What cajon do you play?

[Paul]

What cajon/cajons do you play?

Why did you choose it?

What do you think?

Cheers,

Paul

[JamieW]

Hi Paul

I recently got a Meinl Ebony Snare Cajon. It was pretty much the top of my budget at the moment and I thought it might be a good one to start out on. Do you have any advice when it comes to practicing with or without the snare on? If it makes a difference to learning good technique? It also mentions it has adjustable corners. I presume it is talking about tightening or loosening the top screws? What does this do to the sound?

Cheers (haven't had much time to browse the whole site, but i've had a glance and it looks great)

Jamie

[Paul]

Hello Jamie!

The Meinl cajons are great to start on and the ebony snare is one of there higher end cajons so that is also a good thing.

With the snare on or off thing, I guess generally snare on for more western or flamenco grooves but I am not an advocate for rules at all so I would always encourage you to experiment with both.
Knowing when to turn it on or off with come more naturally to you as you go on. Afro Peruvian cajons have no snares on them so all Afro Peruvian styles are almost always played with no snare.
For me what it always comes down to is the music you are accompanying and what kind of sound that calls for. Again this will come more naturally the more you advance.

If you slacken off the adjustable corners you will get more of a slap and a harder crack. Personally I like having the corners fixed but it is to each his own. I have friends who love really slack corners.

Well I hope you enjoy the lessons. I am brewing up a whole new batch at the moment.

All the best,

Paul

[Faudel]

Hello Paul !

I recently bought a Meinl Bass pedal (to change the timbre) Bubinga Cajon.

I have a request : Is it possible to supply the score of each rythm in a PDF file ? It would be nice to practice

Greetings from France and thank you for your great lessons !

Faudel

[Paul]

Hello Faudel,

Thanks for joining out growing community here.

I have never actually tried a Meinl bass pedal cajon but I think the concept is great.

Getting some kind of downloadable cajon score on the site is a goal of mine. The focus is predominantly video right now but you are right having the score would be great.

Thanks again and talk soon.

Paul

[maffew]

I've gone through a few cajons, and tried a fair few as well. My first was a De Gregorio cajon, which I loved, but after a busking session in damp conditions the glue came off underneath and it was downhill from there.. My second was a tycoon model, which I got second hand from the studio we recorded in.. this was fine, no glue holding the front panel on, all screws so no problems there.. although as it was second hand, the screws started to bore through the front plate, so I had to reinforce them. Recently I've been playing a Pearl Elite, which was very good but not mine. And a few days ago I got news that Duende cajons are endorsing me.. so hopefully, within the next few weeks I'll be a Duende man. I played one a while ago and instantly fell in love, they are beautifully made drums..

[rockbox]

Hey Paul,
I play a Rockbox pro model, why..... because I make em, lol
And I'm lovin the new model, have a listen:
Rough As Guts(Rag) recording studio presents.... on the smell of an oily rag....
The recording was done with a zoom h2 field recorder with no post production/effects right on the road.... about 5 meters away.
cajon.com.au/images/soundfiles/rockboxpromodel.mp3

cajon.com.au/images/soundfiles/vibro%20darlo.mp3
This recording is really raw and unrehearsed, it me playing pro rockbox with pedal, slide guitar, blues harp and foot hi hat, the guitar is tuned in an open minor scale.
I'm really getting into playing the Rockbox as a acoustic stompboard along with the foot hi hat. slide guitar and lee oskar harp, great acoustic combo, I just need to get the coordination happening a bit better
Hope you enjoy and take care
Steve

[softshape]

I'm a big fan of Camarada Camaron cajones, as I've been in Madrid this summer and digged all the music stores available, playing all the cajons I could reach. These were the best from all the models, most sensitive and well build. They are not available in stores, though. They are hand made and you can get them only from the master himself. Mine was 280 euros. The website www dot camaradacamaron dot com and there's not much info but contacts.

On budget side there's a great J. Leiva Mezquita Classé Edition II. Costs about 100 euros, sounds like a pro. The production is also in Madrid.

[thousley]

Hi! I play an LP Soul Cajon by Mario Cortes...I love it! It's light, has some texture so brush work is nice. It's got nice low, rich, full, deep tones. The slaps are amazing as well, very crisp and responds well to playing up near the edge... I play on all sides, but top and bottom, and get great response from the drum. The snares are permanently attached to the front, so I can't get a hollow tone from the front, but the sides and back offer really thick low tones...

I'm not sure where it stands on the scale of nice cajons, but I loved it the moment I played it.

Have any of you every played this specific cajon?

[thousley]

I just need to get the coordination happening a bit better
Hope you enjoy and take care
Steve
[/quote]

Steve, have you ever spent anytime practicing from Stone's "Stick Control" the hand coordination exercises on just the first page will help with the independence, especially if you've incorporated hybrid elements to your rig.

The stickings are for hands, R L, etc. I teach from this book on drumset, using right as Kick drum..so, now I'm applying it to cajon, using a hihat or something with my left foot to keep time in and 8th note pattern over the top of the written exercise played as sixteenth notes...It's proving to develop good coordination and independence. I am learning to keep the groove steady with my left hand, while adding embellishments, color, and texture with my right hand. Give it a try...I think you'll like it.

Any questions, just ask...I can even send you a few of the exercises as well, if you need.

[thousley]

[quote=" Recently I've been playing a Pearl Elite, which was very good but not mine. And a few days ago I got news that Duende cajons are endorsing me.. so hopefully, within the next few weeks I'll be a Duende man. I played one a while ago and instantly fell in love, they are beautifully made drums..[/quote]

That's great...well done, Mate. I'd love to see video of you playing, do you have anything on youtube or your website? If so, send me a link or search name, I'd love to check it out...

Tony.

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