Thanks. You're totally right on about using too much of the tobacco. I started with that Colortone stain color from Stewmac, then sanded back, used amber next, sanded back, then finally yellow. Lastly, I went back over the edges with more tobacco to get a burst effect.
My technique is to take a very damp rag, take the bottle of stain, do not dilute it, dab some drops right on the wet rag and start rubbing. I just work the wet rag around until I see the stain evening out, and if it looks like I need some more, I get a few more drops on the rag and go some more. When I'm done, I take another fresh wet rag and rub the whole top some more to wipe off any excess stain.
I let it dry, then sanded back, and I should have sanded more after using the brown, then applied the amber like above.
The yellow I only used in the middle areas. I also applied a little more yellow after the bursting effect around the edges to make sure I had a nice contrast of color.
I should also note that this pic was taken with the top freshly stained and just wet, no laquer had been applied yet. I am in the process of laquering it now.
The pickups are Duncan Designed HB103's which were modelled after the JB bridge and Jazz neck. I got them both for $30, so I'm trying them out, if they aren't up to my standards, I'll swap them for the US made originals. It's not done yet, so I can't comment on the sound. If it's too bright, I'll try 250K pots, then see how she is.
Lastly, I am going to use a white Tone knob for volume instead of the pictured chrome one keeping to the orignal EVH philosophly that your volume knob acts as your tone.