Well, its clear that I'm a moron. I've had a fair amount of finishing experience, but none in the field of guitars. And judging by what you guys have said, I'm excited to see how the wood will come out. When I called it "dull" I definitely wasn't refering to the look in the pic!! I've been fascinated with the woods I've seen at buzzsaw and, having never bought wood online, it was a bit of a shock to see the wood in real life. I would DEFINITELY like to retract my statement. I felt like I had been decieved, but obviously Im an idiot. Thanks for setting me straight!
So, as far as technique, I was planning on following the finishing tutorial at Guitar ReRanch. I was going to use grain filler for a start, as recommended. What I'm really looking for it the right stain. On a test piece I tried a little bit of Miniwax Golden Oak, which generally isn't a very dark finish, but it made the wood come out DARK brown, and it didn't seem to enhance the grain much.
Sorry again to buzzsaw! This just proves that nothing I say should be taken seriously