[quote name='funkgod' post='758098' date='Feb 26 2010, 12:22 PM']the neck now is made from cheep "NEW" wood and is very wide open grain ( not old tight grain) the so called now smooth back of the neck is just sh*t, and soon wares off leaving dark patches, they should of left it varnished, the body is now very open grained, the selection process i think goes like this,
if it looks ok spray it naturel,
if it looks not bad with some figuring spray it translucent
if it looks pants with different coloured woods or miss matched grain ..paint it solid.
now there is nothing wrong with this process as everyone does it
but you dont know whats under the paint, as the natural ones are now open grained enough.[/quote]
Do consider the availability of attractive wood. MM stopped using birdseye necks on standard models because it is too rare and expensive to source, and would raise the price of what is already considered by many as overpriced. However, you can specify attractive woods if you want by choosing a model which they are offered on. Just do that.