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I'll start by apologizing in case this is a stupid question. I'm in the process of planning my first acoustic guitar build, and much of that involves picking which materials I want to use. I want the back, sides and soundboard to be all quilted maple, but I'm having a hard time finding a piece of quilted maple for the soundboard. However I've found a lot of back and side sets. This brings me to the question of whether I could just buy two maple back and side sets and use the "back" piece as my soundboard. Is that okay? Is the wood any different? Forgive my ignorance. Any help is appreciated.


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Anything is ok if you have the vision and chops to pull it off, however a quilted Maple soundboard while possibly visually stunning will be a real dud sound wise.
Here is a nicely figured Nick Lucas with a spruce top (Lutz) that looks great and sounds as good as it looks.

Most of the quilt maple topped guitars that you see are ply, with a nice veneer on it. What Greg said about a dud sound is pretty much what you're going to get with a solid quilt top.
If you want just a quilt top, pick up an electric drop top like these: https://www.woodtoworks.com/Quilt-Figure-tops_c_26.html

Alex

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"Indecision is the key to flexibility" .... Bumper sticker

Balance that out with the fact that a whole lot of birch, Koa, and mahogany topped instruments have been made.... Birch is nearly identical to soft maple.... Koa and mahogany are not too far off soft maple property wise either. So there you go. These do have a particular sort of sound....

And so... Is that the sort of sound you are after? Think of a Harmony or Kay miscellaneous cheap guitar made between the 40's and 70's..... They tended to be quieter and have a particular sort of midrangey sound that I sometimes call "boingey"...

My caution would be more about the mechanics of holding the bridge on. Curl = a ton of runout. Bridge torque might peel out a chunk of high flame top... Would you end up doing a tailpiece and floating bridge?

Wood wise... Just ask the supplier if you can buy an orphan back set. No need to get another set of sides. If you are getting maple from the fellows who saw it - just tell them what you want and they will sell it to you.

Thanks

Thanks guys for the tips. I guess my main question was about using the back piece as a soundboard and whether that was a good idea. As far as quilted maple goes, I had seen an all quilted maple Taylor reviewed on YouTube and it was gorgeous both visually and tonally. Thank you for steering me away from it if it would be a dud. Here's the link if you're interested.

https://youtu.be/e9yAxKtv8oY


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Hardwood topped guitars generally sound different than the typical spruce or other softwood tops commonly used. The stiffness to weight ratio is usually not as good, and the additional weight to keep the required stiffness sometimes makes for a "quiet" guitar. However the -quality- of the sound may be appealing to you, and if you add an amplification system to it, a less responsive top can be a plus.

Because there are a number of species of wood commonly referred to as "soft maple", I will preface my comments by saying that I am referring to Big Leaf Maple, acer macrophyllum. This is the species that most people are referring to when they talk about quilted maple.

Equating soft maple with koa and mahogany is not really accurate, IMHO. The tap tones alone will tell you this. Acer macrophyllum does not have a particularly resonant tap tone, and as such, would not be my first choice for a top. Koa, mahogany, walnut, and cherry all have more resonant tap tones, and are more commonly used for tops.

As far as gluing goes, acer macrophyllum is not very split-prone, and as long as your piece isn't crazy curly, it should be just fine. If your goal is to reproduce something similar to Taylor's guitar, go for it. You might try a prototype with plain flatsawn maple first, because well-figured quilt can be quite expensive.

To address your question directly, yes, using a back for a top will work just fine, all other things considered.

[quote="Lincoln Goertzen"] Koa, mahogany, walnut, and cherry all have more resonant tap tones, and are more commonly used for tops.

Cherry was my backup plan. My main problem is that I don't really have a lumber supplier near me, so testing for tap tones isn't an option for me. I'm just perusing eBay to see what I can find.




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Using quilted maple for a soundboard is not a problem as far as I can see. I have used plain and curly redwood for tops and have got great sound out of each. And there are tons of beautiful guitars out there with figured koa tops, as well as other hardwoods. It is mostly a matter of thinning the top to the right stiffness.

I would say go for it

I'm sure you can find a supplier that will sell an extra back set but.....

Since this is a first build and I am assuming it will be your first attempt bending wood. Having an extra set of sides around might come in handy.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

Also look at the sponsors here. Many of them specialist in tonewoods and they are a reliable source.

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Joe Beaver
Maker of Sawdust

+1 to what Joe Beaver said about having an extra set of sides.

Personally, I believe that first efforts benefit from sticking to more conservative approaches but we're talking about woodworking here, not surgery. Have fun!

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George :-)