question about maple tops

[Davey]

i see AA and AAAA tops and stuff that has 120859 A's in it, but what does all that mean? a degree of flame or quilt or something like that? please enlighten me

 

[Ez74]

Re: question about maple tops

yeah a AAAAA flame top will have more flame than a AAA flame top

 

[Davey]

Re: question about maple tops

ok, cool..
but how do you know it's an AA or an AAAAAA top? is there an official scale or something?

 

[stratobastard]

Re: question about maple tops

it's pretty much a judgement call...........
then there's the issue of highly figured woods lacking tonal quality (sometimes a thinner cap is better)

 

[Imp]

Re: question about maple tops

thats the problem, its purely subjective AFAIK.. from about AAA upwards i guess, its very much a matter of taste on the grader's part..

 

[Zerberus]

Re: question about maple tops

Believe it or not Imp, that´s the reason the scale "officially" stops at AAA

There is an official scale for grading the figure of wood, I´ll see if I can find it online somewhere tomorrow.

 

[Davey]

Re: question about maple tops

allrighty.. i gotta go crash now anyways...

 

[Imp]

Re: question about maple tops

Believe it or not Imp, that´s the reason the scale "officially" stops at AAA

There is an official scale for grading the figure of wood, I´ll see if I can find it online somewhere tomorrow.

so a 'AAAAA '59 reissue les paul custom' is a bit OTT hehe

i reckon each maker has their own scale... all of which could mean anything i guess..

i just wish the price-to-wood grade ratio continued to the lower registers... pass me a C+ grade top les paul anyday, as long as it plays like it should

tom