Michael Spalt’s Blue Deluxe Bass Turns Found Objects into Playable Art
Michael Spalt is one of the most creative and inventive luthiers in the world. I was perusing his online gallery of over 700 instruments and found this cool “Blue Deluxe” bass in the Totemguitars series.
“I’ve worked with resin from 1997 on, and the original line of guitars and basses came to be known as ‘Totemguitars,'” the bass and guitar maker explains. “To date more than 400+ instruments have been built using this process, each a unique handcrafted piece. I utilise found objects and wood, repurposing them and giving them a new life as playable art.”
The Spalt Instruments Blue Deluxe was crafted with a mahogany body, a maple neck, and a rosewood fingerboard. Spalt made the top a piece of art out of a variety of objects: a domino piece, a gear, a piece of car, a radio serial plate, and more. The longer you look at it, the more you find. Even the pickup covers were spruced up.
As cool as it looks, the bass has to sound good, too. Spalt fitted it with a set of Lollar PJ pickups with independent volume knobs and a master tone control. Other features include a vintage brass bridge, Hipshot Y tuners, and Dunlop Straplocks.
Spalt Instruments Blue Deluxe Bass Specs:
| Construction: | Bolt-on |
| Scale: | 34″ |
| Body: | Mahogany |
| Neck: | Maple |
| Fingerboard: | Indian Rosewood |
| Frets: | 22 |
| Inlays: | Dot |
| Pickups: | Lollar PJ |
| Bridge: | Vintage Brass Bridge |
| Tuners: | Hipshot Y |
| Other: | Totemguitars top, Dunlop Straplocks |
In his time with No Treble, Kevin has met hundreds of amazing bassists and interviewed icons like Jack Casady, Victor Wooten, Les Claypool, Marcus Miller, and more. He's a gigging bassist performing jazz in Northern Virginia and bluegrass with The Plate Scrapers up and down the East Coast. Kevin appreciates all genres of music, from R&B to metal and everything in between. Connect with Kevin on Facebook and check his performance schedule on his website.
I like the style, but why oh why stick one of those horrid old DiMarzio bridges on it? I had one for a week and returned it. It’s stupid heavy and blocks access to the strings for palm muting. DiMarzio makes some great pickups, but just seeing that bridge again after all these years gives me the chills!