It makes fine guitars, but much that is grown in the open will have very wide grain. Open grown trees also tend to have too many limbs, which means knots.
There is a story about a Norway spruce that was growing next to the Martin factory many years ago. When it needed to be removed, Mr. Martin said it should be cut for braces. But when it was cut, it was discovered that the grain was too wide for their specifications.
Last year, Martin actually had a guitar on display at the factory that had a locally grown Norway spruce top.
Wide grain European spruce (specifically Carpathian) has become more accepted lately....possibly because of the recent increased use of wide grain red spruce.
The idea that tight grain old growth spruce is better than wide grain second growth is largely a myth.
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