#106
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The conventional wisdom is that maple guitars are bright and thin.
My direct experience with several has been the polar opposite. Hear what it sounds like and then go from there. No preconceptions allowed! Cheers, Steve |
#107
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I honestly think this may have something to do with the visual cue of maple being a light-colored wood. No joke. My Circa is by no means bright and thin. My Blazer Euphonon is a bit brighter, but no more than most tonewoods.
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Circa OM-30/34 (Adi/Mad) | 000-12 (Ger/Maple) | OM-28 (Adi/Brz) | OM-18/21 (Adi/Hog) | OM-42 (Adi/Braz) Fairbanks SJ (Adi/Hog) | Schoenberg/Klepper 000-12c (Adi/Hog) | LeGeyt CLM (Swiss/Amzn) | LeGeyt CLM (Carp/Koa) Brondel A-2 (Carp/Mad) |
#108
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Quote:
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Circa OM-30/34 (Adi/Mad) | 000-12 (Ger/Maple) | OM-28 (Adi/Brz) | OM-18/21 (Adi/Hog) | OM-42 (Adi/Braz) Fairbanks SJ (Adi/Hog) | Schoenberg/Klepper 000-12c (Adi/Hog) | LeGeyt CLM (Swiss/Amzn) | LeGeyt CLM (Carp/Koa) Brondel A-2 (Carp/Mad) |
#109
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Maple(s)
Aside from the stereotype of hearing with one's eyes, I think the stereotype that maples tend to sound bright in their timbre comes from companies/builders who build their maple instruments as they do their rosewood and mahogany instruments.
The higher damping, subtractive interactive nature of maple with the top require builders to adjust both a bit from how they treat them with lower damping woods. I believe that builders of best maple guitars do this. I also think that there can be significant differences between the common US soft maples (e.g. Bigleaf, Red and Silver), the common EU soft maples (e.g. Norway and Sycamore) and US hard maples (e.g Sugar) in terms of how they can sound. The best maple guitars that I have played from Bruce Sexauer, John Slobod and Jeff Traugott do not sound "bright". They have a beautiful string-to-string separation and some sustain and a rich timbre. We will spend all day discussing how different rosewoods sound different, but tend to treat maple as a single, homogeneous species when it is not. I hope that you enjoy your new guitar. I have every expectation that you will adore it .
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A bunch of nice archtops, flattops, a gypsy & nylon strings… |
#110
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What he said.
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#111
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Great discussion!
Based on what I’ve read and heard (also in discussions with Ed), I too think that there are significant differences between varieties of maple, even more so than between rosewoods. Ed likes to build with European maple, partly because its specific gravity, which he says is just right for guitar making. Also, like said above, he calls its tone very malleable, and sure seems to have found the right way to build with it! The tone of the maple Malabar I played at his shop was far from thin. It had a certain kind of crystalline brightness that I enjoyed a great deal, and that I found contributed to the expressiveness. But it had a beautiful timbre and a robust midrange too, and a healthy amount of bass. Here’s a good interview video with Ed about one of his maple builds: https://youtu.be/Kd_QE0ZPVmg |
#112
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What a lovely video of Ed, such an extraordinary soul. One of the finest builders anywhere. What he says about Euro maple is exactly what I’ve seen and heard. Sugar maple is much harder and denser, and the sound reflects this, maybe a little clearer and more cutting. By contrast, Euro maple is lighter and sounds that way, maybe a little more “air” in the sound, perfect for a Claxton. Red maple is softer than sugar maple, and builders like Steve Gilchrist use it when they want to emphasize bass response. I’ve heard silver maple can be even softer, at times so much so that it is not suitable for use as tonewood. Western Big Leaf maple I’m less sure about, although I’ve heard it is soft and “stringy” in texture when carving. Totally agree that it is worth bearing in mind what kind of maple a guitar is made from, the difference among maple species is certainly as great and maybe more pronounced than among the various rosewoods.
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#113
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Fine instruments can be made all of the maples. Like many woods, there is significant overlap in properties. I personally prefer the European Maples for some of the reasons Ed articulated in the video. That said, I have both flattop and archtop made using Bigleaf Maple and both are superlative instruments. It is more about the maker than the back and side woods.
Here is summary of common physical properties of the more common maples used in lutherie: Type———————————————Specific Gravity—Hardness (lbf)—Stiffness (lbf/in2) Silver Maple (North America)————-0.44 to 0.53——-—-700————-1,140,000 Bigleaf Maple (North America)————0.44 to 0.55———--850————-1,450,000 Red Maple (North America)—————-0.49 to 0.61————950————-1,640,000 Norway Maple (Europe)——————--0.50 to 0.65————1,010————1,538,000 Sycamore Maple (Europe)——————0.48 to 0.62——-—-1,050———--1,438,000 Hard Maple (North America)————--0.56 to 0.71————1,450————1,830,000 Quote:
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A bunch of nice archtops, flattops, a gypsy & nylon strings… |
#114
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As someone who has become very enamored with maple, I love reading guitar nerds geeking out on this! Good stuff!
Can't wait to read the review of the incoming guitar!!!! |
#115
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I agree with Justonwo on his observation that some of the fiction about the tone of maple on a flat top acoustic is due to the light color tone of the natural wood. People do indeed “hear with their eyes”.
I have a ‘95 Collings SJ in sitka/european maple and a ‘00’s C10 in german spruce/european maple. Wonderful instruments for both fingerstyle and flatpick, btw. I have put them in the hands of a blindfolded player a few times (should be THE standard for judgement imho), and they NEVER guess maple b/s. Usually guess mahogany or Brazilian, in fact. I’ve been lucky enough to play maple instruments by J Slobod, B Sexauer and R McAlister as well as several Collings, and they have been wonderful indeed. I’ve also played some by name builders that were less than stellar, but that’s not so unusual, is it? I even strongly considered a maple Taylor 12 string (655?) for its build a tonal qualities. I wrongly decided on a 555, now long gone. Shoulda gone maple there. I now prefer CF 12’s, but that’s a whole ‘nuther shooting match. Of those I’ve tried, the Slobod and the Collings really stand out. I’d dearly love to try that Claxton, having played a couple of his in spruce/brazilian in the past. As the OP has stated, good discussion here - I too appreciate your thoughts and experience. |
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Tags |
claxton, custom build, malabar, maple |
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