Quilt vs Flame Maple top?

[brandonhuntmusic]

I feel like this question is going to open Pandora's box, but is there a discernible difference between the tone of quilt maple vs flame maple tops? Obviously there's a ton of factors at play (i.e. body wood, solid vs chambered, etc.) but all things equal, is there truly a benefit one way or another? Obviously they have a different aesthetic visually...

For reference, I'm looking to build a basswood body soloist and most builders (Suhr for example) will pair flame maple tops with basswood bodies, not quilt maple.

Curious if anybody has any constructive thoughts.

 

[teleme01]

It is a veneer, hope I spell that right, so I can't imagine a tone difference, but who knows

 

[Rick]

I'm not sure what you mean by constructive other to say there's no difference. As to the core wood, Basswood comes from the linden tree grown right here in the USA so the builders use it because it's plentiful , easy to work, nice tap tone ... usually it gets a solid or opaque coat . No problem.

 

[stratamania]

It won't make any discernible difference between them apart from how it looks.

(Suhr for example) will pair flame maple tops with basswood bodies, not quilt maple.

Suhr will pair basswood with flame or quilt if you order custom. A flame maple top is $465 versus $540 for quilt maple, or for a carve top which uses a thicker top, flame maple is $540 versus $695 for quilt maple. Flame maple will be used on production runs because it is more cost-effective. Those prices are just for the tops at the time of writing.