the maple that Gibson's Asian factory is using for these is hardly top-grade-select maple that you think of being really bright. I have 2 of these and they fall into more of the middle range. also have a Pacer Vintage and it's the same way. while more a homage than anything else, the real Kramer was known to use a fair share of maple in the early years before going to ESP for their neck and bodies. so it's not really out of the ordinary for Gibson to release these as maple...even if it's the voicing of the wood is a little more even.