Conditioner before staining red oak plywood

[emb]

I will be staining my cab later this week and am looking to get a dark finish. Do you suggest using conditioner on red oak plywood? I heard it is almost always necessary for pine and birch as they have a tendency to leave a splotchy finish. On the other hand, it sounds like conditioner makes it tougher to get a dark finish.

Does this apply to red oak plywood? Here is a pic of the wood I am using. It looks to have a thin layer of veneer on the outsides.

[Donkbaca]

I don't think conditioner is as necessary on oak.  If you are that concerned with a dark finish, get a gel stain, it takes a little more to get the hang of, but since the gel doesn't soak into the wood, you can layer it on and build a really dark finish. 

Best answer?  Buy some conditioner, stain a scrap piece with conditioner and without, see which you like better