Empire Guitars Electric 1998 Spalt Reverse T

Summary: G9805 “Reverse T” makes use of one of the wooden sign letters found. The guitar has a Redwood body with an Indian Rosewood neck and Fralin P-90 pickups with custom made celluloid covers. The green switch tip is made of catalin, an early form of plastic which was used in art-deco period radios.

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 characteristics 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.

Body: Solid body electric guitar with a “ResinTop” – the wood on this guitar is flame redwood.

Neck: Indian Rosewood neck and fingerboard, dot inlays, 22 frets, Kluson Deluxe tuning keys, chrome hardware, 6150 frets, 25.5” scale length,

Pickups/Hardware: Chrome hardware, Bonetop P-90 pickups, volume knob, tone knob, 3-way switch.

Cosmetics: This Spalt is in great shape even though its over 20 years old….there are some light pick scratches on the front and a few various scratches on the back but the finish is so awesome that any imperfections don’t really show up unless you go looking for them under bright lights. We also noticed that there was a hairline crack near the “A” tuning key on the top part of the headstock where the tuning key was pushed in to tightly and we had our luthier fill and repair it.

Playability: This is a fine playing guitar – the action is super low, the instrument plays great up & down the fingerboard.

Weight: 7 lbs, 5 oz.

Case: Original hard shell case