Its all about the wood!
Figured maple has exceptional tonewood quality as well as rare and exceptional figure patterns that are extremely sought after.Figured maple is the real gem of the forest. Its amazing figure has a three-dimensional look that seems to shift like the facets of a jewel as it is moved, giving it a singular depth and dimensionality. This visual phenomenon is known as ‘chatoyancy' in the gemstone world and is highly coveted.
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There are several different grain patterns that cause different effects to the wood. Some common names of these are Flame, Curly, Tiger Stripe, Quilt, Quittle, Sausage Quilt and Fiddleback.
Because it is such a rare find, figured maple is in short supply and very expensive. To save money, woodworkers will often re-saw the stock to use as veneers. Instrument makers favor figured maple for acoustic guitar backs, sides, electric guitar tops and necks. Figure occurs naturally in only 2-5% of all maple trees and approximately 20% of those are suitable for guitar wood because of size, cosmetic defects, structural defects, overall quality and strength of the figure.
Heartwood is the older, harder central portion of a tree that is usually darker. The heartwood of the maple can be red, green, brown or pinkish in color, which makes it less desirable because of the color variations. Generally maple is a light colored wood, creamy white to yellow hues with darker soft brown or yellow color deviations. These types of maples grow primarily in the Pacific Northwest and Canada.
Modern botany and science still cannot explain what causes the rare figuring in maple. There have been tests conducted to determine if figured maple can be produced in an ordinary maple tree by tightly wrapping the trunk with wire. As the tree grows the wire penetrates into the grain pattern causing stress marks. So far, any attempt to “force” a maple tree to figure has been unsuccessful and thus the mystery of what causes figured maple remains intact.
