Jake

By the way.. are you getting hard maple mixed with soft maple?

Yea.. its just that soft maple is cheap.. and easier to get for me than hard maple.

Okay, here is the deal. This is my fist guitar project.. and so far its gone well with only a few minor problems. But I know that it all comes down to the finish when it comes to aesthetics.. and I want to get this right the first time. So I want all the help I can get.

Okay, first of all, here is what I have. The neck is constructed of mahogany and bubinga?(to be honest.. don't remember what wood that is). The body is swamp ash. Hopefully I'll post a pic of what I have so far at the end of this.

Now here is what I want.. so far. Beware.. I'm not that knowledgeable when it comes to woodwork.. so I'm going to try and explain what I want as best as I can. I want to dye it or maybe stain it a fairly dark reddish color. Like a redwine, vintage cherry, maroon sort of color... possibly darker. I also thought about highlighting the grain of the swamp ash black also. I don't want it glossy.. and I want it to be finished in way that when I run my hand on the surface of the guitar I can still feel the wood grain. Basically like how it feels before I would finish it.

Okay, well.. here's the fun part. These are just ideas really..,, I'm looking forward to suggestions and ideas. I want your input.. and what could make this guitar look better. I'm fairly open to this and I am willing to hear what you have to say. So please, help me make this look freakin' awesome.