DangerousR6
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You are exactly wrong. If you want a special top, then you should order a special top... :binkybaby:Wesquire said:
"flamed maple top" telecaster WTF
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Wesquire
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DangerousR6 said:
:icon_jokercolor: He's not wanting a special top. He's wanting a top that doesn't look like garbage. OP's top would hardly be acceptable for a $400 guitar. If they want to sell tops like this, fine, just make it clear that this is the kind of result you will likely get.
JohnnyHardtail
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Maybe it needs a note on the website:
"Due to high demand caused by covid-19, standard figured tops may not meet expectations. Please click [I Accept] to proceed"
:icon_jokercolor:
"Due to high demand caused by covid-19, standard figured tops may not meet expectations. Please click [I Accept] to proceed"
:icon_jokercolor:
xParallax
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Just read through this thread and I can see both sides of the debate but I definitely side with most of you and will say there's nothing wrong with the top at all.
I can understand why, to the untrained eye, an unstained top like that could appear a little lacking in figuring when all you see is super-stained beautiful 5A tops or PRS 'ten tops' all the time and they're commonly called 'flame maple' or 'quilt maple'.
It might be a little dose of reality that those 5A tops cost a lot of money to have and there is no way of getting around that. There is an upcharge for a reason, and if you pay Warmoth, they will indeed put a top like this on a guitar.
I do also sympathise with OP, though, because if you click 'flamed maple', it's not really apparent what your piece of wood will look like if you don't use the unique choice option. I think at very least there should be an indication stating that it will be a standard flamed top, and not a premium flamed top. With that said, in the standard selection, some figurings are very uniform and apparent out of the box, and some need some naphtha to bring out the beauty. Out of the box it may look disappointing and a bit of an anticlimax, but a bit of staining work will have this one looking beautiful.
Unfortunately, guitar building is all about the sum of the parts and what you do with them, not just the raw parts you receive.
OP, try and enjoy it, or if you're that disappointed in it, get in touch with the big W, I'm sure they will take you through their processes and what you can do. If you're still not happy, I'm sure plenty of people here would love to take that beautiful piece off your hands
ccasion14:
I can understand why, to the untrained eye, an unstained top like that could appear a little lacking in figuring when all you see is super-stained beautiful 5A tops or PRS 'ten tops' all the time and they're commonly called 'flame maple' or 'quilt maple'.
It might be a little dose of reality that those 5A tops cost a lot of money to have and there is no way of getting around that. There is an upcharge for a reason, and if you pay Warmoth, they will indeed put a top like this on a guitar.
I do also sympathise with OP, though, because if you click 'flamed maple', it's not really apparent what your piece of wood will look like if you don't use the unique choice option. I think at very least there should be an indication stating that it will be a standard flamed top, and not a premium flamed top. With that said, in the standard selection, some figurings are very uniform and apparent out of the box, and some need some naphtha to bring out the beauty. Out of the box it may look disappointing and a bit of an anticlimax, but a bit of staining work will have this one looking beautiful.
Unfortunately, guitar building is all about the sum of the parts and what you do with them, not just the raw parts you receive.
OP, try and enjoy it, or if you're that disappointed in it, get in touch with the big W, I'm sure they will take you through their processes and what you can do. If you're still not happy, I'm sure plenty of people here would love to take that beautiful piece off your hands
ccasion14:
teleme01
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well for my 2 pesos, i think the whole of the issue is anticipation and expectations, after hitting the purchase button, the mind starts thinking of all the possible flames and patterns, golden grains and the etc. kind of like the mail order bride, we imagine she will be submissive and are disappointed if she has an opinion... what I'm really trying to say is the mind runs, flies, with the wind and reality is the piece of wood your handed... your never going to get what you imagined, your always going to get a unique piece of wood which is the putty you mold. did i miss any metaphors or did i putt it over the wall ?
docteurseb
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I'll do a 180 degrees turn on my earlier opinion.
I just looked at the graphic representation of the basic $75 flame maple top option on the new website:
While there is a note saying figuring/etc will differ, it's very hard to deny that what is shown is setting up the customer for complete disappointment.
The top shown here would be a fine highly figured laminate top option, and no amount of wetting of the OP's top is going to make it look remotely as exciting.
I just looked at the graphic representation of the basic $75 flame maple top option on the new website:
While there is a note saying figuring/etc will differ, it's very hard to deny that what is shown is setting up the customer for complete disappointment.
The top shown here would be a fine highly figured laminate top option, and no amount of wetting of the OP's top is going to make it look remotely as exciting.
Wesquire
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DrSeb said:I'll do a 180 degrees turn on my earlier opinion.
I just looked at the graphic representation of the basic $75 flame maple top option on the new website:
While there is a note saying figuring/etc will differ, it's very hard to deny that what is shown is setting up the customer for complete disappointment.
The top shown here would be a fine highly figured laminate top option, and no amount of wetting of the OP's top is going to make it look remotely as exciting.
Yes, exactly. The pictures on the website along with what kind of flame maple top you'd get at a similar price point indicates something very different than what OP got. And as for other commenters, the amount of the flame isn't really the issue in OP's top. It is how splotchy (don't know the technical term) the pattern is on the left side. Something with the same amount of flame but more symmetrical would be 100% acceptable IMO.
TBurst Std
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Then what you call the top in the OP?
If I wanted a plain maple top and got that, I’d be upset. It’s certainly not plain. So how do you view it?
If I wanted a plain maple top and got that, I’d be upset. It’s certainly not plain. So how do you view it?
mayfly
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I truly do no see the issue. Once the body is finished, you will see the flame pop like the image on the website. Not understanding this just shows some ignorance as to how wood flame works.
I once got a maple neck from W that raw showed no flame whatsoever. Once it was finished it suddenly looked like this:
I once got a maple neck from W that raw showed no flame whatsoever. Once it was finished it suddenly looked like this:
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docteurseb
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Mayfly said:I truly do no see the issue. Once the body is finished, you will see the flame pop like the image on the website. Not understanding this just shows some ignorance as to how wood flame works.
I once got a maple neck from W that raw showed no flame whatsoever. Once it was finished it suddenly looked like this:
You could say I worked with a 'few' figured maple parts the last few years and, although we'll never see the OP's top finished, I'm more than willing to bet the figuring will not look remotely as exciting as the custom builder's graphic representation (wet top obviously) can lead one to believe.
On second thought we'll likely see it in the Showcase soon enough anyways, and can then judge how fantastic that top truly is.
docteurseb
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TBurst Std said:
In case you are asking me:
- I too would be upset if I ordered plain maple and got that.
- I view it as curly maple that's a lot less exciting figuring-wise as what I would anticipate getting based on Warmoth's representation.
It should still look pretty decent once finished, in a darker color to mask a bit those beautiful grain lines ;-)
War_in_D
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DrSeb said:I'll do a 180 degrees turn on my earlier opinion.
I just looked at the graphic representation of the basic $75 flame maple top option on the new website:
While there is a note saying figuring/etc will differ, it's very hard to deny that what is shown is setting up the customer for complete disappointment.
The top shown here would be a fine highly figured laminate top option, and no amount of wetting of the OP's top is going to make it look remotely as exciting.
This ^^^^^
I ordered a flamed maple body, pre-pandemic and sent an email to Warmoth Customer Service asking them to please pick me a decent one. I got the canned response of "if you would like to chose your top, you need to pick something from the Unique Choice selections", etc. I told them, I didn't see anything in the Unique Choice section that warrented paying $175-$225 more, and that as long as the body I received was commensurate with the body they advertised on as their example of flame maple, then I would be happy. I was pleased with the body I received, and it was within the ballpark of the represented photo. I don't know if that email helped, and I am by no means saying that people going forward should do this.. but I can say that in my case, I don't feel like it hurt anything.
I guess what I'm trying to say, is that if Warmoth uses that photo as their example of a flame maple top.. then I can see where the OP might be a little miffed. At least from a grain point of view. Usually when you think of bookmatched, you expect it to be a mirror image. But having said that, wood is wood and it's unpredictable. I do think though, that a finish on that guitar would probalby bring out some decent figuring. Just my two pennies.
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docteurseb
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It's worth pointing out, not that I necessarily want to add insult to injury, that $75 gets you a book-matched 1/8" top of the highest grade from this supplier:
https://www.northridgehardwoods.com/SolidBodyTops.htm
I cut & finished those backplates from one such top:
Those too:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRHnr-zsvNE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSsxDKTltcM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.northridgehardwoods.com/SolidBodyTops.htm
I cut & finished those backplates from one such top:
Those too:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRHnr-zsvNE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSsxDKTltcM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
War_in_D
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DrSeb said:It's worth pointing out, not that I necessarily want to add insult to injury, that $75 gets you a book-matched 1/8" top of the highest grade from this supplier:
https://www.northridgehardwoods.com/SolidBodyTops.htm
I cut & finished those backplates from one such top:
Those too:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CRHnr-zsvNE/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
https://www.instagram.com/p/CSsxDKTltcM/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
I've bought tops from Northridge before. They have some pretty nice stuff.
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