Tetsuo: The Iron Cajón

Well, actually, it's the stainless steel and aluminum cajon but it's a Japanese cyberpunk creation with sharp corners that could impale your girlfriend if she's not careful. I used to play an all stainless steel drum kit, then I went through an industrial rivethead phase, thus I'm irresistibly attracted to this oh-so-wrong interpretation of the beloved cajón.

Behold the Metal Cajón. It has a Monsters of Rockin' logo and a single adjustable jingle similar to those on the Pearl Jingle Cajón. Did I mention it's all metal? I don't know which surfaces are aluminum and which are steel. It sounds much better than a two-drawer steel file cabinet in the promotional videos.

You can't get it in beige, but you can get it in hot pink.


http://metalcajon.com/

Some cajóns we like

In alphabetical order:

Cruz

The Cruz is a re-branded PRK Flamenco style cajón made in Spain and sold in the UK by celebrity cajónista Heidi Joubert.

DeGregorio

DeGregorio is one of Spain's top cajón producers. DG offers about a dozen Flamenco cajóns many with beautiful exotic wood tapas.

ERakkustik

ERakkustik makes uniquely shaped and painted artisanal premium cajons as well as standard designs. All are hand made in Germany. Most have reinforced portholes and an internal chamber design that produces a strong, separate snare and bass sound. Rock drummer Enrico Riedel is the "ER" owner of the company.

Fat Congas

These were the first high-quality cajons made in USA. The company went out of business around 2010 and has been sold at least twice since. Swan Percussion is the most recent buyer of the line and is offering these cajóns afresh as of May, 2013.

Gon Bops' Alex Acuna signature models

These are nice, traditional Peruvian sounding (i.e., little to no snare) cajóns made by Atempo in Peru.

J Levia

J Levia makes outstanding and beautifully screen printed cajóns in Spain. They patented a folding design which they sell as the Omeya Travel, then they collaborated with DeGregorio to co-produce the similarly collapsable DG Siroco.

Katho

Katho of Spain makes about fifteen different Flamenco cajóns. They definitely know what they're doing. One of my favorites is the Rusti-Katho which looks like a shipping crate and cleverly incorporates castanet panels on the sides. The Rusti crate design has been copied (usually without the castanet panels) by a few other cajon makers.

Klanginitiative

Klanginitiative epitomizes the clean modern German design aesthetic. I think they were the first to incorporate the square porthole; many of their current designs feature a distinctive rectangular port. The same company makes the more traditional looking cajóns sold through cajon-direkt.de. I love the Klanginitiative cube kit although it's not a cajón, per se.

Kopf

Kopf produces consistently good cajóns in the USA. Their popular S Series has two playing surfaces and a thick, comfy cushion on top. Anecdotally, these seem to be favored by fat guys.

LP Mario Cortes models

LP' offers two Mario Cortes cajóns; both are made in Spain and sound great.

LP Americana Series

LP's new Americana cajóns are made in the USA with high-quality touches such as dovetail construction. They're really nice premium cajóns which are easy to find in the USA through major retailers.

Mario Cortes Flamenco

Mario Cortes offers a range of cajóns through flamenco-world.com in Spain. While LP offers two licensed Mario Cortes cajóns, you can obtain something more unique by going directly to the Spanish source (and spending more money).

Meinl Artisan editions

Meinl's premium cajóns are very nice but, at their price point, there are many other great quality cajons from smaller producers to consider. The Meinl Artisan editions are hand made in Spain.

PRK

PRK builds high-quality Flamenco style cajóns in Spain with lots of options for custom colors and designs.

Pearl Boom Boxes

Pearl expanded the Boom Box range to three designs in 2013. These are nontraditional fiberglas cajons with molded bass ports. They're inexpensive and they have an exceptional modern drum kit sound.

Remo

The Remo Crown was pretty-good for an entry level cajón but I think it's discontinued. The Remo Mondo is a nice cajón, made in Spain, featuring textured areas on the tapa that work great with brushes.

Schlagwerk

Schlagwerk hand makes good-to-great cajóns in Germany. Unlike Meinl and LP, Schlagwerk's entry-level cajóns are worthwhile instruments.

Sela

Sela gained a reputation for quality then shifted their primary focus to marketing. They now offer fewer designs, primarily build-them-yourself kits which produce fine cajóns. Their latest innovation in 2013 is the ability to customize the tapa of a CaSela cajón based on your own submitted artwork. I think their marketing strategy is very smart and they will be increasingly successful in the coming years.

Sonor

Sonor has been making fine drums and percussion in Germany since the nineteenth century. Their cajóns are a relatively recent addition, continuing their tradition of quality. Many of their cajóns are ported with holes cut in the shape of Sonor's dual mallet logo; this porting looks sweet, but precludes modification with a CajonPort or similar reflex tube.

Swan

Swan puts a lot of thought and quality into their instruments; they feature multiple playing surfaces and great snare and bass sound. Their Flamenco model has a playable carved Guiro edge I've never seen on any other cajón. Swan is into that square porthole thing, too.

Valter

Valter Percussion has been manufacturing cajóns in Sweden for many years and their commitment to quality and design is evident in their products. These are excellent cajons. Valter originated the adjustable bass port opening which a few other manufacturers now imitate. Valter's designs are consistently innovative without being gimmicky.

Wolf

Wolf is a one-man artisanal cajón maker in Austria who produces extremely fine woodwork.

The Electric Cajón, a.k.a. Old Sparky

I used to play a full acoustic drum kit, then electronic drums. The hassle of dragging all this equipment around, setting it up and tearing it down conditioned me to fall in love with the utter simplicity of the cajón. I now have an aversion to complicating the wonderful little box with electronics, but other percussionists disagree and provide support for products such as the following.

First, a preposterous pair. These abominations make me want to channel Basil Fawlty and scream "WHAT'S THE BLEEDIN' POINT!" if ever I see them.

Tycoon E-Cajón

The Tycoon E-Cajón shines far below the competition as a monument to stupidity. It's a cajón with a built-in junky battery powered amplifier and a tinny little 6-inch speaker. The only potential benefit is you can plug an iPod into it to play along.

Softsand E-Cajón

Softsand's E-Cajón is a comically cumbersome frame that lets you mount electronic trigger pads to the side of your cajón. Seriously, dude, don't even bother--just forego the real thing and play your e-kit and assign cajón notes to a couple of the triggers.

Second, a practical pair. I see the appeal of plug-and-play instruments but, to my ears, a well-mic'ed cajón always sounds better than one with a built in pickup. I think cajón tones need the breathing room that external microphones accommodate. Your mileage may vary.

Mezuzah Pro Cajón

The wedge shaped Mezuzah Pro model has two playable heads, a Joyo 5 Band EQ with mid sweep and Metronome, and a pre amp with both a 1/4" jack and an XLR plug. This is all way-too complicated for me, but I assume it sounds good through a PA because the Mezuzah is designed by a sound engineer.

Meinl Pickup Cajón

The Meinl Pickup Cajón comes in a few variations and has a built-in pickup. You just plug a 1/4" cable into your amplifier or PA and you're good to go. This strikes me as one of the most sensible designs in this genre, however I don't much like the sound of these cajóns, especially when they are not plugged in.

Das besten cajón forum

Germany cranks out more awesome cajóns than any other country and it's the home of the only great dedicated cajón forum, CajónMania. Unfortunately for me, I don't speak German but--through the miracle of modern Internet technology--I can translate the threads through my browser. If you're a cajón fanatic, you should check it out!

It was through CajónMania that I learned of Haus der Musik's porcine percussion products:

Cajóns we do not like.

Forgive the negativity, but I cringe every time I read the question on the internet "what cajon should I buy?" and see the reply "get a Meinl Headliner or an LP Aspire at Guitar Center." In my opinion, those are two of the worst sounding wastes of money in the percussion world. There are dozens of great cajons out there, but here are half a dozen I think you should avoid:

1) Meinl Headliner
Meinl's premium cajóns are good, but their entry level Headliner series is garbage. They sound like moving boxes, not musical instruments.

2) LP Aspire
Just like Meinl, Latin Percussion (LP) sells terrible entry level cajóns. The only difference is LP labels theirs the Aspire series.

3) Schalloch
As if Meinl's headliner series wasn't bad enough, Meinl has a subsidiary, Schalloch, which sells even cheaper, junkier cajóns. You can do better; avoid these.

4) Newl
Newl makes cheap cajóns with dual panels and sells them primarily through Ebay. They sound bad, but their biggest problem is the two panel design which places the bass zone so low that a player risks a serious back injury if he plays one of these for an extended period.

5) Echoslap
You probably won't find Echoslap cajóns outside of Thailand. The main reason to avoid them is they steal other manufacturer's designs and knock out clones without obtaining rights or giving credit to the legitimate designers.

6) Tycoon Acrylic Cajóns
Tycoon's acrylic models aren't inexpensive, and they sound pretty good when new, but they break frequently and easily. In short order, temperature changes, normal playing, and sitting on these cajóns takes a toll and the glued seams start to split, separate or crack. If you want a plastic (actually fiberglas) cajón, check out the Pearl Boom Box series; they're cheaper than Tycoon, better made, better designed and better sounding.

Tycoon Acrylic Cajón in its typical state

(note the completely smashed in back panel).

Again, these are JUST MY OPINIONS. If you love one of the above cajóns, I'm happy for you.

Incomprehensive List of Cajón Brands (updated April, 2013)

So many cajón producers come and go throughout the world that it's impossible for me to keep up with them (much less keep their links active). Hopefully this list is helpful to you; it certainly would have been to me when I was first researching cajóns.



Cajóns

6turned9 (UK) http://www.6turned9.co.uk/

Abueno (makes drum set model with attached snare drum and cymbals) http://abueno.com/

AJ (Italy) http://www.cajones.it/

Anointed Peruvian Drums (made in USA; one man shop) http://www.anointedperuvian.com/

Arco (Japan) http://sound.jp/arco/

Atempo (Peru) http://www.atempopercusion.com/

Berkeley Box Works (made USA) http://www.berkeleyboxworks.com/html/index.html

Bonham (made in USA) http://www.bonhamcajon.com/

Bravo (made in USA; two man shop) http://bravodrums.com/

Cajons-direkt (Germany; same company as Klanginiaitive and Trowa) http://www.cajon-direkt.de/

Cajongo http://www.cajongo.com/index.html

Cajon Rock (Italy) http://www.cajonrock.com/

Cajon Drum Shop (UK) http://www.thecajondrumshop.com/

Cruz Cajon (UK; Heidi Joubert's cajons made in Spain by PRK) http://www.cajonbox.com/cruz-cajon/

Dan Moi (Germany) http://www.danmoi.com/dan-moi-cajon-percussion-instrument.html

DMX Cajon (Brazil) https://twitter.com/DMXCAJONS

DBE (made in USA; two man shop) http://www.cajondrumstore.com/

De Gregorio (Spain) http://www.cajondg.com/home.htm

Duende (Spain) http://www.duendepercusion.com/

Echoslap (Thailand) http://echoslap.wordpress.com/

Empowered Percussion (USA) http://www.setcajon.com/

ERakkustik (Germany; conventional and unique artisanal designs) http://www.erakkustik.de/

Fat Congas (made in USA; out of business for several years, revived in 2013 by Swan Percussion) http://www.swanpercussion.com/

Gon Bops (USA; all cajons imported; Alex Acuna models made in Peru) http://www.gonbops.com/

Haus der Musik HDM (Austria; only known source for wild punk, zebra, boar & headless pig cajons) http://www.hdm-shop.com/catalogsearch/result/?q=cajon

H-Box (Germany; made by Schlagwerk) http://www.martinroettger.de/1867/de/0/a/0/cajon.html

Heritage (made in USA) http://www.heritagecajon.com/

Jouer (made in USA; one man shop) http://www.jouerdrums.com/

Katho (Spain) http://www.kathopercusion.com/

King Cajón (no relation; UK) http://kingcajon.com/

Klanginitiative (Germany) http://www.klanginitiative.com/

KLANGspiel (Germany; noted for the "Pentajon" design ) http://www.klang-spiel.eu/

Klangkomplex (Germany) http://www.klangkomplex.de/

Kopf (made in USA) http://www.kopfpercussion.com/

Kotz (made in USA; one man shop) http://tonecajon.com/

Latin Percussion (USA; most models imported; Mario Cortes models made in Spain; Americana models made in USA) http://www.lpmusic.com/

Lion (UK) http://www.cajondrums.co.uk/

Machudo (USA) http://www.machudocajons.com/

Mario Cortes (Spain) http://www.flamenco-world.com/magazine/webs/mario_cortes/catalogo.htm

Meinl (Germany; many models imported) http://www.meinlpercussion.com/

Mezuza (made in USA; wedge-shaped cajóns) http://www.inetaudioproductions.com/mezuzah-cajon.html

Muman (China)

Natal (UK) http://nataldrums.com/

Nautilus (made in USA; one man shop) http://nautiluscajons.com/

Newl (USA) http://www.newlcajon.com/

Novica (National Geographic "tourist" imports from Peru) http://musical-instruments.novica.com/

Pearl (USA; cajóns imported) http://www.pearldrum.com/

Pepote (Germany) http://www.pepote.de/

Pithy (Brazil) http://www.cajonpithy.com/

popercussion (Germany) http://www.popercussion.com/

PMPercussion (made in USA; one man shop) http://www.pmpercussion.com/

PRK (Spain) http://www.prkpercussions.com/

QQ Buum (Poland) http://qqbuum.pl/

Remo (USA; cajóns imported; Crown and Mondo models made in Spain) http://www.remo.com/

Requeña (Spain)

Schalloch (Germany; subdivision of Meinl) http://www.schalloch.net/

Schlagwerk (Germany) http://www.schlagwerk.com/

Sela (Austria) http://www.sela-percussion.com/

Swan Percussion (made in USA) http://www.swanpercussion.com/

Shaqah (made in USA; one man shop) http://shaqahdrums.wordpress.com/

Sonix (aka Samba) (UK) http://www.percussionplus.co.uk/products/around-the-world/samba-drums-cajons/default.aspx

Sonor (Germany) http://www.sonor.com/

Toca (USA; cajóns imported) http://www.tocapercussion.com/

trE.S. lados (Germany) http://www.tres-lados.com/

Tycoon (USA; cajóns imported from Asia) http://www.tycoonpercussion.com/

Valter (Sweden) http://www.valterpercussion.com/

WE Drums (USA, specifically to worship Jesus!) http://www.wedrums.com/

Wise Guys (made in USA) http://wiseguyscajons.com/

Wizard (USA; one-man furniture maker who also makes artisanal cajons) http://stores.wizardwoodworks.com/-strse-Cajon-Box-Drums/Categories.bok

Wolf (Austria, one-man shop artisanal cajons) http://www.cajonmanufaktur-wolf.at/

X8 (USA; cajóns imported from Asia) http://www.x8drums.com/



Notable Cajón Accessories


KickPort CajónPorts (USA) http://www.kickport.com/

Ovi Solution Thrones and Pedals (Italy) http://www.ovisolution.com/

Gibraltar Cajon Pedal http://www.gibraltarhardware.com/?fa=cajonpedal



As always, corrections or additions are welcome in the comment section.

Hand Crash Cymbals

(Edit: if the video does not appear above on your device, here is the link http://youtu.be/KhiLQT3UDAo)

Here's a hand-crash cymbal video by celebrity cajónista Heidi Joubert. It's pretty long, but pretty good. I agree with her completely that the Sabian AAX X-plosion 11" Splash is the best all-around cymbal to accompany a cajón. It's responsive yet not overpowering and it fits well 99% of the time I need a cymbal with my cajón. It also fits conveniently into my cajón case!

I've used a couple of other hand crash cymbals with the cajón. Here are my impressions:

The UFIP 16" Experience Hand Cymbal is fantastic, but can overwhelm in a purely acoustic setting. I own this one, but I rarely use it. I really believe UFIP's "rotocast" cymbals are the best (and so must other people because they are expensive). On the occasions when I do play this, I use a homemade cymbal sizzler, similar to what Ms. Joubert demonstrates in the video (she uses costume jewelry, I use ball-chain from the hardware store). UFIP makes this cymbal in 14", 16", 18" and 20".

The Sabian 16" AAX El Sabor Picante Cymbal is good, too. This is less expensive and easier to find than the UFIP, but more trashy sounding. Again, I find 16" to be too much sound for quieter acoustic music. I know, with better technique, I should be able to moderate the sound, but even Ms. Joubert who is much more skillful than I prefers smaller cymbals overall.

Here are some other hand cymbals I considered when I was shopping last year:

The Zildjian Azuka 15" Latin Multi-Crash is probably very good, but I couldn't find one.

The Paiste PST8 Cajón 16" Crash was new for 2012. Paiste was my favorite cymbal when I played real drums back in the dark ages. I like that the new PST8 is cajón-specific (it says cajón right on it!). I couldn't find one in the USA.

The Meinl Candela 14" Percussion Crash sounded like a cheap toy to me and was the least impressive of the few I demoed.

The Wuhan 14-16" Thin  Crashes really are CHEAP, and they don't respond very well to bare hands. Nevertheless, these can be a good value for econocajóneros because they don't sound much worse than the Meinl Candelae that cost five times as much!