What sort of grain is this?

[Evil Undead]

I know I should have noticed this before, seeing as I’ve had this bass for three years. But I just noticed the grain on the neck. Is this Birdseye, or Flame, or both, or something else?

A pic of the whole bass is provided as well, for photo tax.

 

[ole Jason]

Just normal maple. It is common for maple to have little inconsistencies like that.

 

[jd56hawk]

Neither.

Bird's eye is a type of figure that occurs within several kinds of wood, most notably in hard maple. It has a distinctive pattern that resembles tiny, swirling eyes disrupting the smooth lines of grain. It is somewhat reminiscent of a burl, but it is quite different: the small knots that make the burl are missing.

Flame is a description of a type of figure within the grain. It often refers to a figure with high levels of chatoyance which is that three dimensional shimmer some woods have. Much like the look in tigers eye quartz. It is how the light reflects off the grain at different angles. Some also might consider or describe the line between the sapwood and heartwood as flame. These terms can get confusing and it is always best to see the flame in person to fully appreciate its beauty.

 

[mongo2]

I call it "nice" grain.

 

[Dean N]

Normal maple. The bits of figuring you see that resemble bubbles or blistering are probably a small amount of "quilt figure" and not bird's eye.

Nice neck by the way!

 

[IPA]

Whole grain. Very nutritious.

 

[Fumble Fingers]

Flame:

Birdseye:

 

[Evil Undead]

Just normal maple. It is common for maple to have little inconsistencies like that.

Okay cool, thanks!

 

[Evil Undead]

Neither.

Bird's eye is a type of figure that occurs within several kinds of wood, most notably in hard maple. It has a distinctive pattern that resembles tiny, swirling eyes disrupting the smooth lines of grain. It is somewhat reminiscent of a burl, but it is quite different: the small knots that make the burl are missing.

Flame is a description of a type of figure within the grain. It often refers to a figure with high levels of chatoyance which is that three dimensional shimmer some woods have. Much like the look in tigers eye quartz. It is how the light reflects off the grain at different angles. Some also might consider or describe the line between the sapwood and heartwood as flame. These terms can get confusing and it is always best to see the flame in person to fully appreciate its beauty.

Thanks for the descriptions!

 

[Evil Undead]

I call it "nice" grain.

Cheers!

Normal maple. The bits of figuring you see that resemble bubbles or blistering are probably a small amount of "quilt figure" and not bird's eye.

Nice neck by the way!

Thank you!

Whole grain. Very nutritious.

Haha!

 

[ThudThudThud]

jd56hawk wins for using the word 'chatoyance.'

 

[IPA]

jd56hawk wins for using the word 'chatoyance.'

Word of the day right there!

 

[Evil Undead]

Flame:

View attachment 3260779

Birdseye:

View attachment 3260780

Ah yeah mine looks nothing like either of those

 

[Coolhandjjl]

Flame:

View attachment 3260779

I was looking for the Hamburgler to see if it was foto-flame.

 

[micguy]

I have a couple necks with a bit of flame and/or quilt, but not enough that they held that piece to charge more for it, as it’s not on the whole neck. Yours is similar - call it “interesting maple”. It’s cool, doesn’t hurt anything, and you didn’t pay extta for it. Wood is not a uniform amorphous material - it’s got... character. Enjoy it.

 

[Fender_Bender]

There is a very small amount of curl (aka flame) to the grain with a couple of areas of quilt figure. Perfectly normal, no problems. At times it can be just as hard finding maple with no figure at all as it is in finding highly figured stuff.

 

[Mugre]

I've heard it called "Bear Claw" though in bear claw it usually looks more like streaks but if you google "bear claw grain" you will see pictures of dots like yours.

Mugre

 

[lug]

There's 1/2 sawn and 1/4 sawn. You have 3/8th sawn.

 

[jd56hawk]

jd56hawk wins for using the word 'chatoyance.'

Word of the day right there!

Copied from somewhere on the internet, but I am a logophile and I enjoy etymology and was thinking of naming my daughter Chatoyance...if I ever go Hollywood, that is.

 

[Zooberwerx]

This makes for an interesting read:

Sizing up a Neck - quality evaluation

Riis