03 R9 back color

[mole]

Last month I finally got an 03 R9 to keep my goldtop company. I loved the top,the weight and the fingerboard and especially the back color,which was a really deep,rich burgundy-much darker than other R9's I've seen. Problem was-it sounded like ass,so on Mark's(guitar loft) advice,i returned it. I found another one that it everything the last one wasn't, a little more figure,nice weight,great sound even with the dreaded BB's. The only issue is the back color. This back is light red,which I guess is not enough to make me pass on it,but whats up with the extreme variation in colors?
Has anyone had the back and sides redone for color?

[JamNad]

My 2 03 59s have different color backs but I assumed that was because the different color fronts- faded tobacco has a darker back color and the washed cherry has a redder back as far as the pink goes I dont really know why but my washed cherry 59 has a pinkish color back but the guitar is so freakin awesome that I really couldnt care less. The body is a bit more red than the neck.
Ive seen a few threads on this but I dont think anyone really has a definitive answer except for the original wood color and the finish application process. By the way those 2 are only 6 or 7 serial #s apart the tops look fairly similiar (figure - wise) but the back colors are totally opposite ends of the spectrum are different tops supposed to have diifferent back colors???

[69strat]

I sure don't have an answer. What I've read and interpreted here was:

Basically a guy at Gibson mixes it up daily and since everything is done like the old days, it comes out different. Maybe depending on who was doing it or how it looked, humidity, if it was Monday vs. Friday- etc...

The other was the type of mahogany has to do with how much it takes the stain. something to do with mineral content.

I wouldn't worry about it, in time it will brown nicely. I don't think it will look pink.
they look awesome when they start browning.

[Stevedenver]

are you telling me that the pink back will brown? i thought it was the opposite-that the backs lightened with age-could you elaborate-

my pink/orange back is on an 02 r8 washed cherry and while not exactly my fav color it doesnt bother me at all-but i cant imagine it darkening

[69strat]

My 01 browned up a lot. Got darker. Any pics of the real ones I've seen are dark brown. I just got a '99 and it's really browned up. Awesome.

When I first got my 03, it looked a little more of a light red and pale, In certain light, it's starting to look more brown. If you leave your guitars in the cases, it will probably take forever. Ya got sun 'em, and play 'em in smokey bars and sweat on 'em.

[whippost575859]

Well, the red, if all goes as planned, will continue to fade. The lacquer itself will amber with age. I'veeseen some that look pretty good and some that look pretty bad. It's a crapshoot.

[Stevedenver]

i hope you are right-i love that deep brown on old lps-

you know if you think about the original gibson dark red stain used on the mahogany on accoustics, standards, sgs, even my 1996 JPLP, what i imagine that the stain is pretty brown and red, and when the red fades it leaves the brown ( i have seen this many times on minwax red mahogany stain-starts as a rich brown red and after oxidation and time n the light , it turns brown

-i hope my red darkens, but i dont know how it would, it seems the stain itself is light, as is the underlying wood

but im not sunning it, as if it went even lighter id be unhappy-

but youre right about the case preventing the laquer clear coat from yellowing-i have seen many older guitars-1976 and 1979 come to mind where i have seen the same models in different conditions -the case seems to keep the clear coat brighter and clearer ( i think- unless the amber tint just varies among shoots an awful lot)-i can remember my old 1971 custom- i loved it because even new it had that yellow look and others i had seen were pristine white-