Maple topped guitar

[thebolo]

Hi all,

I've got a question. I've got a friend who wants an all maple guitar. Right now he thinks he even wants the top made out of maple. Any ideas what that would sound like? and is maple a good topwood? Thanks

[Itzkinguitars]

Because of maples low "Q", I doubt it would sound good at all. Talk your friend into some spruce or cedar

[thebolo]

I kinda figured that, but thought I'd see what others thought about his idea...

[Wade Hampton]

Unless you're going to mount a humbucking pickup on the top, putting a maple top on an acoustic guitar is not a good idea. It's just too hard a wood and it's not going to vibrate fully in the same way that a spruce or cedar top will.

Those acoustic guitars that do have maple tops are generally electric guitars, and the maple was chosen so that the guitar wouldn't vibrate enough to cause feedback!


whm

[Shabby Chic]

Spruces make up 99% of acoustic guitar tops because they have a very high stiffness to weight ratio... they are much stiffer for their weight than a wood like maple. A maple top of equal stiffness is much heavier than spruce, which makes the resulting guitar quieter and less responsive. The extra weight would smooth out harsh trebles. Also maple tends to dampen vibration more than spruces which adversely affects tone in a lot of different ways.

In the end a maple topped guitar will be quieter, less responsive, and notes will decay faster. The added weight would kill bass response, making for a very midrange-heavy guitar. If that's the tone your friend wants...

[thebolo]

Yeah. I know all this stuff, but I wanted a little backup from people who know more than me. I think I can get him convinced to lose the maple top idea. He wants something all maple, and I think he wanted the top maple too so it would look awesome. Anyways...thanks for the help

[thebolo]

One more thing. A little off the subject,but...What about a curly koa top? I've heard of people doing that before and wondered what kind of sound those have.

[Itzkinguitars]

Originally Posted by thebolo

Yeah. I know all this stuff, but I wanted a little backup from people who know more than me. I think I can get him convinced to lose the maple top idea. He wants something all maple, and I think he wanted the top maple too so it would look awesome. Anyways...thanks for the help

A bearclaw Sitka top would look great with maple back and sides.

[thebolo]

A bearclaw Sitka top would look great with maple back and sides.

Yes is would. I need to talk to him and see how much money he wants to put into this thing. I already have the whole thing designed in my head and it should be really cool.

[Matt Mustapick]

Maple would be at or near the bottom of my list for alternative top wood possibilities.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by thebolo

One more thing. A little off the subject,but...What about a curly koa top? I've heard of people doing that before and wondered what kind of sound those have.

Typically you'll find koa tops on all-koa guitars, and the effect is a great deal like all-mahogany or all-sapele guitars. Koa tops are typically a bit quieter than spruce tops, and don't have as many tone colors available to the player as spruce, either.

But there can be a nice clarity to the tone, too. All-koa guitars are often described as "sweet-sounding," which is as good a description as any.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[thebolo]

Thanks for the info Mr. Hampton. It was something I had heard of before and was just curious.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by thebolo

Thanks for the info Mr. Hampton. It was something I had heard of before and was just curious.

Thank you, Bolo.

You should make an effort to get your hands on an all-koa, all-mahogany and/or all-sapele guitar sometime and judge the tone for yourself.

I don't own any because getting a wider array of tone colors is fairly essential to the way I play. But I do like the sound of many that I've played.

Because all of these are hardwoods, guitars with the same wood for the top as well as the back and sides tend to take quite a bit longer to break in than spruce- and cedar-topped instruments. At least in my experience. So to fully understand why some players absolutely adore these guitars, you should try to find a well-used and well-loved all-koa or all-mahogany guitar to play, just for the experience.

Having said that, most of the Martin "15 Series" guitars I've played have sounded very good indeed, whether used or brand new, and whether they were made of all-mahogany or all-sapele. In fact, while this might seem like absolute heresy to the traditionalists, I find that the all-sapele instruments often sound even better than the all-mahogany "15 Series" guitars.

Sapele can be a wonderful tonewood, so seek out and try some all-sapele guitars for yourself before forming any opinions about it, either pro or con.

Hope that makes sense.


Wade Hampton Miller

[thebolo]

It makes sense. However I currently live in a town in Nebraska with less than 2000 people...the nearest music store is 70 miles away. It would be nice to get a hold of one to study it a little. I am putting an all Koa on my list of guitars to build someday.

[Belladonna]

Awesome, but why dont you try put some pics here?
Can We ?