Michael Spalt Totem Guitar “Nameless”

Mark Wein

Grand Poobah
Staff member
http://rebel-guitars.com/michael-spalt-resintop-totem-guitar-nameless/


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The Michael Spalt “ResinTop” guitars a unique process marrying a tonewood back with a clear resin coating on the top into which decorations and inclusions can be applied. After experimenting with various types of resin, Michael developed this process, allowing him to assemble objects and assorted bric-a-brac into a homogenous guitar body. The resin is formulated to accomodate the thermal expansion and contraction of the wood and it is sonically transparent. The wood used for the back supplies the basic tonal characterstics and structural stability, while the wood choices for the neck allows to dial in the coloration of the sound. The resin adds sustain and its tonal effect is similar to a “maple cap over mahogany body” effect-sparkle and transparency in the upper frequency ranges. As with a conventional guitar the choice of hardware and pickups also plays a large role in determining the sound of the instrument.

Each ResinTop Totem guitar is a unique instrument, both tonally and aesthetically.

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G1204 Nameless
This Totem ResinTop “Nameless” features a Mahogany body with a highly Birdseye Maple neck and fingerboard, 25 ½” scale, 6150 frets, Gotoh vintage style tuners, Bigsby B16 tremolo, recessed Dunlop straplocks, BoneTop Tele & P-90 pickups. Controls are; volume, tone with pull switch pickups in series and 3-way switch.

  • Body: Mahogany
  • Neck: Birdseye Maple
  • Fretboard: Birdseye Mapl
  • Scale: 25 1/2″
  • Frets: 6150
  • Bridge: Bigsby B16
  • Tuners: Gotoh Vintage
  • Strap Buttons: Recessed Straplocks
  • Pickups: BoneTop Tele & BoneTop P-90
  • Electronics: Volume, Tone w/Pull for Series, 3-Way Toggle
  • Case Included
$4925.00 + Shipping
 
That's a thick-assed top of sonically transparent resin and various chunks of wood. The write up sounds kind of like BS, but I'd give one a whirl. I'd never buy one though. Five grand is high-end custom acoustic territory, not kitschy Fender-influenced weirdness territory.
 
"The resin is formulated to accomodate the thermal expansion and contraction of the wood and it is sonically transparent." Really? How do you do that?
I would like it better without all the bullshit copy and the ridiculous price. Formica would have been a better choice.
 
The "tell" in the copy is when it says that the resin is sonically transparent, so the tone is based on the backing wood, then it says that the resin acts like a maple cap which adds sparkle and sustain. Hey, it's your "story" buddy, so tell it any way that you want, but don't expect me to pay $5K for it.
 
Words fail me....mainly because I would get in trouble verbalizing what I think of that guitar out loud at work.
 
"The resin is formulated to accomodate the thermal expansion and contraction of the wood and it is sonically transparent." Really? How do you do that?
I would like it better without all the bullshit copy and the ridiculous price. Formica would have been a better choice.
I agree. I think we can pretty much scrap all the tonewood bullshit when you cover the thing in plastic.

The look is fine, but that bit irks me.
 
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