Cajon Anyone?

[Kerbie]

Originally Posted by Greg Rappleye

Mine was "buy it and bang on it, no assembly required."

I can tune the snare on it (a simple twist, as I recall) but that's pretty much it. The cajon produces a surprising variety of tones, depending upon where it's hit, how hard, hand damping, etc.

Thanks, Greg.

[Greg Rappleye]

Now dang it, Silly Mustache, you just calm down.



Greg Rappleye

[Long Jon]

Originally Posted by Greg Rappleye

Now dang it, Silly Mustache, you just calm down.



Greg Rappleye

Haha! Don't worry 'bout ol' Andy, he lives to rant and rants to live !

On his percussive sidetrack tho' , a lady friend came to visit me yesterday and surprised me with the gift of a tambourine she had found in a junk shop.

"I saw this and thought of you,,, you being a sort of musician and that,," What a lovely sentiment.

I managed to stifle my horror and receive it graciously.... I have put it in a safe place, out of sight of any potential underskilled wannabe "percussionists".

[rokdog49]

Originally Posted by jomando

In the right hands Cajon can be pretty impressive!
Here is a plan for building one: http://www.leevalley.com/en/newslett...2/article2.pdf
I keep threatening to build one but haven't yet.

And in the wrong hands, it can be a train wreck.

[PorkPieGuy]

I've played a homemade one from a local "maker," and it sounded like a box. I played one made by Pearl, and it sounded like a box. I know there's snares and stuff inside, and I've watched lots and lots of videos of pros playing them, and I've never been terribly impressed.

I've played a LOT of hand percussion over the past 20 years, and by far my favorite is the djembe...preferably the ones made by Remo and that can be tuned with a drum key.

Originally Posted by Silly Moustache

It REALLY isn't a matter of picking these up and banging/shaking them.

They are percussion "instruments" and there are ways to play them, and integrate such things into an arrangement.

Absolutely! Years ago I played bass for a production of the musical Nunsense. During one of the larger numbers, the director decided it would be a good idea visually to have the "nuns" on either side of the stage play tambourines. And it was - a good visual. Musically it was disastrous. These girls, while good singers, had no idea what to do with these things, and just banged away at will. Finally we prevailed upon the director to let us handle the percussion duties from the pit. Fortunately we headed this off in rehearsal, not during the run.

[mr. beaumont]

They're as fun a box gets. Everybody should have one.

[Sprikitik]

[motojosh]

If you're going to build one, think about the height. I'm 6'4", and most of the cajons I've tried feel way too short for me. I'm seriously thinking about ordering one of these: http://www.lootapercussion.com/en/; it's a taller cajon, made in Finland.

Couple videos of the Loota in action:

[Kelly Grayum]

I think the kit I bought was $50 and basically came with everything you need already cut up and ready to assemble. It did require some basic wood clamps if I remember and as I recall I modified a few pieces before I assembled them and changed the position of the snare to suit my taste. You also can finish it the way you like after you've finished the build. Basically you get a $150 cajon for $50 and have a little leeway in the build to suit yourself. Took an afternoon to assemble and finish. I am very happy with the end result. Here is the kit I bought.
https://www.sweetwater.com/store/det...FZK6wAodz0EInQ

[Sprikitik]

These frickin' guys and their goofy outfits. But I suppose you need to wear overalls and have a scraggly beard to complete the look if you're gonna play this kind of music. Reminds me of Dexys Midnight Runners

[/QUOTE]

[motojosh]

Originally Posted by Sprikitik

These frickin' guys and their goofy outfits. But I suppose you need to wear overalls and have a scraggly beard to complete the look if you're gonna play this kind of music. Reminds me of Dexys Midnight Runners

They're from Finland, so I'm not sure whether they're actually trying to look like what they think bluegrass musicians look like, or whether they're trying to poke fun at the redneck stereotype...

[paulp1960]

These guys are wonderful musicians all the way from Moscow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y0ekjt7ue4

That's how a cajon should be played.

[frankmcr]

Originally Posted by PorkPieGuy

I've played a homemade one from a local "maker," and it sounded like a box. I played one made by Pearl, and it sounded like a box. .

It is a box!

[polarred21]

Originally Posted by paulp1960

These guys are wonderful musicians all the way from Moscow.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7y0ekjt7ue4

That's how a cajon should be played.

Found this one by the same user on the side to also be very enjoyable perfomance:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oAnQj139BAY