March 19th I bought a LP Raven from Guitar Center as a return for about $250 less than new and was happily awaiting it's arrival. Until I saw this post. I went to the webpage and sure enough, the pictures on GC looked a lot like your pictures. But I decided I would wait and give it a chance. Once I got it, sure enough the finish was as you described. It was like a very light coat of black over a natural finish and the brown was showing through. Anyway I figured I could work with it and decided I was going to polish it and bring out a little gloss. MISTAKE. I burned through the very thin finish and was stuck with a turd. It looked horrible. I threw it in the case and put it in the closet. I couldn't play it. I decided to look for a painter and found a guy local who did a great job. It isn't black, but I think it fits the Raven name, along with the Edgar Allen Poe truss rod cover. I also changed the PCB for Bourns pots and added SD Slash pickups which made a big improvement on the sound. It ended up being more than I would have spent, but I like it and will keep it.
Before and after pics
