Madlad Instruments 3A Figured Torrified Roasted Flame Maple Guitar Neck Blank 2026 - Unfinished

"You mean to tell me this here neck blank is roasted, AND flame maple?!? That's 2 adjectives surrounding heat in one title!"

-You, probably

Here's the TL;DR (high points):

• Overall dimensions of 3.75" W x 27.75" L and 15/16ths" H (I can do other dimensions too for a slight uncharge; just shoot me a message!)
• Can be shaped into most neck shapes a la Fender or the like
• 3A flame figuring with consistent and prominent figuring on both sides of the cut
• Sourced from a local lumber mill not 15 mins from my house
• Torrified/roasted by one builder literally "in-house" (as in my actual house in my actual oven)
• Will take oil/finish like a champ
• Each blank cut and torrified to order -- I'll be happy to send pics along the way!

Here's some more about how this blank came to be!

Roasted maple (or "torrified maple" if you're using the scientific name) is simply gorgeous -- full stop. The way maple takes on all this gorgeous color is through a process called torrification.

What is Torrification?

Torrification is a process that dates back to around the time of the vikings (apparently) where maple is brought up to a high-ish temp (I cook it at 384, which is "about tree fiddy" for those playing at home -- ) and the moisture is slowly worked out of the wood adding to its rigidity and strength.

At the same time sugar and resins inside the wood begin to caramelize and crystalize respectively giving the wood a darker and toasted look compared to its bright white starting color.

What's also cool is that since this chemical process takes place throughout the wood any sort of oil finish you put down on the wood will penetrate into the neck (or whatever you make) and react with all the fibers buried deep within the wood giving it all a new depth and shine that you don't often get with regular maple.

"Cool, thanks for the science lesson: but now tell me about the blank itself!"

-You, again, probably

You're welcome! And I'd be happy to! This blank is a 1A roasted flame maple guitar neck blank.

The overall dimensions of the blank are 3.75" wide x 27.75" long and 15/16ths" thick (that's 95.25 x 704.85 x 23.81mm if you're using the superior measuring system) This means that it'll accommodate most traditional neck shapes a la Fender and some of the other big manufacturers out there.

As far as grading figured maple goes (1a vs 2a, etc.) there's not exact science and every brand has a different standard. But wanting to be transparent I have devised a nifty guide which you can see in the last pic on the listing.

3A flame maple is a prominently figured and beautiful cut of wood. Consistent tiger striping with stripes of similar thickness on both the front and back of the blank. 3A is what I look for when I'm doing a proper flame maple neck and will give your next build a botique/custom shop feel for sure!

I source from a local mill not 10 miles from where I live and roast each blank in my literal oven at home. It gives the whole casa a nice maple syrup smell -- so I'm not complaining! Then each blank is given a few days to rest and allow extra color to come along; especially along the grain lines.

A Word on Working/Machining Torrified Maple:

Since water is being removed from the wood fibers during the roasting process it's worth noting that torrified wood is under a lot of internal compression/stress. Nothing too crazy -- but in my experience when trying to mill a blank down to fretboard thickness the wood has a tendency to curl and bite.

To that end the blank should machine and be workable from a neck shaping standpoint; but I'd give the wood a few days to aclimate to your shop environment before working it to prevent crazy warping or unexpected changes in geometry.

The part that does kind of bum me out is that our craft and instruments are made from wood. Which means a tree somewhere had to fall for us to make our beautiful tools of the trade. Not wanting to leave the story there a portion of each purchase goes to support reforestation charities so we can still have fun with our instruments and the next generation still gets the natural beauty of our tall and green friends :)

When you buy MadLad you support me and a host of local businesses that I source parts from such as my local lumber mill. I also make it a priority to use some proceeds to go support local artists who are on the rise here in the DFW area. It's probably not a huge selling point in the grand scheme of things - but you can maybe find a bit of joy knowing that while you're getting a great guitar body the local scene is also thriving as a result of that purchase too, so thank you!

If you've made it this far a big thank you for listening to my rambling - As a small operation presently working out of my garage I know how valuable time can be so thank you for giving some of yours to check out the listing and see what we're all about. Whether you're pulling the trigger right now or we look at getting you something down the road, I hope you'll consider becoming a MadLad yourself!

All the best,

Drew

Head Madlad @MadladInstruments