Maple?

pulelehua

pulelehua

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Wondering if anyone has experience of maple ukuleles? Either all maple, or maple with a soft (cedar/spruce) top.

Any insights greatly appreciated. Any videos very much appreciated.

I'm looking long-term at a Mya-Moe maple ukulele, but on their videos, the ukulele is so loud, it distorts the camcorder mic. Which is good and bad...

Thanks in advance.


John
 
I have a Blue Frog ambrosia maple soprano with a spruce top. I don't think it's the back and sides you need to worry about as far as volume goes; it's the top. My uke is quite loud, most likely because of the spruce. I'm not sure what an all-maple uke would sound like.
 
pulelehua said:
Wondering if anyone has experience of maple ukuleles? Either all maple, or maple with a soft (cedar/spruce) top.

Any insights greatly appreciated. Any videos very much appreciated.

I'm looking long-term at a Mya-Moe maple ukulele, but on their videos, the ukulele is so loud, it distorts the camcorder mic. Which is good and bad...

Thanks in advance.


John
Click to expand...

Myamoe has sound samples of different woods and sizes on their web site. Eugene Ukulele had a maple MM, it was very bright.
 
pulelehua said:
Wondering if anyone has experience of maple ukuleles? Either all maple, or maple with a soft (cedar/spruce) top.

Any insights greatly appreciated. Any videos very much appreciated.

I'm looking long-term at a Mya-Moe maple ukulele, but on their videos, the ukulele is so loud, it distorts the camcorder mic. Which is good and bad...

Thanks in advance.


John
Click to expand...

I really like Maple more so when built with a soft top. I don't much care for a all Maple but thats just my:2cents:
 
Spruce or cedar are usually my first choice for a top, but maple also works great. I have built many maple topped ukes, and they have always sounded great. Gordon and Char know what they are doing, and if you want a maple top uke they will make it work.

Here are some general characteristics:

Maple - Clean, bright, loud, powerful.
Spruce - High sound velocity, great projection, excellent note clarity. I prefer to use Adirondack Spruce.
Cedar - Faster response, warmer tone, the top will require less time to "break in" time.
 
The problem in listening to the Mya-Moe maple ukuleles is that in most cases, the sound quality is bad. I wrote to them about this, and Aaron Keim said it's because his camcorder can't handle the volume. They have a sound sample of a red maple and western red cedar, which is great, and I think is fairly close to what I'm looking at (maple sides and back and port orford cedar top). They've actually made a Maple/Port Orford tenor (I'm looking at a concert), but the minute he starts strumming, it just goes crunch in the mic.

And there is a guy with an all maple Mya-Moe ukulele, but again, his videos are all distorted. I THINK in listening that it's just a bit too crisp for my tastes. I think I'll need the cedar to warm it up a bit.

Hence my wondering about people's own experience with their own ears.

It's a shame, as Mya Moe's audio files are such a wonderful resource.

And my interactions with them have been nothing short of amazing. As some of you will certainly know, some luthiers are pretty scatty when it comes to communication. I'm one of those customers who likes to feel a bit taken care of, and Gordon and Aaron are really fabulous.
 
Brüko makes all maple ukes. Not really my thing, soundwise but if you look on Youtube for Brüko, the lighter colored ones are maple. Also, the slimline black ones are also maple.
 
here's a demo of a MM all-maple concert...



yep it was bright but not thin. I loved it's tone. Volume was good, sustain not great though. I also owned a beansprout all-maple concert which had very similar tonal properties as the one above.

Also was going to mention bruko...their all-maple ukes are wonderful sounding and at a fraction of the price you'd pay for a custom built instrument. Their 'models' page only says they have flat bodied soprano all-maple ukes but this is not the case as they will build you a standard bodied instrument for very minimal extra cost in whatever scale you desire.

Anway, I'm with Tim...I love maple ukes fullstop, tonally and aesthetically. :)
 
http://www.theukulelesite.com/pono-maple-pro-classic-tenor-slot-head-cutaway-mptshc.html

I have this ukulele (link above). I LOVE IT! Maple all over except top, which is spruce. Slotted headstock, and $1000 less than a MM. But, its a personal choice. I have Worth Browns on it, as I think clears would be excessively bright. Browns, superb! Love it! Oh, I said that.

I once spoke to Gordon from MM and he strongly advised me against all maple, although he's done at least one (nice quilted maple) on customer demand. Didn't say why.

I have an all maple Ibanez...http://www.guitarcenter.com/Ibanez-...i1475510.gc?source=4WFRWXX&CAWELAID=589362223

It sounds great (not a Pono great, tho) for a laminate. Of all the laminates I have or had, it sounds the best--except for the Kiwaya laminate.

Cheers!
 
Last edited:
I once spoke to Gordon from MM and he strongly advised me against all maple, although he's done at least one (nice quilted maple) on customer demand. Didn't say why.
Click to expand...

I don't know why so many builders shy away from maple tops. I wouldn't make a maple top acoustic guitar, but ukuleles are sonically different. The luthier just needs to make a few minor adjustments, and you have a beautiful looking and great sounding instrument.

Having said that, trust the luthier you choose and listen closely to their advice. He (or she) will lead you to the wood combination that work best with their build style.
 
I've had a couple of all maple ukes - I don't like them at all. The sound of the ones I had was sharp and brassy. VERY much a personal preference, though...
 
I posted elsewhere about my recent birthday present--a Pono Maple Pro-Classic Tenor (MPT): solid spruce top, solid maple back/sides. It is definitely loud, but also responds to a soft touch. I always thought that maple would be too bright for my tastes...that's what I had always read. But I listened to a couple of sound samples and I just had to try it. It has no problem with bass notes--even tuned down to B. And the trebles are actually easier on my ears than my other ukes. What I love about it is the clarity all over the scale. I can't describe it in words, but it is a revelation to me, and a delight.

I'd recommend that everybody try a maple uke at least once.

Doug
 
Check out the maple ukes on BluegrassUkuleles.com
 
I have an all-maple Compass Rose that I love. I don't think it sounds overly bright and definitely not thin. It's a low-G and the "bass" response seems perfectly adequate. It doesn't boom, but seems very well-balanced - at least to my ear.

I defer to Jake Maclay and to comments in previous threads on the subject from Rick Turner about the care needed when crafting a maple top to avoid some of the issues that people associate with that tone-wood. I'm sure that it has sonic signatures that are different from spruce, cedar, koa, etc., but variety is the spice of life. I like the look of the flame maple top and due to the care taken by the craftsmen at Turner, I love the sound as well.

Now the requisite - YMMV -

Dean
 
Wow! The maple lovers have spoken. :)

I think if there's one thing I've learned, it's listen to your luthier. It doesn't mean that your idea is wrong, it might just be the wrong luthier for that idea. It seems pretty clear that luthiers are generally good at what they do, and nobody is familiar with all the possibilities.

Thanks, everybody! And thanks for all the links. Eye and ear opening.
 
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