Cherry is a great wood for box calls. Especially for lids. I have used it with cedar, butternut, sassafras, mahogany, sp. cedar. It would probably work with just about any wood. Next to walnut, it is the wood I find to be the most versatile. These are just the ones I have tried. Generally, I find cherry lids give a sweet, clear tone. But it will depend to a great degree on the wood it is matched with.
As a box, I have used walnut lids and maple lids. It will be more high pitched as a box as it is a fairly dense wood.
As for your other question, Generally hard dense woods give higher pitched sounds. Usually with most (but not all) box calls, the lid will be a harder wood than the box.
Lee
