MIMF

I have this piece of wood. What is the best way to cut it for a solid body, at least 12" wide?
I can see these 3 options:
I cut the mate to this piece like #2 because splits and checks made this the best option, though this made any matching of the grain the worst.
I see no way to make the whole thing book matched on one surface. Either the central 2 pieces will be matched on the top, and the lateral 2 on the bottom of the instrument (or vice versa) if cut as #1, or only the central pieces if #2, or only lateral pieces if #3, which might have the best grain matching.

No big deal, but any thoughts appreciated.

My vote is number 2 for the reasons you identified.

Well, I was pretty disappointed in how #2 turned out in the example above, so I think I'll try #3 this time.

Is there curl in the wood?
It was hard to tell on my monitor.

Bob - no curl. The wood (cherry) isn't pretty, but it has sentimental value. I'm almost through with the bass I'm making from the first piece, and I'll cut this second one soon for a guitar. Hopefully there will be smoother transitions between the pieces of wood.