Maple flame???

[Eduardo Barbosa]

I've noticed that for the last 10 years or so basses made in China have more and more some real nice flamed maple.
Please forgive me if my question is dumb, but I don't know the first thing about wood.
I recently contacted a reputable bass shop to ask them about the flames. I noticed that the grain of the wood is going one way, (in this case vertical), but the flames are horizontal!
is that normal? are those normal maple patterns?
or is that a treatment of the wood, finish, varnish, etc. to make the instrument visually more appealing?
Thank you.

[Adrian Levi]

Could be painted on fake flame . Real flame has a depth/dimension to it that is kind of like a hologram when moved in the light . At least thats in my experience ....

[Eduardo Barbosa]

Originally Posted by Adrian Levi

Could be painted on fake flame . Real flame has a depth/dimension to it that is kind of like a hologram when moved in the light . At least thats in my experience ....

Maybe on some it could be painted.
I was looking at the bass of one of my students today, and the grain on the ribs are vertical, and then it has these real beautiful flames going horizontal. So I could also see these flames with a flashlight looking inside the bass. So I am wondering if the vertical grain that I see is the actual "real" pattern of the wood, and I wonder if the flames might be possibly created with the bending of the ribs somehow...
anyway, I am intrigued because I don't know much about wood in general...

[Adrian Levi]

this should give you the info you need , just click on the highlighted words etc http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flame_maple

[Eduardo Barbosa]

Great!
Thank you.
Mystery solved!

[Thomas Erickson]

Diseased wood.