this hunk o' poplar worked out well for me. it was a joy to work with. absolutely no problems with screw tear-out or any of that, and i've been playing it hard. yeah, it's soft wood, and it's gotten dinged and scratched a little, but that's life for a player guitar. it's as good-sounding a body as i've ever had, one element in what turned out to be an exceptional partscaster.
the whole sordid story behind it is here:
Rainbow Tele thread