Maple and Herringbone Prohibited ?

[Steve Gonwa]

As I embark on my second guitar build, I anticipate using maple back and sides with a sitka top. As I consider my options for bindings and purfling, I realize that I don't think I've ever seen a maple guitar with herringbone purfling on the top. Herringbone is frequently seen on rosewood guitars, so is this just largely due to a guitar building tradition that few people deviate from, or is there some dark unwritten law amongst guitar builders about maple and herringbone ? Maybe it just looks bad ?

[Mario Proulx]

Go for it! Herringbone has traditionally been used on Martin's rosewood guitars, so that's where that tradition began. I've used herringbone with many other combinations, and nobody's arrested me yet. Yet....

[Michael Lewis]

I saw a guitar made with a fairly light colored wood, sorry I don't remember exactly what wood, but it had herringbone trim like a style 45 Martin. Very attractive and eye catching.

[Mike Sandor]

I think it is nice.

[Darrel Friesen]

I made a maple archtop with an oval hole and herringbone purfling. I kept waiting for the lightning bolt but it didn't happen.

[Arnt Rian]

I made a maple / sitka guitar with herringbone trim about 10 years ago, and I saw it again recently. I've never heard anyone comment that the herringbone looked out of place because of the maple back and sides, but I remember thinking that now, 10 years later, it had a gotten "reverse" color scheme, since the top had darkened considerably, while the back was still creamy white (this was Euro maple, which is quite light compared to most American maples). Anyways, with the contrast of the herringbone trim in the mix, the whole look was a bit "different", but still quite nice.