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Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
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Author:  Darryl Young [ Fri May 17, 2013 9:37 am ]
Post subject:  Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
You can read anything on the internet so I take about anything I read with a grain of salt. With that said, I read on one guitar mfg's website that Silver Maple (a softer maple) sounds a lot like mahogany and the densities are similar.

BS or is this true? Doesn't seem likely to me but I've zero experience with Silver Maple.
Author:  Evilfrog [ Fri May 17, 2013 9:40 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
I'm currently building #2 with silver leaf maple back and sides.

I can let you know in a few months...
Author:  douglas ingram [ Fri May 17, 2013 9:53 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
Silver Maple is one of the "Soft Maples". In the trade any maple that is not "hard" sugar maple is grouped together as "soft maple". Harvesters and sawyers are not particularly specific when they differentiate the maples. Once it gets into the supply chain its even harder

They aren't all that soft, either, about the same as Cherry of Walnut. I think that Big Leaf is also in this group and it is very popular for guitar making, though usually its identified for what it is.

I've used some maple that I've bought from my wholesaler that was labelled simply as "soft maple". It could have been Silver, Red, or who knows which other variety. Anyway, the cut and figure were appealing and the guitar was fine.

I know of some quite high end 'cello makers who are using Red Maple specifically.

If you have some and its suitable I think that you can use it with confidence.

As an aside, Silver Maple is my current favourite for new tree plantings. It grows to a beautiful tree, and with careful pruning of the lower branches while dormant, you can encourage it to grow tall quite quickly.
Author:  WaddyThomson [ Fri May 17, 2013 10:48 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
Silver Maple is fast growing and makes a nice yard tree. It's used by lots of cities for replacement trees because it's cheap. However, the down side is that it has a short life relative to other trees and is highly susceptible to issues from borers and is easily damaged by lawn care equipment. I had 7 of them in my yard. Now I have 5. They have reached full growth, but are dwarfed by most any other type of tree. I do love the leaves as they just dry up into little puff balls that are easily blown or mulched.
Author:  ernie [ Fri May 17, 2013 12:52 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
I found one cut up by a road crew, makes nice backs and sides this one was over 2 ft wide, and grows locally.
Author:  Nils [ Sun May 19, 2013 7:26 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
I'd do it! I love working with silver maple. I havent done it, but I'm sure it'd sound great. In my opinion, tone is more a function of how you make the instrument, and less about the woods you use. That's not to say the wood wont play a part in what sound you get in the end though. I'd be more concerned about your top bracing as far as your tone goes. Also, I love seeing instruments made with woods that are usually not thought of as premium tone woods. What luthier hasnt seen a million rosewood and mahogany guitars?

On the aesthetic side, I love the way silver maple looks with red maple. The silver maple is a tad creamier than the red maple and the grain is more subtle. One day, I'd like to make a guitar with a red maple back/sides and a silver maple neck...basically just like this mandolin I made here - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =3&theater
Author:  Doug Balzer [ Sun May 19, 2013 7:48 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
R.M. Mottola used it: http://liutaiomottola.com/instruments/Tinozza.htm
Author:  James Ringelspaugh [ Sun May 19, 2013 9:28 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
I've worked with it with excellent results... it works very much like cherry which is also a great and very much under-used wood in my opinion.
Author:  Don Williams [ Sun May 19, 2013 3:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
I have a 3' diameter silver maple in my yard. If someone wants, it's theirs if they want to come take it down and haul it away.
It's just close to the house and power lines, but don't let that scare you...just come and get it.
Author:  Don Williams [ Sun May 19, 2013 3:58 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
Nils wrote:
I'd do it! I love working with silver maple. I havent done it, but I'm sure it'd sound great. In my opinion, tone is more a function of how you make the instrument, and less about the woods you use. That's not to say the wood wont play a part in what sound you get in the end though. I'd be more concerned about your top bracing as far as your tone goes. Also, I love seeing instruments made with woods that are usually not thought of as premium tone woods. What luthier hasnt seen a million rosewood and mahogany guitars?

On the aesthetic side, I love the way silver maple looks with red maple. The silver maple is a tad creamier than the red maple and the grain is more subtle. One day, I'd like to make a guitar with a red maple back/sides and a silver maple neck...basically just like this mandolin I made here - https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... =3&theater


Good looking mando there Nils.
Author:  Darryl Young [ Mon May 20, 2013 1:26 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
I was fairly certain that silver maple could be used for a back/side wood on an acoustic guitar........what I'm skeptical of is that it would sound like mahogany as claimed on the weebsite I read. Not a lot of discussion of tone except some mention it sounds more like cherry.......which would make sense to me.

Thanks.
Author:  Chris Pile [ Mon May 20, 2013 2:45 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
Back in the 70's I built a P-bass body from silver maple for a client.
Can't say that it sounded like the mahogany basses I had heard, but it made a great sounding bass that the owner still enjoys all these decades later.
Author:  Beth Mayer [ Mon May 20, 2013 3:56 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
I'm glad to read this thread, because I bought a set of "Big Leaf" maple from Hibdon and when it came, it was labeled "Soft Maple". Kind of freaked me out, because I wondered if "soft" maple would be a viable wood to use. I feel better now :)
Author:  Alex Kleon [ Mon May 20, 2013 5:03 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
Beth Mayer wrote:
I'm glad to read this thread, because I bought a set of "Big Leaf" maple from Hibdon and when it came, it was labeled "Soft Maple". Kind of freaked me out, because I wondered if "soft" maple would be a viable wood to use. I feel better now :)

I asked the same question about soft maple a while back, and the consensus was that it was OK. I've got some boards left over from a job that have some nice curl that I'll cut into sets. Even though it is called soft, it is still pretty hard. Doesn't seem to chip as easily as hard maple, either.

Alex
Author:  Peter Norman [ Sun Jun 23, 2013 9:58 am ]
Post subject:  Re: Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
Godin in Quebec use Silver maple on their guitars. They use it on their Art & Lutherie Series.

This what they said about it on their site; "whose characteristics for sound, weight and density are incredibly similar to that of mahogany."
Author:  WilbPorter [ Sun Jun 23, 2013 4:04 pm ]
Post subject:  Re: Silver Maple for Back and Sides?
I've often wondered about referring to woods as having a specific sound. Mahogany sound, maple sound, east indian sound, ziricote sound etc. Then there are those who say a guitar has a sound somewhere between maple and mahogany. Huh? Between? Seriously, if you blindfolded me and played seven guitars of different woods, I would have a difficult time saying which guitar was made from which wood. Maybe builders who handle a lot of different woods could do that, but I couldn't. And I don't know what a maple sound is. This sounds so much like the cheap vs expensive wine arguments. Even experts?? when blindly tested are all over the map.

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