9. Tuning

In contrast to string instruments, tuning a cajón is not about adjusting the pitch, but about achieving the best possible sound characteristics and eliminating undesirable interfering noise.

Excepting the easily implemented and equally easily removed muffling techniques, please proceed with caution: strings which are too taut and screws which are pulled too tightly may damage your cajón!

In some cases, intervention has lead to diminished sound quality.

Muffling

In some situations, the bass tone may reverberate for longer than you want it to, depending on the style of music or the acoustic characteristics of the room you are playing in. In such cases, a towel or similar piece of cloth put into the cajón may prove helpful. Letting more or less of the fabric touch the playing surface alters the muffling effect.

The strings in a cajón may also be dampened if they emit undesirable buzzing sounds or seem too dominant. Some cajónes come with velcro strips in the strings which can be tightened or loosened. If your cajón does not come with such strips, you can use adhesive tape to muffle the strings, too.

Adjusting the tension of the strings

With most string cajónes, you can adjust the tension of the strings with an Allen screw at the bottom. Many manufacturers discourage players completely from doing so, however, or at least recommend not turning the screw more than a particular number of rotations from the original position.

Some dexterity, experience and a pair of well-trained ears are necessary to achieve good results. A handy guideline for orientation: strings that are too tight often create an unpleasant buzzing sound, while too-slack strings tend to rattle. So you'll have to tread carefully on the way to the ideal point between the two.

Adjusting the clap corners

Some cajónes offer the option of loosening the playing surface from the body a little, using the top outside screws. This allows players to achieve the typical Peruvian snare sound. This feature is often referred to as clap corners.

Modulation of the bass tone

Finally, an entirely harmless way of modifying the sound of your cajón: decreasing the sitze of the sound hole, for example by covering part of it with a piece of cardboard attached to the body with gaffer tape, renders the bass tone deeper and drier. Some cajónes on the market actually feature a sound hole slide to facilitate this effect.