Do you love or hate a cajon?

[LowRick]

On this topic, has anyone tried the cajon kits available on line? I was thinking of getting one.

I built one, easy enough and fun time spending. I usually work with metal and have a natural aversion for wood, but this was doable and the result is a very good side-table to hold my beer and ashtray.

On-topic: i never use it. Our drummer will smash it to bits when he can, even though it will hold up to 20 beers and a cast iron ashtray without problems.

 

[primusfan1989]

I love cajon when its played correctly, I don't care for it when its like "drum kit light". Kinda like when people use a flat pick on a 5 string banjo, its just lame

 

[Ekulati]

I hate them.... but only because I personally have never played with anyone who was any good at playing the thing. All drummers THINK they are good at it. Most aren't.

Our esteemed brother Toof is on to it. As a former drummer, my rule of thumb (learned the hard way in my earliest bands as a bassist) is:

NO drummer is always better than a BAD drummer. Doesn't matter the specific percussion device of choice.

 

[Zooberwerx]

I'd rather see one of these onstage:

 

[La Faro]

 

[La Faro]

 

[RabidMusic]

I have a couple. They are okay. They have a place. Too many times they are used out of place. Good for fireside acoustic jams, small churches, people on a major budget. I get more joy out of playing congas, and better rhythm from a drum set. When I see someone playing a cajon on a big stage or big production I think "They are trying too hard to be cool, and failing."

 

[JES]

Are you crazy man! You can put tort on anything. I had it on pizza last night.

also really good cold the next day for breakfast.

 

[dalkowski]

Whatever works, I say.

There is an excellent, up-and-coming "Americana" quartet in these parts called Town Meeting whose frontman also held down the beat on cajon effectively and stylishly. He'd wail or lay back when appropriate (their "Down by The River" would melt your face). Now it looks like they've gone to a full kit.

There's also a "dad rock" trio in my town- two guitars & cajon - who packed 'em in pre-COVID by playing music people like. So I guess cajon works for them.

I WILL say that I bet my trio would have gotten more small-room gigs if we used cajon.

And in closing: If the "drummer" can't keep time, then all bets (and beats) are off.

 

[La Faro]

also really good cold the next day for breakfast.

Cold tort and coffee. I like how you roll!

 

[MultiScaleMale]

My biggest gripe with a cajon is that it usually means bass is optional.

 

[Eli_Kyiv]

Cajon is great for campfire gigs. Later it could be used to rekindle the said campfire.

 

[ThinCrappyTone]

I feel medium about them. Neither excitement nor hate.

Played with a guy who used one. My feeling was always “i wish it was a kit, but it’s better than nothing.”

I’m sure that with the right player in the right context it could sound great.

 

[Altitude]

I'm OK with them.

My position, TB irony aside, is that drums and drummers are a real issue for local performing bands. They take up too much room on stage, drum setup and teardown takes too long, and stage volume is a total disaster in these little rooms we play in. Played well, a cajon addresses all of those issues.

Not quite saying I'd want to run a party/dance cover band using a cajon instead of a drum kit. But I'm on that road somewhere.

 

[Passinwind]

View attachment 3915480

Just lose the kick and it would be perfect.

 

[nixdad]

It works well as part of our acoustic/electric Beatles ensemble:

 

[Jeff Hughes]

When Lou Reed did his “Animal Serenade” tour, he did not use a drummer. Instead, his bass player and guitar player would occasionally pedal a bass drum, hi-hat, or snare trigger. So it was basically cajon sounds through a PA. The triggers were used sparingly and cello and electric bass, upright bass, and electric guitars carried the rhythm.

I didn’t miss the drumkit.

 

[equill]

On this topic, has anyone tried the cajon kits available on line? I was thinking of getting one.

You mean the cajon-based drum-kit, or the assemble-your-own cajon-building kit?

Assuming the latter, I bought Thomann's cardboard one as a cheap way of trying out a cajon at home, and because the idea of being able to get one for something like €16 just seemed hilarious.
Summary: fit for the advertised purpose, startlingly robust, but not to be confused with something you'd want to perform on in public.

As for the wooden kits, the reviews can be very informative, and they vary per model.

 

[ToneMonkey]

I don't know if it's a fad. Seems they've been popular for a while now. In many ways it seems like an entry for percussion in small rooms where maybe otherwise you'd have none; drummers are picking them up because you can downsize a band to three people to fit in a small space and make that measly pay stretch a little farther. But, like the video showed, there are other ways to create a space-saving percussion kit that give you better sounds for much of the music that gets played in small rooms.

I do think there's a place for it, just like there's a place for congas and other hand percussion. Unfortunately there are lots of people who think banging on a surface is playing, and that's where things go a little south for me. But right now I'm grateful that I have the option of getting together outside with at least one band, even if it's just a cajon, it's good to be playing and I know the cajon is not what we'll have if we ever get back to doing this for real again.

Possibly a bit OT, but I jammed with a guy once who played Djembe, but in a very interesting way. Stick in one hand, holding a shaker, other hand bare. He got some really interesting grooves going with the shaker. Being able to strike the Djembe with either a stick or bare hand, man it just really worked. Far far far better than any Cajon player I've heard. But to be sure, Djembe can be every bit as wretched as Cajon in the wrong hands. These instruments can be sublime or trite, depending entirely on the person playing them.

 

[Charley Umbria]

I'd rather see one of these onstage:

View attachment 3915477

This.

Cajons? As a drummer: Hate `em. I didn’t spend 40 years learning my instrument, only to be told to go slap a box.

I’m not saying that there’s no art to playing a cajon. It can be a fine instrument in its own right, like any other form of hand percussion. However, I’m just not interested in playing one as a substitute for some form of drum kit. I’m also not a competent conga/bongo player, so I would never take a gig that required me to play those instruments, either. IMHO, doing so would be disrespectful to the other bandmembers and the audience.

Of course, I don’t make a living playing drums, so that’s a luxury that some musicians may not be able to afford (which may explain why you see so many cajons being played badly...).