I had a Taylor 914 series acoustic with Claro walnut back and sides, called the W-14; it was similar to maple, but a little warmer, not as much snap to the pick attack. I'd say an important drawback for me was that particular guitar tended to get lost when blended with other instruments, though it sounded very nice played solo. However, the main reason I sold it was that it sounded...well...too different from what I looking for.
I believe that folks tend to buy guitars that give them "the tone they hear in their head," i.e., the sounds they can identify with after years and years of listening to recorded and live music. We're so used to the sounds of guitars made of mahogany, maple, rosewood, and ebony tone woods that the more unusual woods sometimes don't sound as "right" to us.
Just peruse the threads where people are looking for, say, a Strat type of sound, or a Les Paul type of sound -- the overwhelming reaction to the 594 is a good example of how people respond to more traditional sounds, it certainly tells you what many players think about!
So for me, a guitar like that would have to be more of an alternate "mood guitar," one I'd play occasionally if I had a lot of guitars. Maybe that's why there isn't as much demand for them?
