Cajon Kick Drum - DIY or Buy

[@djchino774]

The sound is on point. Whenever I see 3 bass drums and 20 toms with a 100 cymbals with different brands on the thumbnail, I know it's a rich kid playing loud af doing lady gaga covers. This sir, is what a real percussionist sounds like.

[@RhythmNotes]

Thanks Joe. I really appreciate that.

[@ErnieJ89]

I stumbled on this video looking for kick pedal ideas for cajon and am actually a huge Mike Ryan fan! Small world!

[@RhythmNotes]

Yes it is. I miss playing with Mike. He's a beast!

[@robmarykunzig5533]

Just received my heel Kick peddle with my Meinl pickup cajon arriving today (Makah Burl Frontplate version) tieing that together with my small slaptop (with pickup) and I should have snare tom and bass! I'll have to pickup the Large Slap-Top with pick up cause my old one had two wonderful tom sounds (wore/stretched it out due to heavy hand palm hits, loosing one of the tom sound, no pickup) With the slaptop cajon w/ pickups I find I can use lighter finger taps to get sound and lets your hands work with less fatuige and on auto, creating beats with out thinking. ( Subscribed! enjoying your passion - R

[@RhythmNotes]

I've always wanted to try out the pick up on a gig. It sounds like you have some nice upgrades to your setup. Thanks for sharing!

[@djchino774]

Quick note, I hated that my parents put me tru music school, I thought that because I was a pretty good drummer (in my own mind of course) I didn't have to go to a school that would teach me what I thought I already knew. Boy was I wrong. My brother is a very good guitar player and one time he was playing a song on his Spanish style acoustic guitar, I sat right beside him and followed him with his own guitar. If you hit the back of the guitar you'll get a bass sound and a pretty good snare hitting the front. My professor saw us and showed me that basically I was playing the cajon.. We still play gigs to this day and if by any reason I can get my gear there on time, guitar cajon it is.

[@RhythmNotes]

That reminds me of the campfire guitar my family always had. This was a guitar that was probably found on the side of the road and stayed in tune well enough for the open chords near the head stalk. Sometimes it became the cajon as better instruments showed up as the night burned on. ... Thanks for sharing Joe. Good times!

[@CajonMaster]

Nice video, I use the cajon like you said sometimes, it works great! thanks for sharing it, cheers😉

[@RhythmNotes]

Thanks for mentioning it! And I dig cajon groove library.

[@hanhole]

What is the genre of the demo song you used with the cajon 😊

[@RhythmNotes]

Easy listening / instrumental

[@hanhole]

@@RhythmNotesthank you

[@elijahmonn3757]

Hi, I to made my own cajon drum. Thick ply for 5 sides and very thin for the front. I added padding to the top. Because I sit on it to play guitar. I also added four rubber door stops to the bottom. Both these mods vastly improved the sound. Because I made it. Like you the drum is very personal to me. I’ve also brought a cheap kids kick pedal. I’m about to make something up to secure the pedal. I play the drum with my left heel. My two questions are: how far back should I mount the kick pedal back from the face of the cajon drum? And the soft end that hits the drum is only hitting on the top edge. Will this damage the drum? And should I replace it with something else? I’ve seen another person in KZbin replace it with a tennis ball. Your thoughts would be very much appreciated. Thanks, Brent

[@RhythmNotes]

If the pedal is too close to the face of the cajon you'll know because the cam, chain, or other parts will rub against the drum, which would be bad. f the pedal is too far, you'll know because the beater will have to extend too far forward. Since each pedal is different, an exact measurement is hard for me to provide. I would position the pedal roughly where it's comfortable and take a measurement. As for hitting the top edge ... I would be concerned that it may split on the grain of the wood, especially if the grain is vertical. Both of the beaters I show in the video are very soft and don't show any signs of damaging the cajon, but I would be more concerned with the beater close to the top edge because there is less give in the face. It's more rigid and can't displace as much energy from the attack. ... Hope this helps. Much luck!

[@elijahmonn3757]

Rhythm Notes , great 👍. Thanks for your quick reply. I may look at getting a special cajon beater. As long as it’s not to expensive. If I put the pedal as close as it will go. 3/4 of the beater hits. I could even bend the rod backwards so the beaters surface hits all at once. Thanks again, Brent

[@elijahmonn3757]

Hi Rhythm Notes, I thought I’d update you on what I’ve done. I bent the beater rod and added the beater a cut off piece of pool noddle. I cut a little out of the inside to fit over. It improved the sound immediately. A lot deeper and what I was looking for. I also added a egg shaker inside the drum. Fixed in place by fishing line. It sounded not that great with the plastic egg shaker hitting the back of the drum face. So good old pool noddle to the rescue (over the egg shaker). That fixed that problem. Now I have a great boom Shaka sound😃 I’m very pleased with myself. Cheers Brent

[@RhythmNotes]

@@elijahmonn3757 That's a great idea, Brent. Thanks for sharing!

[@alvaromorello]

Thanks for the ideas and really nice playing. Can you tell me what the Aux hats you are playing in the video are (with the tambourine on it)? They sound great.

[@RhythmNotes]

The bottom is a 12” Wuhan China and the top is an 11” Zildjian K Custom Hybrid splash

[@alvaromorello]

@@RhythmNotes Thanks. Great combo!

[@dr.doolittle5617]

What is that small red box called? I like the way that sounds. I want one.

[@RhythmNotes]

The cajon (kick) or the jam block?

[@grzegorzpastuszak1112]

hi. How about your snare drum, are you using special drum head?

[@RhythmNotes]

It's a Remo Ambassador Black Suede

[@remedioszabala4868]

try suitcase drumset

[@RhythmNotes]

I've been thinking about making a suitcase drum set. ... need to find a suitcase that sounds good and could fit everything inside. Thanks for the idea.

[@pusanghalaw]

i thought you'd be sitting on the cajon with a pedal rigged to strike it remotely (like with a cable or cam-driven).

[@RhythmNotes]

I tried that a while ago and wasn't a fan.

[@pusanghalaw]

@@RhythmNotes ever see it done correctly? would love a link if there's a video. thanks.

[@officialclwmusic]

You will regret buying the Meinhl kick heel pedal. Don't buy it!

[@RhythmNotes]

That's what I was thinking. Since making this video, I've been told that the hardware doesn't hold up.