# La Patrie Arena - solid wood?



## Tom Haynes (May 16, 2018)

I'm looking at picking one of these up as my next purchase so I was doing a bit of research. These guitars are absolutely beautiful and come in mahogany, flame maple and wild cherry. I have no interest in wild cherry but thought flame maple might be an interesting choice as I have a few solid mahogany guitars. 

Below is the pricing info from Cosmo music - the flame maple is roughly $200 more. This is where things get strange. I couldn't find anywhere that it was solid back and sides so I emailed La Patrie and they confirmed:

"The Arena Flame Maple has *laminated *flame maple back and sides while the Arena Mahogany has *solid *mahogany back and sides." Who would pay more for laminate?

Mahogany - MSRP - $930
Guitar Classical La Patrie Arena Mahogany CW QIT - Classical Guitars - Right Handed - Classical Guitars - Guitars & Amps | Cosmo Music

Flame Maple - MSRP - $1,195
Guitar Classical La Patrie Arena Fl Mpl CW Crescent II - Classical Guitars - Right Handed - Classical Guitars - Guitars & Amps | Cosmo Music


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

Someone who loves the look of flame maple?


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## qantor (Nov 19, 2014)

The laminate woods used in guitar design are not necessarily a bad thing. Laminated sides are used on many high-end classical guitars. Michael Greenfield also uses laminated sides on his guitars and they cost well over $ 12,000. If done right, the reason might be that they wanted a stiff guitar build in some areas and thus have a better resonance and a better control of the solid spruce top.


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## sambonee (Dec 20, 2007)

Logical. I agree.


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## Lord-Humongous (Jun 5, 2014)

My Seagull 25th Anni CW has flamed maple laminate on the sides and back as well as a flamed maple overlay on the headstock. It's really dressed up, I've always assumed that it was built to be a showy guitar for performance. Certainly, the looks don't make you sound good, but it's a fact that many people hear with their eyes & I need all the help I can get (with my playing and my looks). I'm sure that Godin's intention is the same with this La Patrie, a flashy guitar to take out when you are wearing a suit.


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## rollingdam (May 11, 2006)

These are thin body nylon string guitars with pickups. I do not think the composition of the back and sides really matter as these guitars are meant to be amplified.


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## aC2rs (Jul 9, 2007)

I see that the Flame Maple version comes with upgraded electronics and a Richlite fretboard which would have a bearing on the price.


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## Tom Haynes (May 16, 2018)

aC2rs said:


> I see that the Flame Maple version comes with upgraded electronics and a Richlite fretboard which would have a bearing on the price.


That makes sense - that must be why it's the pricier of the two.


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## Retired Schmuck (Feb 23, 2020)

Tom Haynes said:


> I'm looking at picking one of these up as my next purchase so I was doing a bit of research. These guitars are absolutely beautiful and come in mahogany, flame maple and wild cherry. I have no interest in wild cherry but thought flame maple might be an interesting choice as I have a few solid mahogany guitars.
> 
> Below is the pricing info from Cosmo music - the flame maple is roughly $200 more. This is where things get strange. I couldn't find anywhere that it was solid back and sides so I emailed La Patrie and they confirmed:
> 
> ...


The laminate woods used in guitar design are not necessarily a bad thing. Laminated sides are used on many high-end classical guitars. Michael Greenfield also uses laminated sides on his guitars and they cost well over $ 12,000. If done right, the reason is that they wanted a stiff guitar build in some areas and thus have a better resonance and a better control of the solid spruce top. It's a nicer sounding guitar too. Choice maple is always good.


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## Retired Schmuck (Feb 23, 2020)

bw66 said:


> Someone who loves the look of flame maple?


The look of beauty is not a bad thing. The laminate woods used in guitar design are not necessarily a bad thing. Laminated sides are used on many high-end classical guitars. Michael Greenfield also uses laminated sides on his guitars and they cost well over $ 12,000. If done right, the reason might be that they wanted a stiff guitar build in some areas and thus have a better resonance and a better control of the solid spruce top. Sometimes if it looks good, it is good.


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## player99 (Sep 5, 2019)

Personally I don't see richlite fretboards as anything to brag about. I won't buy a guitar with one.

Richlite is made from post-consumer recycled paper. Sheets of paper are stacked up and saturated with a phenolic resin, then heat and pressure are applied.

It's a fretboard made from recycled newspaper.


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

Yeah, to hell with sustainability!...


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