Yes the wood is very important it gives you your all important tone. For example If you've ever picked up a quality bass (carl tompson, Tobais, even Fenders) yo'll feel how heavy they are and that's because of the wood, a bass need a dense wood to deliver a great bottom end sound. Same with LP's they are damn heavy guitars and as you know they are seen as some of the best guitars for tonal qualities. If you want a good wood for a guitar thats affordable look for a maple body they produce a very sweet tone plus when they are flamed it looks so friggin cool.