• TalkBass has been independent since 1998. Add your voice.
    Create a free account to reply to discussions, view embedded media, and browse with fewer display ads.
    Join free Log in
    Want zero display ads or expanded classifieds tools? Compare plans.

Do you love or hate a cajon?

#181
LBS-bass said:
Oh, they can. My husband used to bring in a djembe with brushes and bundles for certain gigs in small rooms; it pays to be creative. He also mic'd up his cajon during that brief experience he had playing it and added a pedal, which gave it more thump, but it still sounded like a pedal on a 2x4 because the quality of the instruments most people are playing doesn't rise to the sonic level of a decent drum with a head, at least not to my ear.

I haven't "made up my mind" about anything but haven't ever heard any cajon used in that situation that sounded as good as a drum to me. It sounds like maybe your guy has invested in a quality box and figured out how to play and mic it for maximum effect, which is noteworthy and laudable, but would definitely be the exception to the rule around here :)
Click to expand...

Being a jazzer mostly of the old school persuasion, I don't even really like kick drum all that much, it's just not a big part of the tradition. Frankly, I despise those pedal thingies, triggers, gimmick hand percussion pieces, and so on. But yeah, we had that one guy and he left a legacy of other guys who saw what it could be and at least try to get there. Very few trap drummers here have very nice kits by my standards, and ironically enough the now deceased cajon player also had a couple of the nicest trap kits. Just before he died he had mentioned wanting to get back to real drums, but the demand was much higher for him on cajon and it never happened, unfortunately.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LBS-bass
#182
Passinwind said:
Being a jazzer mostly of the old school persuasion, I don't even really like kick drum all that much, it's just not a big part of the tradition. Frankly, I despise those pedal thingies, triggers, gimmick hand percussion pieces, and so on. But yeah, we had that one guy and he left a legacy of other guys who saw what it could be and at least try to get there. Very few trap drummers here have very nice kits by my standards, and ironically enough the now deceased cajon player also had a couple of the nicest trap kits. Just before he died he had mentioned wanting to get back to real drums, but the demand was much higher for him on cajon and it never happened, unfortunately.
Click to expand...
I'm sorry for your loss. Sounds like he was a talented guy who could really make the cajon sing. I'm with you on the jazz side of this, it's not a kick-snare sort of world the way rock is and, for drummers, straddling both worlds is often a gap that they find hard to breach. I've found most drummers are good at one or the other world, but rarely both. The way they think about rhythm is so fundamentally different, and if you don't have love for both styles of playing you'll tend to primarily immerse in what you love.

We had one of the areas best jazz drummers here for one of our jams; he's a good friend whose skill I really admire, has taught music here for many years and gets calls from the top jazz cats coming through town, but he was just not making it work when the rock and rollers came into the room. Major props to him for trying, though, it was a fun jam anyway :)
 
  • Like
Reactions: Passinwind
#183
LBS-bass said:
I can't find a single good reason to choose a cajon over actual drums other than trendiness or laziness, or maybe finances.
Click to expand...

I guess I wonder why you even asked the question since your opinion is formed.

Every band is different, glad the people that come to see us are open minded enough to come see us, and then to come again.

Our use of cajon didn't fall into your 3 categories, certainly not out of laziness. The guitarist and I were tired of the big PA and loud levels of the classic rock band we were in. We made some good music as a 2 pc and stumbled on a very good vocalist who added another layer. He introduced the idea of rhythm to make things more "upbeat" and thought a tambourine would be a good idea. It wasn't, it was terrible on many levels in my opinion. So he returned to the music store for something else and found a cajon. He learned it pretty quickly and it's worked well for us. Maybe it's different in this area, we aren't the only band to go this route either. YMMV.

upload_2020-7-24_12-3-3.png


upload_2020-7-24_12-7-32.png
 
  • Like
Reactions: nixdad
#184
WI Short Scaler said:
I guess I wonder why you even asked the question since your opinion is formed.

Every band is different, glad the people that come to see us are open minded enough to come see us, and then to come again.

Our use of cajon didn't fall into your 3 categories, certainly not out of laziness. The guitarist and I were tired of the big PA and loud levels of the classic rock band we were in. We made some good music as a 2 pc and stumbled on a very good vocalist who added another layer. He introduced the idea of rhythm to make things more "upbeat" and thought a tambourine would be a good idea. It wasn't, it was terrible on many levels in my opinion. So he returned to the music store for something else and found a cajon. He learned it pretty quickly and it's worked well for us. Maybe it's different in this area, we aren't the only band to go this route either. YMMV.

View attachment 3917164

View attachment 3917169
Click to expand...
Because my opinion is not the only one that counts and I am genuinely interested in how others view this. And even though I have my own thoughts, posts like yours give me new things to think about. As I said in an earlier post, I'm glad that others are finding that it works for them. The way it seems to be used in local bands around here doesn't work for me, at least not so far. There's room for both of those thoughts in the world and exceptions to every rule.

I completely agree that most drummer situations are too loud and uncontrolled. Creative thinking on this level is strongly encouraged.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nixdad and WI Short Scaler
#185
LBS-bass said:
Because my opinion is not the only one that counts and I am genuinely interested in how others view this. And even though I have my own thoughts, posts like yours give me new things to think about.
Click to expand...

It's all good. There's a certain "curiosity" factor where people see the setup and ask where the drums are, but then later they'll come up to us after dancing to something and say how much they like it.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nixdad and Eli_Kyiv
#186
WI Short Scaler said:
It's all good. There's a certain "curiosity" factor where people see the setup and ask where the drums are, but then later they'll come up to us after dancing to something and say how much they like it.
Click to expand...
I'd love to hear how you guys make it work in person. Videos only tell so much. You're giving me some hope for this as a viable option, especially seeing all the dancers you guys get on the floor.
 
  • Like
Reactions: nixdad
#187
When I was a young drummer, I played with a well known big band pianist. One day we were all warming up in a room with a piano. I only had brushes, a table top, and a couple of Dr.Pepper cans. That day the band told me I was the best follower/improvisor they ever heard. (And they’d played with a lot of the greats)
That proves that you can make good music with any kind of percussion instruments.
Still, a full drum set will always give you a wider range of sounds and timbres than just a cajon. It’s up to the player, to make it dynamically musical.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Eli_Kyiv and LBS-bass
#188
LBS-bass said:
I'd love to hear how you guys make it work in person. Videos only tell so much. You're giving me some hope for this as a viable option, especially seeing all the dancers you guys get on the floor.
Click to expand...

We always welcome people at our gigs, wish you could make it too but CA is a long commute.

There's limits to what the cajon can do of course, so it's basically having the bass and snare sounds from a traditional kit in time with the actual rhythm, and then accompany it with some pretty decent vocals and it just works for whatever reason. People like our song selection too, Ob La Di, Draggin the Line, and I Want You Back are some of the tunes that usually fill the dance floor and are fun to play. Being only 3 pc the guitarist and I have to adapt things to fill the spaces too. But we like the small setup and easier scheduling this way.

Rock on! :thumbsup:
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: LBS-bass
#190
LBS-bass said:
I can't find a single good reason to choose a cajon over actual drums other than trendiness or laziness, or maybe finances.
Click to expand...
The goal from the beginning for our Beatles band was to create an intimate, friends "gathered around the campfire" type vibe while featuring killer harmonies. Volume was not the goal.
That being said, we've performed for audiences up to 4,000 people.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LBS-bass
#191
nixdad said:
The goal from the beginning for our Beatles band was to create an intimate, friends "gathered around the campfire" type vibe while featuring killer harmonies. Volume was not the goal.
That being said, we've performed for audiences up to 4,000 people.
Click to expand...
Looking at your videos and seeing a hybrid kit. Did you use the cajon on its own for that size audience?
 
  • Like
Reactions: nixdad
#196
LBS-bass said:
You're integrating it really well. Sounds awesome. Thanks for posting.
Click to expand...
Your comments are very much appreciated.
Another thing that works well with this set up is that we all use the small Mackie SRM-150 powered monitors and everyone gets their own individual monitor mix. This keeps stage volume levels very manageable so everyone can hear the vocals.
 
  • Like
Reactions: LBS-bass

Latest posts

Top Bottom
Back