Overview
Like its traditional maple counterpart, the Black Panther Birdseye Maple gives you a warm, rich tone and the versatility of a finely crafted thin maple shell. The birdseye maple outer ply is produced in a sleek flat black finish.
Along with its 6.5" deep brother, this is one of the longest-lasting models in the Black Panther range, running unchanged (apart from the badges) from the launch of the range in 1997, right up until the wholesale refresh in 2010.
As you can see from the shots of Richard Penner's 1999 model, Mapex used the term Birds Eye Maple on the badge, but in the catalogues they use either Birdseye Maple or Birds Eye Maple. Also, Richard's closeup of the gold air vent made me question whether that was original. But on checking shots of its contemporaries I've realised that it was a standard fit even on models without gold hardware. There you go - you learn something new every day!
Main image and similar courtesy of Gary Seymour - cheers Gary!
Other photos of the Premium Series badged version courtesy of Dave Parker - thanks so much Dave.
Photos of the 1999 original Birdseye Maple version courtesy of Richard Penner. Thanks a million Richard -she's in amazing condition.
