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Meinl Cajons |
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| Ever since I saw Alex Acuna playing on a Cajon (pronounced Ka-hone] in a video back in the 80s, I have always liked the idea of the Cajon. From its humble beginning in Cuba, where boxes were all that were available for the kids and young percussionists to play on, the Cajon has grown to be an exciting instrument. It reminds us of our early drumming experiences, hammering on pots and pans with wooden spoons, or tapping out a rhythm on a tabletop. However, I would not want to belittle the cajon as being simply a wooden box, because although they are indeed essentially wooden boxes, they are wooden boxes that rock - or samba, or flamenco, in fact! These new Meini Cajons are completely hand-made and look absolutely fantastic. Before us we have the CAJ1, the CAJ2AWA-M and the CAJ3MB-M. All of the cajons are 50 x 30 x 30 cm and you sit atop the Cajon on the padded 'seat' which seems closely related to a computer mouse mat. All of the Cajons feature four round rubber feet, which help to isolate the sound from the floor, and a round soundhole cut into the back plate.
The CAJ2AWA-M has a resonating body made from American White Ash and a front plate evidently made from the same wood, although, if that is the case then it must have been stained, as it is dark chestnut in colour. This Cajon features the same internal snare and rotary adjustment knob as the CAJ1. The third box of tricks we have is the CAJ3MB-M, a Peruvian Cajon with a resonating body of rubber wood, and a front plate made from Makah-Burl wood, which has a fantastic swirly grain pattern. The CAJ3MB-M also differs from the other two Cajons in that it has an inbuilt sizzle' effect achieved by four tensioned wires fitted inside the Cajon along the length of the back of the front plate. These wires can be tensioned via a supplied Allen Key through the soundhole, and-as you would expect, produce a primitive buzzing snare-type effect, which is quite pleasing, and also different to the sound produced by the snare arrangement used in the other two Cajons.
I'm afraid my old friend
Alex Acuna lead me into a false sense of security with regard to Cajons,
because after watching him I Each of these Cajons produce essentially similar but ultimately slightly different sounds, so which one you choose will be a matter of personal preference. Although for a more ethnic and original look the CAJ3MB-M would be the preferred choice, as it doesn’t have the rather modern looking chrome rotary snare control knob. It is also the cheapest option by quite some distance. To summarise, I really do like these Cajons because they look great, can sound fantastic, but not until after some familiarity practice, and let’s face it, they are just downright cool-looking, to boot. Maybe Meinl could provide a short tuitional DVD that would show me, and all else interested, how to get the most out of such a wonderful instrument. Boxing clever indeed.] Click
here for a Cajon Tuition Book Downbeats: Prices (June 2006): Distributed by: Web Links: |
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The
main body of the CAJ1 is made from rubber wood and has a front plate
(the bit you hit) made from American White Ash. The front plate can
be adjusted via its small fixing screws along the top edge to vary the
amount of audible 'rattle' produced by this drum, plus, it features
a short internal wire snare fixed inside the shell which can be adjusted
on and off via a small chrome rotary knob on the outside of the body.
So quite a sophisticated wooden box, really!
made the mistake of thinking I could just sit astride the Cajon and
instantly bang out rhythms that sound aurally fantastic. Wrong. My early
efforts really did sound as though I was simply hitting a tabletop or
desk. As is the case with most percussion instruments, there are special
techniques that need to be at least partly mastered to elicit the best
sounds from the instrument. The Cajon has sweet spots which need to
be found for the bass and snare-type sounds. The bass sound is usually
found somewhere around the upper-third of the Cajon and the snare sound
just about the middle of the top edge, although anywhere along the top
edge is good for snare-type sounds, e.g. hitting the very top corners
of the Cajon produces a sound similar to rimshots. However, you can
also hit the Cajon anywhere between these sweet spots to produce a variation
of sound, so in reality many different tones can be discovered and played.
For instance, a variety of bass sounds can be achieved by varying the
way you strike the Cajon – strike the soundboard with the palm
of your hand for a fat bass sound, or slightly cup your hand to produce
a lighter bass sound. Experimentation is the key, and after a while
you can discover the sound secrets that these wonderful beat boxes have
to offer.