What Is The Draw of Maple Back & Sides?

[Chazmo]

Originally Posted by dragonfly66

I've played some maple guitars (all likely under $700) that I found way too harsh for me. I finally played a 614 and thought, "Wow, this sounds nice." I've stayed away from maple since I've heard that is a one trick pony for cutting through the mix in a band. I've heard that maple doesn't have a lot of overtones and thus isn't all that great for fingerstyle.

So maple owners, can a maple guitar be a good all-around guitar or your only guitar?

Are there any other myths about maple guitars that you can squash here?

Maple works great with 12-strings. I have two maple 12s -- a Taylor and Guild jumbo.

I don't know anything about cutting through the mix, but I've been told for recording that maple's dry sound is very good for clarity. Frankly, the un-mic'd sound of my maples appeals to me just as-is. I tend to go to rosewood or mahogany most of the time, but maple is a wonderful change of pace.

Maple can also be exceptionally beautiful (and Taylor knows this well). The figuring and 3-D effects in the natural wood are just uncanny, and also maple takes bursts beautifully well. Since I love to show off.... Look at the quilted maple on my 655:

[jmcc]

I've never been huge on Maple, but I picked up a Taylor 610CE in a local shop. LOVED it. I've been using it playing out and it is great; the 2010 ES is great.

I love the tone unplugged also. It's a good compliment to sitka/mahogany. Maybe I got lucky, but I LOVE the tone on this 610CE!

[Tony Burns]

Maple is one of the most unusual woods- period. It varys in density from variety to variety. Some Jazz guitar makers like Benedetto use a softer Maple to bring out the sound he desires .and then theirs Hard Rock maple - which are at two different spectrums .Even when you see flame -you dont definitely have Rock maple , you might have Red maple which is very very close . I visited a lumber mill about two years ago that specialized in Maple -they told me that red maple flame is alot more common than Rock maple -he had numerous Red maple flame on pallets, but yet only about a 1/4 of a pallett of rock maple Flame and figured ( of which i bought 3-5 boards ) Companies like Guild , dont use the best or the most exspensive woods- they can draw out a flame out of a lesser piece ( dont know the process exactly ) but they do what they can to save a buck -the fancy stuff is very pricey ( the boards i got are very fancy - and nicely figured ) i believe sustain can vary from maker to maker -James Goodall can make just about anything sustain better -thou maple is way less than some-- i think of maple as being a clean sounding wood in general. Im not a luthier - but i am a professional Woodworker / Craftsman -Of all the woods in the world Rock maple is one of my favorite's and one of the hardest to work with . Peace

[rrgguitarman]

I picked up a Washburn J58S (at a great price) after forum member told me how happy he was with his and I couldn't be happier.

Huge clear sound.

[stratokatsu]

I had a maple Gibson jumbo that could out boom any Martin. I also have a friend here in Miami with an old Ibanez dread with maple back, sides and neck, (spruce top), and that thing has matured into a boomy guitar.

A 614ce I played at Guitar Center one time shocked me how nice it sounded. I had always heard maple was bright, but it was fairly warm and had great clarity at the same time.

[oldrocker]

Originally Posted by dragonfly66

I've played some maple guitars (all likely under $700) that I found way too harsh for me. I finally played a 614 and thought, "Wow, this sounds nice." I've stayed away from maple since I've heard that is a one trick pony for cutting through the mix in a band. I've heard that maple doesn't have a lot of overtones and thus isn't all that great for fingerstyle.

So maple owners, can a maple guitar be a good all-around guitar or your only guitar?

Are there any other myths about maple guitars that you can squash here?

If you liked the 614, you owe it to yourself to try the Taylor GS6. I have owned one and it completely destroyed all stereotypes floating around in my head about maple guitars. While every guitar even in the same model, is a little different than the others, so I can't say that every Taylor GS6 will sound like the one I had, that one was a wonderful fingerstyle guitar. It had great presence--an unearthly floaty kind of transluscent quality with lots of fundamental overtones. It did sustain as well as any other guitar I've had. It was loud. It was simply THE BEST Taylor guitar I've owned FOR FINGERSTYLE playing (not including my R Taylor). It sounded wonderful through a mike as well. However, I did not like how it sounded strummed or when I used it to accompany singing songs. I'll never hesitate again to try out, with absolutely no preconceived notions of what I'm going to hear, a maple guitar.

[stinger23]

I personally have a love hate thing goin on with maple, there are some beautiful 3 piece backs with a great flame under a subtle burst, that too me is beautiful, then you can get bright super flamey almost yellowish maple which too me looks gross as with the birdseye maple (which i can not stand)

But when it comes to sound, Ive played a few lower end takimines wich had laminate maple and they sounded very bright with no bass or overtones at all...

I just played my friend's taylor 6 series in maple and it almost had a rosewood sounding body to my ear, very nice articulate without that harsh treble

what ever you dig you dig though man, like it? make her yours!

[Rick Jones]

This is just a silly vid I did some years back, but you can hear the snap and clarity of my J-185 on here;
J185 squidbillies!

[Dubbaround]

Tony B. got it right. The sound is mostly dependant upon the wood used. Maple isn't just one density....no 2 pieces are the same. A 300 year old red maple will not make the same instrument that a 40 year old red maple will. Same goes for the hard maples.
Add to that the build design, the bracing, the finish, the neck, the strings...
It comes down to how it feels and sounds in your hands.

[12StringCarlos]

Bob Taylor wrote in a Thread called "Does Flame/Quilt/Figure Affect Tone"

you can be sure that quilted maple is not as stiff as flamed maple due to the
difference in the grain direction, or cut, and therefore it makes a difference in sound. The
softer, more flexible quilt will produce a bit warmer sound, while the stiffer, quartersawn
flame will produce a bit snappier sound. The difference is slight, and some may not perceive
it, including me at times.

Also a Factor. My quilt 00 12 fret Northwood Has a warm Woody Sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vk_RimpFCOg

Carlos

[Michael Watts]

This is a flamed maple guitar made by Ervin Somogyi.



A lot of the guitars that really impressed me at this year's Montreal show were maple.

It's a tough sell due to preconceptions but maple is an exquisite tonewood.

You can see and hear the this guitar via the link below

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ju96BHsY5EI

[Kabookie]

Originally Posted by Goofball Jones

What's the draw? Here, I'll let Pete explain it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=B5yymadwxj8

+1.......aptly stated.

[RussMason]

Maple is good for single note jazz stuff. It does not bounce back the sound the way Mahogany or Rosewood do. It's a very uncluttered sound and not particularly resonant. It really is better suited to jazz guitars than acoustics, though some of the Guild 12 strings are excellent.

Actually, because of the jangly quality of 12-strings, a maple body makes sense.

Sure, it is possible to find a really good sounding Maple guitar, but there are so many other tonewoods that sound better to my ears.

[Danny Klass]

I understand the hesitancy by some to go maple, and I probably share some of it. That said, I saw Alex DeGrassi once live with wonderful all around tone; he plays a Lowden with, yes, maple backs and sides. It made me question my own hesitancy. I would be willing to give a maple a try, in the hands of the right builder.

--------------------------------------------------------------

http://www.myspace.com/dannyklass

[zombywoof]

I have two. Only answer I got is I like the guitars those back and sides are on.