What is a quilt top guitar?

It describes the pattern of the woodgrain of the top slab of the guitar, which in many cases is made of a different wood, usually maple, because the grain is nice. Quilt actually looks like there is a blanket 'in' the wood. while flame has straighter lines, and sort of looks like the grain is on fire or something.

What does quilt top mean?

Quilt top is either pieced or a single piece of fabric. The next layer is batting. The bottom layer of a quilt is a piece of fabric that is generally 4 inches longer and wider on all sides, this allows for quilting. For example, if quilt top measures 60×60, backing and batting should measure at least 68×68.

What is Les Paul quilt top?

The Gibson Custom Les Paul Class 5 Quilt Top is a playable work of art. Gibson's Custom Shop builds some of the finest guitars on the planet. Using top-drawer tonewoods and materials, these highly skilled luthiers create beautiful instruments to be enjoyed by generations of serious players and collectors.

What is a quilt maple top?

Quilt or quilted maple refers to a type of figure in maple wood. It is seen on the tangential plane (flat-sawn) and looks like a wavy "quilted" pattern, often similar to ripples on water. The highest quality quilted figure is found in the Western Big Leaf species of maple.

What is quilted maple guitar?

Also known as “quilted maple,” this is a type figured maple featuring a wavy, rippling visual pattern. The quilt figure is a result of flat-sawing the wood, which distorts the grain pattern, creating the figure.

How to make a Quilted Maple Guitar Top (with minimal tools)

What is the difference between curly and quilted maple?

Curly maple figuring is similar to quilted maple, but curl is a primarily horizontal pattern perpendicular to the wood grain. Unlike quilted maple, curly maple is most pronounced when the board is quartersawn, and the curls usually become much less pronounced or absent in flatsawn sections of boards.

What is quilted guitar?

It describes the pattern of the woodgrain of the top slab of the guitar, which in many cases is made of a different wood, usually maple, because the grain is nice. Quilt actually looks like there is a blanket 'in' the wood. while flame has straighter lines, and sort of looks like the grain is on fire or something.

How do you quilt a guitar top?

A top is cut from a slab of quilted maple, usually only about half the width of the guitar body itself. Then this is cut in half again along the side (think like you are slicing a roll or bagel in half) and the one side is flipped over, creating a mirrored effect along the middle of the body (called bookmatching).

What is a flame top guitar?

Flame Top Guitar

This is often made of two matched pieces of wood that meet down the middle of the guitar. Some guitars, such as Epiphone, have a very thin Veneer of maple, while others have a full layer. This layer of maple is often said to improve the guitar's resonance and "tone" and give a slightly snappier sound.

What does floating a quilt top mean?

Let's back up a sec… to “float” a quilt top means that the quilt top is layered on the batting and backing but not secured directly to the longarm frame in any way. Floating is very popular and can be done successfully. It's so much faster than loading a top!

What is the newest quilting trend?

Cross-stitch and embroidery have both been center-stage in 2017 and 2018, and we predict applique to be the star of the show come 2019. Madi Hastings' "All Good Things are Wild and Free" quilt is a simple 9 month BOM that was released in June, with laser-cut kits from Laser Cut Quilts soon to follow in July 2018.

Is quilted maple expensive?

Is Quilted Maple Expensive? Yes, highly figured quilt maple is expensive. Additionally, the cost is similar to highly figured birdseye sugar maple lumber. Specifically,as of December 2020, prices range from $3 per board foot for lightly quilted maple to $150 per board foot for extremely dense quilt figure.

How is a flame top guitar made?

Flame maple is especially popular in guitars, and has been for decades. Generally, the process includes cutting the maple to shape, forming it if necessary through mold-warping and applying a clear coat or lacquer to protect the finish, and ensure the wood holds its shape.

Where does quilted maple come from?

That is quilted maple, quilt is a figure found only in the west coast maple. Quilted is the name of a type of figure found in lumber. “Quilted” decribes the pattern of figure. Is is NOT only found in Acer Macrophyllum, but can occur in ANY maple species, and MANY other families and species.

What is quilted mahogany?

Quilted Mahogany is a rare and beautiful variant of Honduras Mahogany. While woods such as Maple are known for their flamed or quilted figure, Honduras Mahogany can be very dramatically figured as well, although finely-quilted sets of Honduras Mahogany are relatively rare.

What causes quilting in wood?

What causes figure to happen in wood is still up for debate; some say it's due to a genetic aberration in a particular tree, while others think it's caused by environmental stress.

Is flamed maple good guitar?

Flame Maple (Hard Maple)

Quite frequently used for guitar manufacturing, thanks to its leading appearance and tonal balance. Flame Maple when combined with other woods such as Myrtlewood and Sitka Spruce creates more sound energy and a greater tone.

Is big leaf maple a hard wood?

Bigleaf maple is a commercially important hardwood timber for the United States' west coast, where it is virtually the only commercial maple species in the region. It is considered to be in the grouping of soft maples, and its wood is lighter, softer, and weaker than that of hard maple.

What is a veneer guitar top?

Veneers are very thin layers of wood that are only 1 or 2mm thick. They're paper thin and are strictly for aesthetic purposes. A top, on the other hand, is much thicker.

How much is Spalted maple worth?

Retail prices for 4/4 spalted maple were quoted at $7.50 to $9/bf, though price is often dictated by the amount of figure.

What causes tiger stripes in wood?

Tiger stripe comes when the tree develops wavy grain. It may be the result of a viral infection in some cases. In other cases, it is genetic. Tiger stripe sometimes happens when a tree grows in soil that has minerals concentrated in an area of the root system, feeding part or all of the tree and affecting its color.

Are curly maple and tiger maple the same thing?

Tiger and Curly Maple are terms used to describe the figure present in Maple. There are two main types of Maple that have the figure, Curly Hard Maple and Curly Soft Maple. The term Tiger Maple is most often given to Curly Soft Maple because the curly stripe in it resembles the stripe of a tiger.

What causes tiger stripe maple?

In curly maple, the grain is wavy through the length of the board. The result is that when the wavy grain is planed flat, it appears to look ruffled, or tiger striped, due to the waviness in the grain.”