I have a friend who used Aspen extensively on an OI. Complaints were pretty much as previous poster states. I've been using basswood more and more in the past few years, and it only gets better each time.

But basswood ain't available at Lowe's, either.

: I've used Aspen in the past. My only complaint was that you can't
: see the grain. If you plane the wood you have to be careful you
: don't get tear-out. It also can get fuzzy when you sand it.
: Last project I used Bass wood and liked it better.