Maple cap or not?

[nuntius]

Ok I'm 99% sure about that tele, cept for the cap or not thing.

atm the specs that are deffinate are H/S/S, hardtail stringthrough, very thick maple neck and rosewood board.



I want it to have a mahogany body deffinately but im unsure about the maple cap.

Basically i want a full tone with good clarity out of this axe, but it still has to cut through.

So will the maple add to the clarity or just make it too bright?

I'm thinking the thickness of the neck will add a bit more fatness to the tone and maybe get rid of some treble, which the maple cap would put back?


I really do not have a clue.

thanks in advance

[That90'sGuy]

Re: Maple cap or not?

Without a shadow of a doubt, get the maple cap. It will add a little extra top end to work with single coils and help the humbucker cut through better.

That's the perfect wood combination IMHO: mahogany/maple body, maple/rosewood neck. It's versatile enough to do both single coils and humbuckers perfectly.

[MikeS]

Re: Maple cap or not?

I agree with Chris - get the maple top. IMO the finishing qualities of a maple cap are far superior than mahogany. I also believe that the maple cap might brighten things up a smidge, but in the grand scheme of things, I'm not sure how much of a tonal difference you'd noticebetwwen cap and no cap..

[MattPete]

Re: Maple cap or not?

Is it a maple cap or a maple veneer? That is, is it a thick cap like an LP or a thin maple veneer like a Warmoth? If it's the veneer, it won't make a noticeable difference.

If it's a true cap like an LP, keep in mind that maple caps can sometime make a guitar too bright. Since you all ready have a maple neck, I vote "no cap".

[chcjunior]

Re: Maple cap or not?

My SG is all mahagony without a maple cap.....and it certainly cuts thru the mix and has a nice bite to it. I believe with the right pups and eq mix you don't need the maple cap. The SG has more mids and bite than the Schecter does (which has the maple cap) and both are running the JB in the bridge.

[Quencho092]

Re: Maple cap or not?

SG isn't half as thick as a real Tele or LP though, so it doesn't need a cap to counteract the dark tone of a big chunk of mahogany.

[chcjunior]

Re: Maple cap or not?

SG isn't half as thick as a real Tele or LP though, so it doesn't need a cap to counteract the dark tone of a big chunk of mahogany.

The SG is the same thickness as my Schecter (sans the maple cap) though.
All I can figure out is perhaps it's different types of rosewood for the fingerboard?

[Gearjoneser]

Re: Maple cap or not?

I agree, I'd go with a mahogany body/maple cap w hardrock maple neck/rosewood fretboard. For H-S-S guitars, it's hard to beat. When I put down my H-S-S strat, which is alder/maple/rosewood, and pick up my G&L Invader, the tone and pickups seem much bigger and more present. Somehow, I think H-S-H looks better on a tele. Considering your style, you may want a fullsize humbucker in the neck, with the ability to split it.