Maple? Or Maple?

[Boocan]

Alright, so this is probably an ultimate dummy question, but: Maple most commonly used in necks = hard eastern maple, correct?

Maple used in bodies = soft maple?

Have only ever dealt with hard maple in my necks, but thinking of making a maple body, and for some reason I can't picture using hard maple for the body...it would be heavy and ridiculous on my tools. Am I correct in assuming that soft maple is the way to go?

[ToddW]

Isn't most flamed maple from Sugar Maple, which is hard, and most quilted from Big Leaf Maple, which is "soft" maple?

Funny that I've never really thought about it before, just figured, "Hmmmm, maple will look nice here", but this link was easy to find. Sawmill is a nice site.

http://www.sawmillcreek.org/showthread.php?t=37186

If that's not helpful and nobody else posts a better answer, I can look it up in "Understanding Wood", but that'd require I get off my butt and go upstairs

Found this too:

http://www.woodweb.com/knowledge_base/Hard...soft_maple.html

Edited March 9, 2009 by ToddW

[Crusader]

As far as I know any Maple used in bodies or necks is "Canadian" or "Rock Maple" - and I'm pretty sure that is sugar maple

This is what I have been told (If I remember correctly)

Whether it's birdseye, flamed or otherwise depends how it is cut and/or just a natural feature of the timber

It was explained to me not long ago that flamed maple comes from very old trees that are collapsing. The lines that go across the grain are evidence of this. It is where there is greater density due to the timber collapsing - and this greater density usually results in greater sustain when used in a musical instrument

I'm pretty sure Birdseye comes from timber which has been cut the opposite to quartersawn, but obviously the feature has to be in the grain in the first place

It has no musical benefit, it just looks good

Again I repeat this is what I have been told

[WezV]

It was explained to me not long ago that flamed maple comes from very old trees that are collapsing. The lines that go across the grain are evidence of this. It is where there is greater density due to the timber collapsing - and this greater density usually results in greater sustain when used in a musical instrument

i think we have a bit of mojo sneaking in there the flamed sounding better argument seems to originate from other members of the stringed instrument family and can largely be attributed to tradition... i reckon the density of the tree will be decided by the environment it grows in as much as anything else!!

iirc flamed redwood is usually caused by the sheer weight of the giant tree that effectively squashes the bottom 3rd of the trunk. not sure its always the same with maple - i think there are many things that can make it flame but its generally environmental - dont forget that flaming occurs in most species of tree for various reasons

quilting like you see in big leaf maple may be genetic rather than environmental and B/E is a disease, burl is the equivelent of a cancerous lump

thats how i remember it anyway, may not be totally factual so nobody quote it as such!

the important thing to remember is that figure is generally indicative of a weakness in the wood and this affects its choice as a neck material. i use flamed and B/E in necks but i do check them over very thoroughly and usually laminate them with something else when i do use them

[westhemann]

Hard maple is the way to go for necks or caps....it is the one with the "tone voodoo"

Birdseye is also hard maple,as is most flamed...quilted is generally soft maple,and in my opinion does not sound as good as a cap on a guitar as what hard maple does..

[Boocan]

I was gonna hard maple cap a soft maple core with a mahogany neck. 4 string bass; any thoughts on the wood combination while we're at the discussion.

[NotYou]

I was gonna hard maple cap a soft maple core with a mahogany neck. 4 string bass; any thoughts on the wood combination while we're at the discussion.

Any kind of maple with mahogany has been done countless times. It'll definitely work.

I haven't worked with soft maple much. Although, I recently bought a bunch of soft maple covered in work holes that I'm looking forward to using. A lot of people think that's junk, but I love how it looks.