{"id":9,"date":"2026-08-31T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-08-31T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/?post_type=bass&p=9"},"modified":"2026-09-13T08:46:34","modified_gmt":"2026-09-13T08:46:34","slug":"one-bass-two-necks-spalt-instruments-b-2601-walden-pond","status":"publish","type":"bass","link":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/?bass=one-bass-two-necks-spalt-instruments-b-2601-walden-pond","title":{"rendered":"One Bass, Two Necks: Spalt Instruments B 2601 \u201cWalden Pond\u201d"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Michael<\/p>\n

Our Bass of the Week has one outstanding feature, but there\u2019s more to this build than meets the eye. This is the B 2601 \u201cWalden Pond\u201d Bass built by master luthier Michael Spalt. It\u2019s a take on his vViper model, which has a \u201cwiping\u201d pickup that can be adjusted to produce a wide range of tonal variations. <\/p>\n

\u201cMoving 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,\u201d Spalt writes on his website<\/a>. \u201cThere are infinite positions between these, each yielding a different tonal character.\u201d<\/p>\n

The \u201cWalden Pond\u201d 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\u2019s Eye Maple neck in his shop ready to go, and so the \u201cWalden Pond\u201d comes with both, giving a new meaning to the term \u201cdouble neck.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Michael<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to make this a practical feature, with machine bolts for longevity and ease of handling,\u201d Spalt says<\/a>. \u201cIt 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.\u201d<\/p>\n

The bass features a one-piece alder body, and both necks are made of Bird\u2019s 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\u2019s Totem series, it features leaves in resin for an artistic top.<\/p>\n

Michael Spalt B 2601 \u201cWalden Pond\u201d Photos:<\/h2>\n
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Michael Spalt B 2601 \u201cWalden Pond\u201d Specs:<\/h2>\n
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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\u2026<\/p>\n","protected":false},"featured_media":822,"template":"","meta":[],"builder":[],"class_list":["post-9","bass","type-bass","status-publish","has-post-thumbnail","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/bass\/9","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/bass"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/bass"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/822"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=9"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"builder","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/bassoftheweek.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fbuilder&post=9"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}