Maple Body

[Guest]

Ok i have a question about guitars with maple bodies.i've never played one so what does it sound like ?highs/mids/lows (if any lows).are there any benefits?
i'm getting ready to build a new guitar and im thinking i might try a maple body.everyonr who has tried or owns a guitar with a maple body let me know. thanks

[toejam]

Re: Maple Body

It would sound pretty bright, and it would be kinda heavy in weight.

[MountainDog]

Re: Maple Body

Here's a thread that talked of the combo of maple body and maple fingerboard. Some of the info inside should give you some idea:
http://www.jcfonline.com/ubb/noncgi/...=000291#000004

Also, there's this description from Warmoth:
"Maple (Acer saccharum-Hard Maple)(Acer macrophyllum-Pacific Maple): We offer two types of Maple: Eastern Hard Maple (hard rock maple) and Western Soft Maple (big leaf maple). Hard Maple is a very hard, heavy and dense wood. This is the same wood that we use on our necks. The grain is closed and very easy to finish. The tone is very bright with long sustain and a lot of bite. This wood cannot be dyed. It looks great with clear or transparent color finishes. Western Maple grows all around us here in Washington state. It is usually much lighter weight than Hard Maple but it features the same white color. It has bright tone with good bite and attack, but is not brittle like the harder woods can be. Our flame ( fiddleback) and quilted bodies are Western Maple. This type of maple works great with dye finishes."
http://www.warmoth.com/common/frames/guitarbodies.htm

[Guest]

Re: Maple Body

thanks for the links..i kinda knew it would be bright,i just dont want overly bright ya know what i mean?

[MountainDog]

Re: Maple Body

You can always tweak the 'brightness' by chosing a pickup with less highs and/or lowering the treble side of the pickup farther from the strings. Of course you could also eq your amp for that (I have a Line6 Vetta, so I have the option of using the 'global' treble setting to tweak on the fly if needed if I notice anything different between guitars I'm using that night).

Besides my Maple-bodied Kamikazes, I also have a Maple/maple ESP M1-Tiger (G. Lynch model), and haven't really noticed that much of a brightness issue compared to all my other more 'normal' bodied guitars. I also have a Jackson USA DR2 (ash body/ebony fretboard) that has the Duncan screaming demon pickup (like the ESPs), and there isn't a radical difference between them all. I find the venue I'm playing at has more effect on my amps 'brightness' than switching between these guitars does.

One thing I would stay away from is using an EMG81 coupled with a maple fingerboard. I can definitely tell the brightness on that combo! (an EMG85 works better in that instance).

[mm2002]

Re: Maple Body

My opinion is to use mahogany or swamp ash for a solidbody. They both have the hardness of maple without the density (which is what creates the "bright" sound) and thus they weigh less. Maple is a great tone wood for a neck & fretboard but not so good for a body (just my opinion)

[j2379]

Re: Maple Body

hey it all depends on the weight. i own 3 guitars that are full maple neck & body, 2 have rosewood board one has ebony & have owned others. the heavier the brighter usually. some of the figured maples is much lighter in weight & actually sounds great IMO. i do have one that is VERY heavy, its pretty bright sounding & has a more focused sound. they are all old BCRich that use 24 5/8" scale so the shorter scale does help the sound warmer. the only 25.5" scale i had all maple was a full flame custom. flame body , flame neck& fret board. wasnt overly bright cut thru great, low end thump it didnt have, but it had a brass V-trem which is usually warmer sounding than an OFR type trem. it had EMG 85N 89B & sounded great. maple is also great because U can use high output pickups & over the top gain & its still has clarity & doesnt sound mushy like a Mahogany.
that said i would not make a body out of hard rock maple, but a nice lighter maple IMO sounds real good. BTW Koa is IMO the best for bodies, warm, round full sounding like Mah, but still has the clarity & focus like maple.