some blues jams and I also backup an acoustic artist. I have no trouble finding settings and sounds to fit all the situations I've come across. Tends to a rich sound with lots of sustain. The control cavity is mega-shielded and the components are star grounded for a very quiet instrument, perhaps the quietest bass I've owned. The Lace pickup really growls when using a pick. Being a short-scale, there is a little loss of extreme low-end, but I have full EQ in my stage rack and can cover that easily. The increased playability is worth the little tweak.

The bass is hand-built by craftspeople who also play themselves. Everything about the action, fit, and finish was as perfect as it could be. It's as if the person building it had built it from himself.

It's a slightly more expensive, hand-built instrument and no expense was spared in the materials or hardware. It feels rock solid and I expect to have it and play it the rest of my life and pass it on to someone who will play it after that. I've been playing it regularly as my main instrument for over 6 months at this writing. While I've never felt the need for a backup, it is just silly not to have one. The Cortobass comes with a 5 year warranty just in case.

I can't imagine a better customer service experience. They were very helpful and communicative during the ordering process (aspects of the bass are customized) and kept me aprised of its progress. It got very rough handling by UPS on the initial shipment and they demanded that I send it back so they could inspect it and make sure everything was fine with it. After their inspection, it arrived again, perfectly this time in a new case. As I've had questions and comments, they have continued to treat me like a customer. I am in the process of ordering my second Cortobass.

I have written a more extensive review with pictures and sound clips that is available at http://theellingsworths.net/millard/cortobass.

I've been playing off-and-on for over 20 years and have been playing regularly with a couple different bands over the last several. The Cortobass has been my wish come true for a compact scale instrument that wouldn't weigh me down while delivery pro-quality sound, looks, and features. I've owned an Epiphone Allen Woody Rumblekat and a Fender Mustang and Ampeg and Yamaha basses and have used Fender Precision basses for recording. I've already ordered my second Birdsong.

Bass was made in the USA in 2004. It has 24 frets, plus a zero fret, and four strings. The bass body is made of solid mahogany, and has a natural finish. There are two volume controls and a Varitone 6-position tone selector. The neck pickup is a Lace Sensor pickup, and the bridge pickup is an EMG select pickup. The bass has passive electronics. You can either string through the body, or on top. The neck scale is 32", and the bass came neatly packed in its own hard case.

It sounds a lot better than a Fender active or passive that I have owned. It sounds better than my Yamaha, or my 1960s EBO. The only bass that comes close to the sound is my Martin B-1 bass, which, of course, is only acoustic.

I didn't like the jack on the back of the bass. It's a standard Fender Stratocaster jack reversed, so it sticks out. I did find that using a right-angle jack is the best solution.

As I've only owned this bass for a month and a half, I don't yet know about long-term durability. I have noticed that I don't have to tune the bass nearly as often as any other bass I've owned. It also generally seems well-built.

Dealing with the company was a breeze! The company owners managed to get it to me before Christmas, when I knew I was ordering it during the busiest time of the year. The owners even gave me their cell phone number so that I could call them to let them know that the bass had arrived!

When I received the Birdsong, I gave away my Fender to a friend who is just learning to play. The Cortobass 4C1-003 is as well-crafted as my Martin B-1 bass, and looks like an electric version of it. I like the Varitone, which has six real options of bass sounds. It's much better than active electronics. Remember when you were a child and opened your favorite toy and the battery had leaked acid inside and ruined it? That's why I don't like a battery in my bass. The tone of the Cortobass makes me want to play without my effects pedals!