Just wanted to let you all know that a few weeks ago I finished a 'test' of some ultra high quality water based lacquers that come in absolute ink black. This means that a 'piano' black Ronin is just around the corner. I'll hopefully finish my personal pair up in gloss black in the first few months of next year. The finish is really labor intensive as any surface imperfection shows up like it is under a gigantic magnifying glass. Here are some pictures:
I have also done some testing with some water based stains. They too work fairly well with the bamboo, a slight amount of 'depth' of the wood is lost as stain tends to do on any wood, the most intriguing additions to the line-up are a cherry that will be lighter and more red than the caramelized, a mahogany that is darker and more red than the caramelized, and a walnut, which is darker and more brown than the caramelized.
In case anyone is ever interested, the lacquer comes in white too.
-Paul Hilgeman
Nomad Audio
