Birdsong Guitars
It could fill a book after 20-plus years, but deep in the south-central Texas “Hill Country” woods, the first Birdsong branded instrument was a guitar built by Scott in the workshop of local legend John C. “Uncle Johnny” Kirtland. “We had hit it off playing music, and I needed a place to work out of to continue building my guitars. It started as that, but while I showed him how to turn his wood art into guitars, he showed me how to turn my guitars into wood art.” This was late 2000 into 2004. By July 4th when www.birdsongguitars.com was launched, along with the Birdsong Cortobass, Birdsong was a mom-and-pop team of Scott with wife Jamie Hornbuckle. With a trickle of helpers and behind-the-scenes believers, Birdsong grew from day one.
We were in with the Luthiers in a fantastic book, Hand Made Hand Played - that was one of our 2nd Anniversary Cortobasses from 2006. Birdsongs are played worldwide, have been on late night TV, played Madison Square Garden on a New Years Eve, rocked 80,000 at a festival in Mexico, and even more at Australia’s Big Day Out festival. They have played worship in lots of churches, raised hell in uncountable bars, made it to a few orchestra pits, and rocked lots and lots of clubs and venues, basements and porches, all the way over to Bethel, Alaska - where the delivered bass came out of the case IN TUNE. We build them tough. They’re not fragile. They were always tools first and then talismans, even the really wild stuff.
Through a handful of workshops, each with their own stories, it has always been (at most) a few sets of hands building big sounding little basses. Plus a number of guitars, too. And that way of doing it continues today in our 20th official company year! We’re still a real deal independent small business, we treat you like family, and our reputation is based on our little miracle basses knocking it out of the park.
Thank YOU for 20 years as a company, and year 24 as a brand… and counting. Stay tuned for more!