Our Bass of the Week has one outstanding feature, but there’s more to this build than meets the eye. This is the B 2601 “Walden Pond” Bass built by master luthier Michael Spalt. It’s a take on his vViper model, which has a “wiping” pickup that can be adjusted to produce a wide range of tonal variations.
“Moving the pickup all the way to the front will approximate a typical P-bass position, the middle will have more of a MusicMan character, while the rear position is close to the bridge pickup in a Jazz Bass,” Spalt writes on his website. “There are infinite positions between these, each yielding a different tonal character.”
The “Walden Pond” takes options even further. Spalt explains that it was originally ordered as a fretless vViper Totem bass, but during the building phase, the customer asked if he could have a fretted neck as well. Luckily, Spalt had a Bird’s Eye Maple neck in his shop ready to go, and so the “Walden Pond” comes with both, giving a new meaning to the term “double neck.”
“I wanted to make this a practical feature, with machine bolts for longevity and ease of handling,” Spalt says. “It takes as little as 4 minutes 20 seconds for the changeover. Action and intonation match, making lengthy adjustments unnecessary. The case has an extra compartment for the second neck for convenient transport and quick retrieval.”
The bass features a one-piece alder body, and both necks are made of Bird’s Eye Maple. The fretless neck adds an unlined Macassar ebony fingerboard as well as a drop D tuner. Other features include a vViper pickup designed by Bill Bartolini, a Bartolini preamp, Graph-Tech Ghost piezos and preamp, and Hipshot hardware. As part of Spalt’s Totem series, it features leaves in resin for an artistic top.
Michael Spalt B 2601 “Walden Pond” Photos:
