Two of the best sounding guitars I built were made from white oak back and sides with pine tops. Cheap wood doesn't mean you won't build a nice guitar but it does mean that if you don't you didn't risk much money either. It took me ten guitars before I was finally able to sell them but I had literally zero experience in anything like that. The first guitar I built in 1992 which I still have and still play actually sounded pretty good but it just looks horrible. But I love the ugly duckling nonetheless.
You could also just practice using cheap wood doing side bending. That's the thing that most have a difficult time with and might end up cracking wood. Practice on that before using the more expensive stuff.
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