Looking for cajón recommendations for small bluegrass/Americana string band

[DesertTwang]

Originally Posted by ThermiteTermite

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=elIzgvQ5VMQ

Oh yes! Thank you for bringing back memories. At that time, I used to listen to Paco de Lucia and flamenco A LOT. Living in my Germany at the time, I had just finished high school, was fluent in Spanish and pursued a girl from Pais Vasco (Basque) whom I wanted to marry and move to Spain with...

I had no idea what a cajon was, though, and didn't even dream of someday playing the guitar.

[teleamp]

Make your own, it's just a wooden box... A cheap acoustic with the strings removed would probably suffice and you could use a strap too so it could be played standing...

[lfoo6952]

Originally Posted by jpbat

I already use my hands to play the guitar and my feet to trigger percussions,
but if I needed a cajon, I would have a hard look at that :

http://www.roland.ca/products/el_cajon_ec-10/

+1. The Roland cajon is very versatile. Has built-in electronics to give you different sounds. In addition it runs on batteries if you need the extra volume, so great for gigging outdoors if no power is available.

[JohnW63]

This is the guy Lindsey Buckinham has been touring with. Taku Hirano. He played cajon on a lot of those songs. This is an Meinl brand one.

[picassov7]

This is the one that my wife and I use. It is nicely made, good sound, very portable, and versatile. It has a snare on one side and no snare on the other, so you can get a variety of tones out of it.

http://www.kopfpercussion.com/birch-...pf-percussion/

[DesertTwang]

Thank you, everybody, for your helpful comments and recommendations! Last night, my bandmates and I went cajon-shopping. We tried about a dozen, side by side, and it became pretty clear pretty fast what we were looking for. Unanimously, we kept going back to one in particular, the LP Americana Groove Cajon, which turned out to be more varied in sound than the others, and amazingly responsive. When we took it to the checkout, we learned it's price had been reduced substantially, so that was an added bonus, too.

[hat]

Why not go the traditional route, and use a washtub bass? much more authentic, and one of a kind to boot!

[DesertTwang]

Originally Posted by hat

Why not go the traditional route, and use a washtub bass? much more authentic, and one of a kind to boot!

Haha, guess what? That's next up on our list! Has been for a while, we just haven't gotten around to it yet. I think we'd want both, though. The cajon would be used in songs that really call for say, a train beat, which one can't achieve with a bass, be it traditional or washtub.

[PorkPieGuy]

Originally Posted by DesertTwang

Thank you, everybody, for your helpful comments and recommendations! Last night, my bandmates and I went cajon-shopping. We tried about a dozen, side by side, and it became pretty clear pretty fast what we were looking for. Unanimously, we kept going back to one in particular, the LP Americana Groove Cajon, which turned out to be more varied in sound than the others, and amazingly responsive. When we took it to the checkout, we learned it's price had been reduced substantially, so that was an added bonus, too.

I'm glad that you liked it.

Having played drums for over 20 years, I prefer a kick drum, a snare, and brushes. I'm playing with an American/Newgrass band. Sorry for the poor quality recording, but this is from a live show last year:

https://www.reverbnation.com/thenewr...ong-black-veil

[pieterh]

Glad you've found one you like. For playing amplified you could consider using a Shure Beta 91, the boundary mic design that Shure has been marketing as a kick drum mic for years (though it was originally designed as a conference mic amongst other uses). It can get a bit boomy depending on the cajon itself but place it on a thick cloth like you probably would for a bass drum and the broad spectrum of the Beta 91 will give you kick drum lows as well as the snappiness from the snares.

[PorkPieGuy]

Originally Posted by pieterh

Glad you've found one you like. For playing amplified you could consider using a Shure Beta 91, the boundary mic design that Shure has been marketing as a kick drum mic for years (though it was originally designed as a conference mic amongst other uses). It can get a bit boomy depending on the cajon itself but place it on a thick cloth like you probably would for a bass drum and the broad spectrum of the Beta 91 will give you kick drum lows as well as the snappiness from the snares.

Good suggestion. If you have a Shure 57 lying around, that's a good overall mic as well.