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John Myung Bongo 4

birdseye maple, is it really less stable?

sanderhermans

sanderhermans

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Came acros this on the g&l website under options and was wondering if anny of you ever noticed a difference between different sorts of maple? I never have noticed.... and if quartersawn is really THE way to go, then why not make more guitars like this?


Bird's Eye Maple is beautiful but customers should be aware that it is not as stable as Hard Rock Maple or Quartersawn Maple. Not recommended for touring.

NOTE: Bird's Eye Maple necks carry a 90 day warranty.
 
sanderhermans said:
and if quartersawn is really THE way to go, then why not make more guitars like this?
Click to expand...

you loose more wood if you cut it 'quatersawn'

wood-quartersawn-02.jpg
 
I have had my 2001 SR5 and it is a combo of flame and birdeye, and that neck is solid as a rock. I gig about 70 times a year at least, and it has yet to accept a simple tweak of the truss wheel maybe a couple/three times a year for seasonal changes.
 
I do have to adjust my birdseye Sterling PDN a bit more than my other basses when the humidity changes. If you stay put in your "area" its really not noticeable. I just took it out of the case to check, i adjusted it a month ago & its still money right now

I guess if you're on a plane going to different climates would be the only way it MAY make a difference. I have no experience flying gear so I can't make a call on that.

As for the quarter sawn: I passed on it for my 4 string. You either have a good cut of wood or you dont. You can warp it in a different direction with the 1/4 sawn.

Fenders from the 60s sell for big money with the original neck, they aren't quarter sawn & haven't warped.

I talked to Sadowsky about it once & he said he does it just as another fail safe but he sounded tepid about it making an actual call on if it made a measurable difference
 
This is my 2000 fretless neck, it's been as solid as anything, rarely have to tweak it.



I have a warmoth tele neck that's almost too stable, it's a really chunky profile and I had to go up a string gauge to get the relief right on the neck.
 
sanderhermans said:
Came acros this on the g&l website under options and was wondering if anny of you ever noticed a difference between different sorts of maple? I never have noticed.... and if quartersawn is really THE way to go, then why not make more guitars like this?


Bird's Eye Maple is beautiful but customers should be aware that it is not as stable as Hard Rock Maple or Quartersawn Maple. Not recommended for touring.

NOTE: Bird's Eye Maple necks carry a 90 day warranty.
Click to expand...

I'm confused. It sounds like you are quoting a website. Care to give a reference?
 
Big Poppa said:
I dont believe this to be true.
Click to expand...

When the head of the company known for the quality of it's necks (and figuring) for over 30 years says this, there really is nothing much to add.

This question has been asked and busted many times before. I think it is the perfect example of just how resilient old myths can be, no matter how thoroughly you bust them, despite experience of some of the best instrument manufacturers in the world who continue to use birdseye and flamed maple in their flagship instruments. (Would they save the crappy wood for the best instruments?)
 
I had many birdie necks and never a problem.

I am more interested in this aspect:

Quarter-sawn maple is "harder" as in how much force do you need for a certain (non-permanent) deformation, such as neck relief under strings. OK.

Does that in any way translate to longer-term stability against permanent deformations such as neck twisting after environmental conditions change?

My BS meter goes off big time when people casually make that connection. If anything I am more comfortable with saying that the floppy necks with regular cut would have been flexibility and are more likely to return to the manufactured position.

There is always a not so fine difference between a material being harder and that turning into a problem. Flexible is often the way to go. Watch a modern airplane's wing in a storm next time you fly.
 
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