Curly Maple

This wood has been used for the acoustic guitar sides by the most important guitar makers due to its beautiful flamed. Its peculiar aesthetic has served to create acoustic guitars and electric basses of a great beauty.

The clean sound that Curly Maple produces and the fact that it’s easy to mold thanks to its thickness, make it one of the best option for acoustic guitar sides. At Maderas Barber, you can find it in different qualities for luthiers and guitar makers to find that one which adapts the best.

BOTANICAL NAME: Arcer pseudoplatanus

COMMERCIAL NAMES: Curly Maple, Flamed Maple, Maple, Fake Platanus, Arce fico.

ORIGIN: Middle and East Europe

DESCRIPTION: 610 – 680 kg/m³ density white wood. The colour of this wood is white or light yellow, but the sapwood has no difference from heartwood.The woody radiuses are visible and they appear in very thin and decorative line shapes. The grain goes from straightness to ruggedness. It’s also thin. The curl is a very appreciated quality for aesthetic reasons.

SUGGESTIONS: Machining can present problems because of the intertwine grain. The util’s blunt is a common issue. It shows a good response when bending with the vapour. Both the gluing and the finish show no inconvenient. Wood is durable to fungus and sensible to termites. It gets dirty easily, it’s recommended not to keep it in humid places.

DRYING: Drying at low temperature chambers is recommended to avoid colour changes and stains. If drying is fast, the wood will keep its white tonality.

USES: A very versatile and requested wood, so it’s used for classic and acoustic guitar’ sounding board, also for Backs, Sides and Necks of Violin, Viola, Cello and Double Bass, as well as Electric Guitar and Bass’ Necks and Bodies