flamed maple/ spalted maple tone

[Ayliffe]

what kind of tone would a flamed maple or spalted maple body produce?

im guessing something really bright and trebley?

 

[vtwo]

Flamed maple tops are usually really thin so they don't affect tone much.

 

[Ayliffe]

not tops.. if the body is made of flamed maple...

 

[vtwo]

Yeah, I'd assume pretty punchy/bright.

 

[Rodent]

unless you plan to do some kind of acrylicized wood body (which would be incredibly heavy!) I would not recommend a spalt Maple body. the wood is too unstable (soft) in true spalted wood, and is best utilized as a top wood only

all the best,

R

 

[WarriorJoe7]

spalted maple is too sponngy in spots to use for a whole body

 

[capnsandwich]

Maple bodied basses usually have a nice pop to them. They make great slappers!

 

[Earwigger]

Rickenbackers are maple. They have a very subtle but deep low-end and as others have said they make very nice slappers.

 

[LifeIsBass]

My Warwick Corvette Proline has a flamed maple body. I wouldn't say it's overly bright, but it's not extremely warm either. Very middle of the road. It's got a lot of punch and as mentioned before, has a lot of snap. Slapping does sound really good on it, though don't assume that means it's scooped sounding, because it definately is not. It cuts well in a mix. Overall, I'd say it's a bit on the aggressive side but is very versatile due to it not really being too bright, too boomy, or too mid-rangey. Out of my Warwicks I'd say it's the most versatile.

 

[spade2you]

Maple bodies can be somewhat punchy, sometimes brittle. Heavier isn't always better! Western soft maple generally produces the desired punchy tone while Canadian rock maple tends to be brittle and a bit heavier. Even lighter grades of western soft is fairly heavy.

I'll also agree that using an entirely spalted body is probably a waste of time and lumber. I'd guess that resonance and sustain could be negatively affected.

Rob Allen uses spalted maple for some nice looking tops, but sound conduction isn't great and they must be laminated to spruce to get good tones.

 

[KarateKid25]

You wouldn't use spalted maple for a body IMO either. Its decaying wood and pretty expensive to boot.