My question is what kind of grade of flamed maple does Alembic use? I have only seen samples of the quilted kind on the woodbank part of the forum.
Is it always 5A flamed maple? Does 5A have to be specified on a order?
The reason I ask is my Custom shop Elan will have flamed maple with a dark black stain and I want something that looks really deep and 3d like a 5A grade maple.
You can see the varieties available here:http://www.alembicguitars.net/info/woodsamples.html (http://www.alembicguitars.net/info/woodsamples.html). I am sure if you tell Alembic what you are looking for, they can produce it.
(Message edited by hydrargyrum on January 15, 2009)
If you check the Custom Quote generator (http://www.alembicguitars.net/cgi-bin/quote/quote%20target=_blank), for quilted maple they offer 3A and 5A grades.
For flame maple, I seem to remember they sometimes mention master grade, so there might be an upcharge for finer examples.
For tops, we use Western Flame Maple and it's always pretty. We don't generally grade it because it's always good. I don't bother putting Flame Maple in the woodbank, in slab or bookmatch form, it's not easy to distinguish one piece from another.