I own three sunburst guitars and two natural finished. I love bursts. My understanding is that Gibson charged more for the natural finished LG-3's than they did for sunburst LG-2's and everything else about them was the same (if there is such a thing as a generalization when it comes to Gibsons). They put the burst on to cover up cosmetic imperfections they thought would affect the saleablility of the product. Nowadays it's reversed in a lot of cases; one would be charged more for a burst by some luthiers. I don't think of bearclaw or other "irregularities" in wood to be imperfections because I don't think of natural things in that way. A mountain is perfectly shaped in all its imperfections as opposed, say, to the Great Pyramids. I think it gives the wood its own individuality when there is bearclaw or swirls in the grain. I know this, if either of my Adirondack topped Eastmans were stolen I could identify them immediately just by looking at the grain irregularities in their tops. But, ultimately, it IS about the tone, right?
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