Well........at lot of that depends on what sound you're going for and what kind of pups you plan on installing.

Your pups and electronics are the "meat" of your sound. The wood is the "dipping sauce", so it should enhance the pups. Pick wrong and you can have something that doesn't sound "optimum". Said another way, the wood "colors" your sound.

I have a custom lap steel with premium humbuckers......and the body is made from highly figured curly maple....and it screams.

I have another lap steel, being made as we speak, with premium Tele-style single coil pups......and her body is premium swamp ash with a walnut cap.

Yet another lap steel....and she is made out of aluminum with a PAF humbucker and coil tap switch......great for honky-tonkin' and getting a sound that you just can't duplicate with wood.

FYI, some of the baddest of Leo's early Teles were swamp ash.

Hope this helps.