Grading Flame

[deepblue]

Hi Guys...
Im awaitng a AAA flame maple neck w/rosewood board for my Stratocaster.
I ordered it custom made, so there were pictures available for me to judge.

My question is...
What determines AAA? I have a '59 historic Les Paul. Gibson claims its AAA flame.
Should I be hoping for a neck with this much flame?
Heres my Gibson...

 

[jimh]

if you specified AAA flame then Warmoth will see you right.  All the standard Flame (AA) stuff I've seen is pretty flamey, and they say that their AAA is even more highly figured, then I reckon you'll be good

From the website:
Flame Maple (Acer saccharum):

While there are several maple species that show the flame figure, the only one hard enough for making necks is Acer saccharum. Identical to plain Hard maple, except for the highly prized flame figuring. For even more flame figure, AAA grade can be requested. A different species of Flame Maple is used for body laminate tops.

http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Necks/NeckWoods.aspx

 

[jackthehack]

Flame figuring is going to be shown off a bit better on a flat bookmatched top than in a neck, usually; search necks with flame maple, sort by price and look at the high end:

 

[Nando Vallart]

Minds that this top is Soft Maple and the neck will be Hard Maple... Hard Maple isn't as figured as Soft on 95% of time... But expect some nice flame on it!

 

[Mor Paul]

Flame figuring is going to be shown off a bit better on a flat bookmatched top than in a neck, usually; search necks with flame maple, sort by price and look at the high end:

Jack, that's an amazing neck. You or Tonar should buy it.

 

[jackthehack]

Tonar's bought a couple of that flame grade; I still have a large pile of builds I never got finished this year...

 

[deepblue]

Thanks guys...
Itll be a few more weeks till I get the neck. Im expecting something sweet!

 

[jackthehack]

Note that the neck in the pic I posted above would definitely fall into the 5A class....h

 

[Mor Paul]

Jack, you need to finish that blue bass.

 

[tfarny]

This, I was told, was purchased as 5a flame maple. Hope that helps. It looks even cooler in real life.  http://www.unofficialwarmoth.com/index.php?topic=5195.0

 

[Tonar8352]

It is hard to say until it shows up, but chances are it will be nice.  

I have ordered several 5A custom builds and I always keep my fingers crossed that the wood will be exceptional.  It has all been good with a few being exceptional.

Jack is correct in steering you towards using the search engine to find a neck that will appeal to you. You get to see the piece first on the showcase, which is a huge advantage. The downside is your may have to wait for a long time to find a piece that meets you desires for nut width, profile, etc.

We all are looking forward to seeing pictures of yours when it shows up.  

PS I have to go now and check the profile and nut width on the neck Jack posted.  :icon_thumright:

 

[jackthehack]

Jack, you need to finish that blue bass.

Due to lacquer disaster it will have to be completely stripped; might wind up another color eventually....

 

[-CB-]

Thing about wood grading is its also entirely dependent on the final cutting and shaping, and how much of the figure occurs within the final piece (this case the top).

Any given top may include a few inches of very high grade "figure", but does it extend to cover the entire top? 

I think you get the point - grading is subjective, dependent on coverage, emotional impact, overall contrast of the figure, its specularity (look it up), and impact.  Its highly highly subjective.

In all my dealings with Warmoth, they have ALWAYS exceeded my expectations on wood grading, and folks like Gibson have usually been a bit shy of the mark as to what AA is vs AAA.

Somebody told me once that offically, there was no AAAAA (5A) maple it only "officially" went to AAAA in the wood marketplace.  I'm not sure on that.

 

[Kostas]

You already ordered it so all you can do is wait and see.

I never ordered a maple neck from Warmoth. All my necks are not finished so there's not a flame or birds eye option for the woods I order. I'm pleased with their looks. However,  a friend ordered AAA birds eye neck and what he got was a maple neck with some grain patterns. Definitely not flame or not birds eye. I have come to conclusion that if I ever wanted a figured maple neck I would pay for the AAAAA option to get maximum figure. Something like this (net) pic