Maple Opinions?

JoeC

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Aloha!

I'm pretty new to ukulele's, but I've been learning fast and loving everything about ukes more and more :D and I think now I'm ready for the 2nd member of my uke collection :p

So I've been looking all over for a pretty nice ukulele, that won't burn a whole in my metaphorical pocket...

I came across this one ukulele, which I pretty much love:

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x413/JosephCotton/TanglewoodMapleUke.jpg
http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x413/JosephCotton/TanglewoodMapleUkeBack.jpg

I was just wondering what you guys thought of maple, how does it sound?
How does it compare to koa or mango?

I'm really not a mahogany kinda guy lol

Thanks :)
Joe
 
Aloha Joe,

Generally, it all comes down to personal preference. Each individual has their own likes and dislikes. The sound and tone of an instrument is "Subjective" according to each individual depending on their taste. Generally, maple has a brighter tone than other woods. Ukes are made entirely of one type of wood for the tops, backs, and sides ... or also made with a combination of two different types of woods such as mahogany for sides and backs with a spuce top. Basically, it comes down to your own individual taste for aesthetics and sound.

Hope that helps. Welcome to UU and I hope to see you around the forums.

Aloha,
 
I love the looks of maple, but I've never played one. But it all comes down to personal taste and the way it sounds to you.
 
Maple tends to have a tighter, brighter tone than Mahogany, and even Koa/Acacia. I find it similar to Spruce in tone. Here is the maple I offer.

concert6a.jpg
 
I love maple; the look and the sound of it, which is why I have an Ohana TK75G on order. :D The uke you've got pictured looks superb.

Not so keen with the looks of flamed or spalted maple, mind.
 
I love maple; the look and the sound of it, which is why I have an Ohana TK75G on order. :D The uke you've got pictured looks superb.

Not so keen with the looks of flamed or spalted maple, mind.

A few fokes may not know this. But, you know the famed, flame/quilt maple, maybe even the curl like mine above gets that pattern due to a disease of the wood causing that effect? It's pretty, but also has a cool trivia factoid to it.. ;)
 
Maple is a very hard wood that does not resonate very freely. As a result, you tend to get a very bright, treble-focused sound with a very sharp attack and quick decay. Maple is very commonly used as a side and back wood on larger guitars, as the larger guitar body can encourage resonance to the point of muddiness, and the maple can help balance that. Of course, maple is also very commonly used as the back and side wood on violins and mandolins, which are quite small, but here, too, the goal is to increase the sharpness of the sound. It's worth mentioning that guitars, mandolins, and violins usually have a softer, more resonant topwood-- commonly spruce, but also cedar and redwood. Some guitars have maple tops, but usually only electrics or acoustic electrics.

I've never played an all-maple uke, but I imagine it would have a piercing, strident tone. This may be exactly what you're looking for, but I recommend trying before you buy-- it might not be for everybody. If I were to have a maple uke, I'd probably use a spruce or cedar top, to balance out the maple. But as others have said, it's all about how it sounds to you.
 
Maple is a very hard wood that does not resonate very freely. As a result, you tend to get a very bright, treble-focused sound with a very sharp attack and quick decay. Maple is very commonly used as a side and back wood on larger guitars, as the larger guitar body can encourage resonance to the point of muddiness, and the maple can help balance that. Of course, maple is also very commonly used as the back and side wood on violins and mandolins, which are quite small, but here, too, the goal is to increase the sharpness of the sound. It's worth mentioning that guitars, mandolins, and violins usually have a softer, more resonant topwood-- commonly spruce, but also cedar and redwood. Some guitars have maple tops, but usually only electrics or acoustic electrics.

I've never played an all-maple uke, but I imagine it would have a piercing, strident tone. This may be exactly what you're looking for, but I recommend trying before you buy-- it might not be for everybody. If I were to have a maple uke, I'd probably use a spruce or cedar top, to balance out the maple. But as others have said, it's all about how it sounds to you.

The one I showed above is all maple. It does have a brighter tone, but sounds darn good. I have a sound sample of that one somewhere here on the forum. Personally, I am a Mahogany lover. But do like the sharper maple for a change every so often.
 
A few fokes may not know this. But, you know the famed, flame/quilt maple, maybe even the curl like mine above gets that pattern due to a disease of the wood causing that effect? It's pretty, but also has a cool trivia factoid to it.. ;)

Manky wood. :p
 
I've never played an all-maple uke, but I imagine it would have a piercing, strident tone. This may be exactly what you're looking for, but I recommend trying before you buy-- it might not be for everybody. If I were to have a maple uke, I'd probably use a spruce or cedar top, to balance out the maple. But as others have said, it's all about how it sounds to you.

Yes, Maple is a much brighter sounding tonewood than Mahogany, Koa, Rosewood, etc., and as such you might also want to experiment with different strings from different manufacturers to find a set that doesn’t overly amplify the brightness brought out by the tonewood (in addition to the choice of wood for the soundboard).

Personally, I think Maple would be a cool and diverse choice for a uke from the norm. I would just be sure I had played a couple of different brands (live A/B sessions) and had the chance to make sure the sound is what I wanted before laying down my money.
 
I'd stick with Mahogany or Koa....buy for sound not looks...if it looks nice and sounds bad you will not play it....if it sounds nice and looks bad, believe me you'll play it...you'll overlook it's
shortcomings...
 
I'm not just looking for looks, but as I'm looking on the internet, looks is all i have. Which is why I am doubting this Tanglewood. I didn't realise maple was so bright sounding, I'm looking for something a little warmer, which brought me to the Kala KA-FMS, which I saw in a music shop, just today, in fact, and really loved the sound it made. And it's undoubtably very pretty, too.

Might have to go back there tomorrow ;D

Thank you guys for all your comments and suggestions!
Big help!

JoeC
 
G'day Joe

I have an all maple uke and I love it because it is different. Yes it is certainly brighter than conventional ukulele tonewoods and less sustain, but I have heard it mellow through use. It has a crispness that is striking, but not too brittle. The trick is to get the right strings to bring out the strengths of your particular uke. I use worth flurocarbons on mine and they're awesome.

If you're looking for a balance between the warmer koa and mahogany and the brightness of maple, walnut etc, why not go for a uke made out of mango or myrtle?
 
I very strongly suspect it is a maple laminate - spalted maple like that often is as the spalting (the darker areas in the grain) is a fungal invasion that can potentially weaken the wood. Laminate ukes don't have quite as much of the characteristics of the featured woods, as the laminate (fancy name for plywood) mutes quite a bit of the vibration with its crossed grain patterns.

I've had several solid maple ukes and I just don't care for them because of the brightness. Total personal opinion there - but decide on the sound first, appearance second!
 
Aloha!

I'm pretty new to ukulele's, but I've been learning fast and loving everything about ukes more and more :D and I think now I'm ready for the 2nd member of my uke collection :p

So I've been looking all over for a pretty nice ukulele, that won't burn a whole in my metaphorical pocket...

I came across this one ukulele, which I pretty much love:

http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x413/JosephCotton/TanglewoodMapleUke.jpg
http://i1180.photobucket.com/albums/x413/JosephCotton/TanglewoodMapleUkeBack.jpg

I was just wondering what you guys thought of maple, how does it sound?
How does it compare to koa or mango?

I'm really not a mahogany kinda guy lol

Thanks :)
Joe

I think I want to add a maple uke to the stable. This uke looks very good. Certain types of music like bluegrass, blues and ????? benefits from not too much sustain. I like that "mandolin" sound for some things. Fell in love with maple ukes first time I heard Bluegrass Uke's "Flying Owl."
 
Not indicative of all maple ukes but fwiw..
 
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