advice needed with staining a staircase - matching different wood

[tikigod19_2000]

Hi all I am trying to match the look I get using 2 coats of stain on hemlock spindles (because this in turn matches our other stair case) on the newel posts. I thought they were also hemlock originally but they look so different when they have had 2 coats of the same stain applied. (look at the bottom of the comparison photo - the spindle is on the left and has had 2 coats at the bottom and the newel is on the right and ive applied stain again to the bottom part of it)

Is the best thing to do to just buy a totally different stain for the newel posts and just use trial and error (and money!) to hopefully eventually find one that matches or does anyone have any other ideas? Would anyone be able to advise what they suspect the newel posts are made of if not hemlock?

 

[foxhole]

Neither looks like it has been stained?

 

[tikigod19_2000]

I've sorted it by staining the hemlock in light oak dye and the unknown wood in light oak mixed with 30% cedar oil. Seems to match well