The materials you choose can greatly influence the sound of the finished instrument. Because of this you should spend a bit of time learning the sound different types of woods produce. It is also important to remember that just because a certain specie of wood looks nice it doesn't mean it will produce a nice sound.
The woods that are used on guitars are referred to as tonewoods. The term is pretty self explanatory - woods that produce a tone when struck. Essentially they have musical qualities that make them suitable for their application on musical instruments.
For my guitar I chose to give it mahogany back and sides, mahogany neck and a spruce soundboard. The headstock veneers and end graft are made from flamed oak and american black walnut. Although they are not necessarily the most interesting species of wood they produce a good tone and are relatively inexpensive. I didn't want to go spending loads of money on materials for my first build in case things went wrong.
Here are the costs of the materials:
Mahogany back and sides: £26 - $43.86
Spruce soundboard- £25 - $42.17
Mahogany neck - the timber was found in my grandad's shed
Veneers - £2 a piece - $3.2
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