i machine joint and face my boards, i want to start finishing them with a smoother plane. i use a lot of very figured maple (quilted, birdseye, tiger) and from what i've heard/read so far, I should use a high angle (e.g. 50, 55, 62 degree) to minimize tearout. I looked at a LN #4 with the high angle frog, but it's at the top end of my budget. I also looked at a Veritas bevel up smoother that I can use with a 38 or 50 degree blade to get a total 50 or 62 degree angle of cut.

Question is, does it matter if the angle of cut is from the frog (Lie-Nielsen) or from the blade (Veritas)?

Also, since I can only afford 1 plane right now, is the Veritas BU in more versatile because for the price of one LN, I can get a Veritas plus a few extra irons with differing angles?

Any help appreciated. First time using handplanes again since woodshop in high school 25 yrs ago.