Type of wood to look for in cabinet build?

[BiBi]

Hi,
I'm looking for some help in finding the type of wood to use in an open back 1x12 cabinet. What sort of qualities do you look for in the type of wood? I ask because I have some options but also rather sever limitations. I don't have a wood working studio and about the most exciting tool I have is a jig saw.
While poking around the local hardware store I found a wood I know nothing about called Paulownia. Evidently it is used for Japanese cabinets and musical instruments. The thing that attracted me was how light it is. The grain isn't exactly the most striking but is o.k. as it will most likely be stained black anyhow.
The other option is a premade box they sell at the store of finger jointed Fir. They are really cheap but of course soft. The cabinet won't be moved around much-- it's to be used at a studio primarily-- so I'm not so concerned about dings and I'm certainly not looking to tolex it. I don't have the time or patience for that!
Of course they have the usual Birch plywood and Pine sheets but the plywood is expensive here in Germany and I'm not so sure the Pine would be much better than the Fir.
Any suggestions are more than welcome!

[wrathfuldeity]

As a wood hack and only having made one cab...no expert...qualities are preferrably cheap recycled old wood, straight, no knots. Orginally a diy detuned cab, but since changed the baffle to solid front with 3/4 ply and back to about a 1/3 open back; detuned was way too loud for my little space and had some weird ringing/comb filter??? at specific frequency when the volume was fairly cranked. Made out of recycled qtr-sawn fir, that was screwed, glued, dado, and bisquit jointed. Did alot of tone tapping with my knuckles when looking for scraps and during the build with a rubber ball mounted on a dowel. The difficulty with the fir was that it easily splits. It was a fun winter project and generally happy with the results but if I do it again, will try standard detuned, or a traditional open back or one of those triangle shaped cabs at 3RD POWER AMPLIFICATION

[cminor9]

I have seen some debate vs heavy, non resonant woods and lighter, more resonant woods. To date, I have built several cabs made from birch ply (heavy, dead). I have built one from pine (light, resonant) for a 5E3. I have to say, I liked the 5E3 a bit better in the old plywood box a bit better. Not enough to scrap my pine box, mind you... and ymmv.

I don't have a wood working studio and about the most exciting tool I have is a jig saw.

You could use your jigsaw to cut the verticals for box joints, then just an inexpensive coping saw to cut out the horizontals. I'd recommend box joints, unless you want to build a frame for the box (which just adds weight).

I have attached a picture of some box joints I did on a recent build. The "fingers" are ~40mm (so not a lot of cuts for you). I used 9mm x 75mm solid oak dowels to drive into the fingers for added strength. The result, an extremely strong box that doesn't need batting on the inside and is therefore pretty light (well, until I added the speakers ) Hope the pics help. Note on the pic I cut the joints a bit deep. Had to remove that overlap with my router and sand it smooth. Also, you'll see glue all over the wood. I drilled 2mm vents perpendicular to the dowel holes to allow glue to run out so as not to burst the wood from pressure buildup.

I guess you'd need a drill to do the dowels, though...hmm...

I'm certainly not looking to tolex it. I don't have the time or patience for that!

my experience has been that while tolex is a pain to do, you have to be just as meticulous and spend just as much time to make a decent box. If you are going to be applying paint or stain, any sloppiness in the box construction will show. Tolex, as annoying as it is to do, tends to be a bit more forgiving of your mistakes in the construction of the box (though not extremely!).

Materials are expensive, and you care about the performance and sound of the box. Make the time, find the patience. These will show in the end result. I have never been happy with anything I have rushed, and am very proud of some of the things I built and took the proper time to do it right. Not trying to lecture, but every time I figure I'll do a rush job on something, I wish someone would remind me that rush jobs generally suck.

[BiBi]

Thanks to both of you for the nice replies.
It's good to see that the limitations aren't so overwhelming. I can see how the whole debate of heavy vs light resonance comes from in hifi as well. My favorite speaker cabinet of all time was a pair of really large, extremely resonant EV boxes from the 50's. So I guess that's where my taste lies.
For what it's worth, I picked up the Pine box yesterday. For 8 Euro a finished finger joint box couldn't be beat. But I still want to build something for a 15' Jensen I have around so I'm going to try a home style like you've done there Cm9-- thanks for the advice!

[Casey4s]

I like working with American Black Walnut for amp cabinets. I like to plane it down to around 5/8" to make the cabinet more "lively". I did a 5F6A 4x10 cabinet and a smaller combo cab with a single 12" speaker.