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a_arnold -> need a little applied theory on cajon making (Nov. 5 2012 20:56:10)
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Okay, so I realize a cajon is a really crude instrument compared to a guitar, and you guys probably aren't very interested in them, but here goes anyway:
I've built a few cajons now -- fancied them up with some inlay on the top, hand dovetailed construction, and I've variously added piezo pickups, onboard volume control, and a snare that can be engaged/disengaged with a foot pedal. Friends saw the first and wanted one, so I built more.
I used 3/16" birch plywood for the soundboard, 3/4" pine shelving for sides, bottom, top and back (I tried 1/2" pine on one back and it seemed to improve the resonance).
I like the sound of the ones I have built, but I have heard other commercially available cajons with a different sound that I also like. They are more bassy, and have more sustain (not a concept that's easy to apply to a packing crate). Not sure if the difference is the way they are miced or eq'd, though.
Anyway, a brief internet search revealed that a low-grade guitar soundboard isn't much more expensive than the specialty plywood I have been using, which leads me to some questions:
(1) Does anyone know a source of inexpensive soundboard tonewood? I don't think that a cajon deserves fine-grained spruce or cedar, but it does need to be strong enough to withstand a beating so I'll add some fan bracing or something similar.
(2) Speaking of bracing, if I put an arch in the soundboard and thinned the edges ... any thoughts on what would the effect be? IMproved resonance? I really like the resonant effect I get with a golpe on my guitar . . .
(3) I know there is a lot of discussion about how much the back/sides wood affects sound in a guitar. Probably not as important in a cajon, but I have noticed that some of the cajons I like do have thinner plywood construction and are resonant. I can't make the whole cajon out of tonewoods because you have to sit on the thing, but I could put a tonewood back on. What will the effect be? Added resonance? Should I then put the sound hole(s) on the side(s) instead of one on the back? I have seen cajons built that way, (2 side holes with a snare on one soundboard and none on the other).
Any thoughts would be very welcome.
Thanks,
Tony Arnold (the guy that makes the carved cejillas).
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