Above is a newer bass axe from ESP’s brand LTD, the B-415. It has a 5-piece thru-body neck with “U” contour and 24 extra-jumbo frets, dual humbucker pickups, 3-band active EQ, and runs for a street price of around $830 USD.
It also should be noted there are 4, 5 and 6 string versions, appropriately named the B-414, B-415 and B-416. The 6-string version, for those interested, costs about $60 more than the 5.
But, of course, the first thing you see is that spalted maple top. And yes, the headstock also has the spalted top.
Compared to other spalted tops, the ESP LTD B series has one that’s not overly garish. Some spalted tops are “very obvious” with very thick, jagged black lines all over the place, but LTD scaled that back a bit for something that’s decidedly more understated.
With spalted tops, no two look exactly the same, so there is some exclusivity to owning one. However, it can make buying one online a nightmare, because unless you see the exact bass guitar you’re buying in a photo before you buy it, what you get may not get the look you want.
Then again, there is some excitement ordering one sight unseen in not knowing exactly what the spalted top will look like until you actually get it; it all depends on your point of view.
Just what the heck does “spalted wood” mean anyway?
Defined: “Wood which has been cut from a naturally cured, dead, or dying hardwood tree whose wood is normally light in color (such as pecan), and which exhibits patterns of dark stain (crazed) lines and splotches caused by microorganisms and/or fungus.”
“So… a spalted top is basically semi-dead wood that had a bunch of fungus in it?”
While that may not sound very attractive, um.. yeah. 🙂
Does a maple spalted top do a thing for tone at all?
Consider for the moment that a top of this type is usually really thin (even veneer thin in some instances,) and is naturally crumbly in its natural state because the wood is semi-dead or all dead. In fact, it’s usually true the builder has to fill in all the places during the build process where the wood would otherwise fall apart just to keep the thing together.
That being said, no, a spalted top does very little for tone (if anything,) and is more a style consideration than anything else.
In other words, if you really want the brightness a maple top can give you, it has to be a solid top piece.
Is the only color for spalted “natural?”
For most mass-produced bass guitars, yes, “natural” is usually all you’ll find.
In the guitar world however, there is such as thing as a “root beer spalt,” which is is a spalted top that’s been darkened significantly:
…to which I’m sure many bass players would like to get if more manufacturers and luthiers actually made them.
(Would you buy a bass if it came in a “root beer” spalted top finish option?)
Just “furniture?”
Some believe spalted tops “look too much like the top of a coffee table,” while others believe it’s absolute total luxury.
The spalted top has a decidedly woody appearance to it which you’re going to either love or hate. There is no bass player that “sort of” likes a spalted top; it’s a total love or hate thing, no question about it.
Many bass players do in fact like the woody look, but some draw the line when it comes to spalted tops.
What do you think of the spalted maple top? Cool or “furniture?”
I love a spalted maple top
I like it.
Furniture.
i think spalted maple is beautiful
I have the B-406sm and love the top. It’s absolutely gorgeous. The bass plays like butter to lol
love it!
Had a chance to buy one… PASS!
Naturally occurring spalting in timber is somewhat random. The trick is to find wood that has not gone too spongy. I suspect that the timber used on these basses has been spalted in a controlled manner by ESP. You can take sawn timber and bury it in damp sand, where fungus will be introduced, and the results can be observed at regular intervals, until the desired result is achieved.
Ther are really nice. What’s up with the negagtivity about furniture basses. Furniture grade anything is better than a lot of other lumber available.
When I want a bass with rotted wood in it I will find one in the garbage dump.
Buying any type of figured wood is a crap shoot so it’s best to see it before you buy it, especially spalted maple which can be quite dramatic…or ugly, depending on your opinion. I think it all depends on the buyer whether it’s a beautiful slab of dead wood or not.
I am building one now with a spalted top.
I own one of these when i got it it did not play worth a dang it took a great deal of work just so it was playable I bought mine On Ebay for around 250.00 which i found out was a great price now it is one of my best playing basses i have mine is a fretless and i simply love the bass
The look can be good if done right.
In the end, the look is meaningless if the bass does not sound good. By nature, any spalted wood has gaps, fissures, and voids and this amounts to inconsistent vibration throughout the wood. So, if it sounds good, you are in luck, but do not expect basses with such tops to be consistent at all compared to a line of basses made with a solid wood top such as clear maple, ash or walnut, etc.
Figured tops , which I use all all my builds are highly subjective in thier appeal. I like some of the spalted tops and have one nice set waiting for the right client now. As long as it is stabilized , there aren’t any issues .
Definitely makes a positive difference particularly to an ash body wood.
Visually, I do like it. And yes, I always questioned the sound qualities of distorted wood. But, hey, take a look at these below. That’s an European custom maker, and the guy that supposed artificial aging by ESP was probably right, because (read the description):
http://www.amfisound.fi/guitars/arcticia/kelo/
They actually do that!
These guitars actually cost a fortune. I can’t find prices in the actual view of their site, but I remember it was like $2600 for a regular guitar, and wood aging almost doubled that.
On another note, I checked out a LTD explorer shape guitar with a spalt maple top. It looked nice from a distance. But was it actually a top? It was cardboard-thin or even less than that. Also, I recently read that asian guitar builders started to use PRINTED PATTERNS of wood grain on top of their cheap-to-mid guitars. You got it? You might get a sheet of paper with a printed pattern under the lacquer (something that was popular as handicraft replacement for paintings in my parts when I was a kid), and not even know it! Look out for those.
There are great SM tops and there are average ones. The great ones have splat with figures and colour shades. I like those. Here’s one I recently built https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=458104740889068&set=a.248392798526931.65729.194283290604549&type=3&theater.
BTW, a 5 to 7mm top adds to the tone nothing us humans can possibly hear.
I love spalted maple. But not on a bass. Sonically its a waste
Spalted maple can be gorgeous and I’ve used it on a number of instruments, but now regret it, because it triggered my wood allergies and now I cannot work with a number os species–especially spalted maple!