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birds eyes neck question

This is a discussion on birds eyes neck question within the Music Man Guitars forums, part of the Gear Talk category; I Want to know the difference between classic mapple and bird's eye necks with or not rosewood fingerboard i saw ...

  1. #1
    luke69 is offline Registered User
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    Question birds eyes neck question

    I Want to know the difference between classic mapple and bird's eye necks
    with or not rosewood fingerboard
    i saw the difference when i see it birds'eyes is most beautifull and figured mapple

    but for sound,longevity, i don't know....

    if someone can explain to me

    thank you

  2. #2
    spkirby's Avatar
    spkirby is offline Registered User Senior Member
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    I dont think soundwise there'd be much of a sound difference between a birdseyed and a plain maple neck. There is some question between tone difference between a neck with a rosewood fretboard and one with maple fretboard...

    On the maple question...how come you never see birdseye maple tops on guitars as opposed to flame / quilt???

    SK

  3. #3
    Jimi D's Avatar
    Jimi D is offline Registered User Senior Member
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    Quote Originally Posted by spkirby
    On the maple question...how come you never see birdseye maple tops on guitars as opposed to flame / quilt???
    I've owned a couple of guitars with birdseye Maple tops, so they do exist... you probably don't see that many of them because they are not, imho, all that attractive - it's a very busy and arbatrary figuring compared to quilt or flame...

    Anyway, I agree that there's not going to be a tonal difference between a birdseye neck and a plain Maple neck...

  4. #4
    jazzbo jim's Avatar
    jazzbo jim is offline Registered User Senior Member
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    Oh Man!...I was almost too scared to view this thread!
    I think birdseye is kinda hard to come by so you
    re not likely to see many tops.

  5. #5
    Jonny Dubai's Avatar
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    IMO there is no tone difference between b/eye and normal maple.

  6. #6
    fsmith's Avatar
    fsmith is offline Registered User Senior Member
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    There's an acoustic hanging in my local shop with a natural birdseye top and it looks like a damn ostrich skin wallet, it's really not a pretty top compared to a nice quilt or flame.

    Save the birdseye for the necks, or in Tommy's case give him flames any day.

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    deanmm is offline Registered User Newbie
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    One thing to consider perhaps.
    I was told that birdseye can be sometimes unstable because all the warts in it, prone to twisting and similar activities, it is even more likely on laquer-less necks.
    To me it sounds like it makes sense. I guess that quality of wood piece and proper ageing and drying are a bit more important for birdseye to be stable.
    Dean

  8. #8
    Doug is offline Registered User Newbie
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    Personally I think birdseye tops can look nice.

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    Doug is offline Registered User Newbie
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    Here's another with Color


  10. #10
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    jpmrulez is offline Registered User Newbie
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    A bit off topic, but since English isn't my native language I've somehow managed to miss the difference between flame and quilt. I know they are both very nice

    So could someone please fill me in with this one?

    Thanks!

  11. #11
    hbucker's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by jpmrulez
    A bit off topic, but since English isn't my native language I've somehow managed to miss the difference between flame and quilt. I know they are both very nice

    So could someone please fill me in with this one?

    Thanks!

    Quilt resembles ripples on a lake or a swimming pool. Flame is more striped. Sometimes it's a fine line between quilt and flame.

    Look at my avatar. It's a quilt top guitar but between the pickups on my EVH it appears to be more flame that transitions into quilt.

  12. #12
    savannah_sean's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by Jimi D
    I've owned a couple of guitars with birdseye Maple tops, so they do exist... you probably don't see that many of them because they are not, imho, all that attractive - it's a very busy and arbatrary figuring compared to quilt or flame...

    Anyway, I agree that there's not going to be a tonal difference between a birdseye neck and a plain Maple neck...
    Carvin used to make guitars with solid quilt or birdseye bodies. They quit doing it sometime in the early 80's I think. I seem to remember seeing a picture of a solid birdseye body, but this was all I could find, this is from their 1979 catalog:

    http://www.carvinmuseum.com/decade/i...160stereo.html

  13. #13
    Tim O'Sullivan's Avatar
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    My 11 year old EVH is has a very figured Captain Birdseye neck, and I have never maintained it, and is still as straight as a dye!
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  14. #14
    jpmrulez's Avatar
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    Quote Originally Posted by hbucker
    Quilt resembles ripples on a lake or a swimming pool. Flame is more striped. Sometimes it's a fine line between quilt and flame.

    Look at my avatar. It's a quilt top guitar but between the pickups on my EVH it appears to be more flame that transitions into quilt.
    Oh, I see. Thanks a bunch for clearing that up for me.

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