A few questions about woods

[Jusatele]

So, the desired finish is what I call Barn Door
the look of a weathered section of door that the white wash has mostly left with just wisp of it in the weathering and places it is still strong
I do not want a plank look so that eliminates my first choice for wood which is swamp ash, to large and open of a piece of wood. I  go looking at the wood selection and pulling up pics to look at the grain and see that poplar has that generic wood look, but wonder why it is so cheap compared to other woods, Does it have drawbacks compared to ash or adler, the color would be a benfit in an aged look.
BTW, there will be a nice gloss finish on top of all the wood prep, I want it to have a certain look, and that is not a faux aged guitar, I want it to look like it to look like it is cut out of a piece of barn door, and then lovingly built into a guitar

so, what are the properties of the poplar tonally and what are the drawbacks

 

[smjenkins]

According to the W body wood page (http://www.warmoth.com/Guitar/Bodies/Options/BodyWoodOptions.aspx), poplar is similar in tone to alder but tends to be a bit heavier.  It tends to be less desirable (aka cheaper) since it's greenish in hue and heavier.  I had an S-style poplar bodied guitar for many years and con confirm that the electronics from that guitar sounded similar in an alder body.

In any case, it sounds like you're going for a look that matches well with poplar and, if you're cool with the extra weight, you can take advantage of the cost savings.

 

[Jusatele]

doing a tele with tummy cut and forearm relief so maybe the weight will be the same for the sustain

 

[Jusatele]

After reading about the difficultly of finishing Poplar I am back with swamp ash