I'll second that. I initially couldn't find Western Red Cedar so I went with Basswood as the primary wood with accent strips of Spanish Cedar. I bought one board of Mahogany but found it difficult to work with. I'm hand beveling instead of bead/cove. The Basswood is really easy to plane and bend. The Spanish Cedar a little less so. The Mahogany was a nightmare. I snapped several strips before I gave up using it altogether.

I've since found 2"x8"x8' Western Red Cedar boards for decking at the local Home Depot. It is definitely lighter and softer than the Basswood. Where the Basswood is uniform in color, the WRC varies considerably. You will likely have to sort your strips by color after you cut them, and take extra care to avoid knots. I'm using a couple of WRC boards for a pair of Greenland paddles.