Quilted Maple Top Worship!

Maertl513

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(A few sentences as a statement: Friday 13th lived up to one's name. Of course all the people who are suffering from this brutal act of crime/terrorism in Paris deserve our and my deep solicitousness. To all the guys in service: Defeat the network! Defeat the device!)

Aswell on Friday 13th I visited PRS´ homepage: I´m sad, realizing that quilted maple is currently no option anymore (I hope only for a certain time.) according to the specs of core models and AP options regarding top wood grain.
PSF depicted some guitars with quilted parts, but it seems to me, that the stockpiles have been consumed on one hand side, but the wood market is supposed to be snapped up concerning this style of grain on the other hand side.
Quilted grain is a result of misgrowth of wood. Therefore supply is limited.

I started playing electrics in 1992. Soon after sneaking into available guitar mags, my eyes remained on a PRS advertise.
I ordered a catalogue at the local distributor. I felt in love with quilted tops.
Once I would procure a PRS, it would have a quilted maple top. Nearly 20 years later this day occured in 2011.

Though there are very nice flamed tops outside, but I´m slightly addicted to quilted ones. I hope PRS will refuel the stock with blanks of quilted maple soon to allow future owners of Core or AP this option again.

Let´s enjoy quilted maple to the full as an act of bridging of a gap (regardless how long it will last when quilted maple tops are offered again).
Feel free supporting by uploading approriate pics of your instruments with quilt!

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Another builder told me that quilted maple is getting obnoxiously expensive and hard to acquire thanks to over-demand and under-supply...

Wood Library Custom 24 30th anniversary (Honey) -

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Private Stock Starla (Burnt Orange Smokeburst) -

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Quilted Maple is far more rare than flame Maple, so yes it is more expensive even if moderately plentiful at best. Factor in that one in 3000 trees are flamed, and of all the flamed maple trees, two to five percent of the flamed trees reveal or generate good quilt, that drives the price and demand higher. I am hearing it is further increased by the buyers paying super high rates to procure quilted maple because they will make their money back at least threefold by veneering it. That makes a solid block, or book matched pair nearly impossible if not obsolete for many guitars and manufacturers based on selling price points.
 
I've read that only 0.5 % of maple stock could be descripted as flamed maple, 0.1 % as quilted.
A friend of mine visited with a group of guys Framus/Warwick Factory. One of the employees showed them a blank of maple. He pointed out the indicators that deliver flamed, bird's eye, or quilted maple. The blank came out of one trunk. These areas are limited. Most of the trunk isn't as figured.
 
@django49: One of your samples has been made by Frank Hartung!
Nice pieces.
 
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All quilted maple can be "flamed" if the tree is cut differently, but the inverse is not true. Quilt only occurs in Big Leaf maple from the Pacific NW. You won't find it in eastern maple.
 
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