Anyone here try the Maple-flame mod??

[gianni_boy]

(changing out the bridge posts and replacing them with stainless steel posts)

Results....Difference....pros/cons......Opinions??


thanks

[Mike60]

yep..a couple of times.

Wonder who called it the Maplflame mod?...

[Yannroman]

Mapleflame is a LPF member who made this mod popular, not 100% sure he invented it though. Anyway this is a cool mod, just replace the bridge posts on your ABR-1 bridge (not Nashville) with longer posts that go deeper in the wood, most of the time the change is made with steel posts. The benefit of this mod is added sustain and clarity, I had good luck with this mod each time, but it's not to everybody's taste, especially on bright guitars.

[vanceen]

I did it on a 68 RI Custom. I really liked the result.

[River]

It's the right thing to do.



MLP member Chicago John provided me with the studs.

[ElectricMojo]

I started doing this mod on Reissues a couple of months ago and the results are amazing.

Really increases the acoustic resonnance.
I use longer posts so that the post touches the mahogany part of the body (I drill in the mahogany just a little bit) and it really makes the wood resonate a lot more (you can feel the wood vibrating right up to the headstock).

It's really great.

[your idol]

i was gonna buy the mod for my R8 from Chicago John but i traded the R8 before i could...
luckily the R9 I have HAS the Mapleflame mod......or whoevers mod it is.

its sweet. theres solid resonance to the guitar. i dont know what it sounded like before but it rings like a bell through the body. loudest full sized solid body ive played acoustically

[weirdotis]

I think Mapleflame's done it a few times...

[Quill]

Ya. I did everything to my poor guitar. The bridge-post swap (of the hardware changes) made the biggest difference. I have ideas about how it might relate (that is, its effectiveness with respect to) ... ah, with the neck angle, but not many seem to be at all concerned about the neck angle detail, so never mind all that.

I know one player who found the SS studs too bright and has had better success getting the sound he wanted using brass studs, and I have thought about trying those, or one brass stud on either the bass or treble side and one SS stud.

But I like the two SS studs, for now. Make the guitar happy, they do.

[gianni_boy]

has anyone tried both brass and SS? is there a huge difference?

also where can i get the studs?

[goldenugly57]

I tried the SS screws on my Goldtop a couple of years ago and reversed it almost immediately because the highs were much too agressive! Thought about doing it with brass, but I was so disappointed about this mod that I decided not to mess with this mod anymore, especially since it really bothers me that there are now deeper holes in the maple top! I decided that any mod that involves messing with the wood is not for me. I'll stick to changing the rest of the hardware to more accurate specs! And by the way: I achieved a more woody and resonant tone by the following mods: brass saddles, thin thumbwheels, stoptail and ironclaws from DMC.

Cheers

[RocknRollGypsy]

Originally Posted by gianni_boy

has anyone tried both brass and SS? is there a huge difference?

also where can i get the studs?

I've been looking all over for brass. If I find some I'll be trying it out with brass, SS and both together..

Anyone know where you can find correct brass studs? Preferably 2" or longer. I like to drill into the mohagany! .

[carydad]

I've done it to all my axcess stoptails(3) and an es339 before that. I really like it. Probably all in my head, but it has a lot of logic going for it.

[FUS44]

Any CR owners do this? Just wondering if there's any difference in the effect of the mod combined with the chambering vs. a solid.

guess that ES-339 was close.....did you get the full bright, increased vibration effect that everyone else has experienced?

[dwagar]

both my R9 and my 74 Custom have these posts. I like this simple, cheap mod.

[deepblue]

I had good luck with this mod each time, but it's not to everybody's taste, especially on bright guitars.

Amen to that. I say the same about the Callaham ABR-1's. If your guitar is bright, you'll only make it brighter. These types of mods are not for every guitar.

[RobertF]

Don Butler did it to my '07 BB Custom, which was a tad dark sounding out of the box. He had done the mod to his own BB custom and when I heard how it livened up his guitar, I had him perform the mod on mine. I'm very happy with it, but as others have said, I probably wouldn't do it to a guitar that I already thought was bright.

[zhivago]

I did it to my R4...very good results for me too...more sustain and clarity all around.

Plus, it's a dirt-cheap mod and fully reversable (not that I'd ever go back!)

[gianni_boy]

I would love to here the results from those of you who have used brass, I'm looking for nickel plated brass, because it is vintage correct, just put deeper in the body..... I don't really want it to be brighter because I have sheptone PAF"s (which are bright) and pigtail studs coming in, it might be overly bright.

Also I'm curious to know how other alloys might sound with this mod, such as aluminum??

[gianni_boy]

Anyone ever try "vintage correct nickle plated brass" studs put deeper into the body??? Its a question that hasent been answerd here or the other forums in good detail.
Do any parts companys make the longer bridge studs?

[ElectricMojo]

I personnally couldn't find the screws MapleFlame suggests in his posts so I purchased a long threaded rod (for 8$) and cut it to lenght I wanted.
I feel it was a lot easier than trying to find screws with the right lenght and thread...

[cooljuk]

Grade 316 Stainless Steel 6-32 Threaded Rod in 12" sections from McMaster Carr.

They'll have it to you the next day with regular shipping if you're in the Northeast. Good stuff.

[lkft]

I've never had the hankering to do anything to my R9 other than change the strings...why???...b/c it sounds so damn good as-is!!!

I'm afraid if I touch it in any way it'll lose something in how it sounds now and I would regret it!!!

[cooljuk]

Go play a burst. You'll start thinking the other way around. lol!

[fuzzyguitars]

i had a maple flame mod in one of my guitars

hated it.

to much treble and zzzing.

swithed out to regular nickel plated brass and it was soo much better for me, more balanced and full.

i am currently looking for 2 inch nickel plated brass. the screws they sell have no nickel plating.

[fuzzyguitars]

Originally Posted by lkft

I've never had the hankering to do anything to my R9 other than change the strings...why???...b/c it sounds so damn good as-is!!!

I'm afraid if I touch it in any way it'll lose something in how it sounds now and I would regret it!!!

it is sounds good, dont f with it!

[StudioMike]

I performed this mod today with my 93' studio, with SS. Made it brighter, louder (unplugged), a little more sustain (it already has great sustain) and most importantly - more clarity. Not so muddy with open cords as it was before.
So definatly a good mod in my case.

My only question is - does it make a big difference if the hole for the studs is made deeper? And if so, how much more do people drill? Mine are seated at the base of the factory holes, about 1cm in.

I didn't want to drill mine without hearing the stainless steel first.

[cooljuk]

Last time I did it, I went clear through the maple cap and into the hog on an R9. I liked it on that guitar. A little emphasis more in the low-mid to mid range.

[cousingrandpa]

I did this to both of my reissues & to ddroz60lp's G0 & damn, it really opens up the natural tone & sustain of the guitars. Will probably be doing this to ddroz60lp's 335 in the future for him, can't wait to hear & feel what it does to this guitar.

[ddroz60lp]

Tom has an R8 and R9. The R8 sounded similar to my G0 before the mod.We discussed this mod at length before he modded his guitars. Tom came over to help me mod mine. Before we did this mod, we did the ol' Pepsi challenge.He plugged in both guitars, and I was ready to put the G0 on the bay immediately.Same tone, just way more of it. I was in a panic, because his guitars now made mine sound like a toy.I couldn't imagine that two screws and about 20 minutes would open up my guitar that way.We did my G0 and let me tell you, Vibration from the bottom to the headstock!The Mapleflame mod is for real.That guitar is more responsive and the tone is much more complex! If you end up not liking it,just put the old studs back in.