Yes, I have noticed that with guitars. Rosewood sells relatively quickly, but Myrtle, Sassafras, Ash or even Blackwood has taken a lot longer to sell. Weird since Sassafras sounds a lot like Mahogany and can look stunning. However, it has been different with my mandolins. Spruce/Maple is the traditional combination and certainly in the bluegrass world they are very traditional, but I don't make F5 mandolins. The majority of my mandolins have used Aussie woods, some with King Billy, some with Spruce tops. My all Aussie wood King Billy Pine/Blackwood mandolins sell very well. They have a peculiar sweet clear sound that only gets sweeter as they age. Many went to the USA at first because the customers wanted something different, so I guess that is the same thing all over again. Took a while, but Australians are buying my King Billy mandolins now.
Most of my King Billy Pine comes from a green log I bought in 1997 from Morrisons Sawmill in Tassie (they milled it into 50mm thick planks). At the time I almost passed on it because a whole log was expensive and of unknown quality but when it arrived I nearly fell off the chair. King Billy Pine about as good as it gets. That log has made some exceptional mandolins and Gillian Alcock was so impressed with a hammered dulcimer she made for me from that log that she never used Cedar again. Still have plenty left, but have not used it in a guitar mainly because I am not sure it would sell.
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