Sorry to sound like an idiot but what is the difference between AA maple, AAA maple and AAAAA maple? Does the wood grain or flame etc show up more? Is there any tone difference? 
thanks
thanks
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Maple Question
- Thread starter atreyucurse
- Start date
I dont think it has anything to do with tone i think it is all about the grain/flame, how good looking it is
aa,aaa, and a? are just grades that woodworkers give the wood to categorize it. The better the figuring the higher the grade. the better the grade the more money you're gonna pay!
the amount of tone difference would be negligible too because every piece of wood is different anyway.
the amount of tone difference would be negligible too because every piece of wood is different anyway.
This has been discussed at least once or twice before (do a quick search and you should be able to bring up those old threads and some good discussion that goes directly toward your question). Nevertheless, in a nutshell, grading primarily has to do the with the quality of the figure exhibited in the wood AND the wood itself. If Brazilian rosewood has great color, nice figure, good spider-webbing, etc, it could still be graded lower if it has worm holes, shows signs of splitting, etc. Likewise, if a piece of quilt maple has nice figure that coverd the entire board but is also exceptionally white and/or clean, it might get another A or AA tacked on to the end.
The bottom line is that there are NO absolutely. There is not "industry standard" for grading...it is literally dependant upon each individual seller. One person's 5A grade quilt maple might be somewhere between a 3A and 4A with the next guy. I've seen wood listed as 2A, 3A, 4A, and even 5A that could easily be bundled as firewood or used to build pallets! The grading is largely based on the quality of the figuring exhibited by the piece, but ultimately you should go by what you like....don't trust that an exhibition 5A top will be the most amazing piece of maple you've buying "sight unseen".
The bottom line is that there are NO absolutely. There is not "industry standard" for grading...it is literally dependant upon each individual seller. One person's 5A grade quilt maple might be somewhere between a 3A and 4A with the next guy. I've seen wood listed as 2A, 3A, 4A, and even 5A that could easily be bundled as firewood or used to build pallets! The grading is largely based on the quality of the figuring exhibited by the piece, but ultimately you should go by what you like....don't trust that an exhibition 5A top will be the most amazing piece of maple you've buying "sight unseen".
