"Monkeypod" is native to Central America where we build. The name in it's native range is Cenizaro. It is a beautiful flowering ornamental tree, and for that reason it has spread throughout the tropical world, including Hawaii and Asia.
It has been used for fine furniture and decorative carvings for centuries. I sent containers of furniture made with it across the humid heat of the Caribbean and Gulf of Mexico north to the US, and it never caused a problem. The we shipped it from Nevada to Florida, from the arid states to the humid, and it never caused a problem. I have never heard of a problem. If there is one with this instrument, it's not because of the species.
Although it's use in instruments is more recent, it is now recognized by some as one of the true premier tonewoods in the world. It pains me somewhat to see it being used in mid to low quality instruments.
Of course, Mahogany was used that way for a long time. In both cases, it was plentiful enough, and the cost was low enough, that it could be used to bring decent sound to instruments that had very little else to recommend them but the wood. Mahogany eventually became appreciated for the outstanding tonewood that it is. I hope Cenizaro doesn't have to go through the same process.
I think it may avoid it, simply because in the guitar world, Asian buillt instruments are winning International Competitions - blind sound tests - against the world's best known makers.
Here's a video of an award winning model from Jeffrey Yong. A rather lenghty review (but well done), the playing starts a bit after the 7 minute mark. It is compared to a Taylor model:
It's often said that it falls between Mahogany and Koa as far as tone. This is true as far as it goes, but doesn't even begin to tell the whole story. The instruments we have built with it have a very smooth, even quality - balanced, full, plenty of power, and with the kind of ring you get from a rosewood, but without the muddiness.
Kind of got carried away here, but this is an outstanding, emerging tonewood - don't let some factory's poor workmanship make you even the slightest bit leery. Au contraire, a builder who has a nice stash of this wood and knows how to do it justice, has a little treasure chest.