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[eric (e.t.) torgerson]

+4 for the sm-91 inside. I first ran into 1 of these a few yrs ago w/ Jonny Langs drummer. The 91 was the obvious choice (cuz I had a few in the mic case) but I now wish I would've had a 57 or something on top too. It's a cool instrumnet which capable of quite a few sounds.

[Rob Timmerman]

Dave Unger wrote on Fri, 05 December 2008 13:31

The search function is your friend:  http://srforums.prosoundweb.com/index.php/m/367967/473/?srch =cajon#msg_367967

Hmm, that would explain the feeling of d

[Miguel Castro Rios]

Take a look at my web page.. Once you skip the intro you will see the main page, I have several pics. like a slide show.. one of them is behind the stage. And you will see a drummer sitting on top of the cajon as a seat, to play the drums...

I believe this is the cajon from el Peru. I believe some other countries have other types of cajon...

WWW.riosystem.com.mx

I believed we used a sm57.

Sorry the web page is in Spanish, we are working the English part...

[George Friedman-Jimenez]

How you mic a cajon depends on several factors.

1) What kind of cajon? Is it a bass cajon you sit on, a Cuban Havana style rumba cajon (tumbador, tres dos, quinto) that stands upright like a conga and you play the top surface, a Peruvian cajon with a snare in it, or some other type?

2) What sound do you want? Is it a rhythm or solo instrument for just playing cajones, like rumba, or to accompany guitar and other instruments, or do you want it to sound like a kick drum and snare?

If you can give us some more details, it would help us make a better recommendation for what mic(s) to use.

[Andy Peters]

George Friedman-Jimenez wrote on Fri, 05 December 2008 19:17

How you mic a cajon depends on several factors. 1) What kind of cajon? Is it a bass cajon you sit on, a Cuban Havana style rumba cajon (tumbador, tres dos, quinto) that stands upright like a conga and you play the top surface, a Peruvian cajon with a snare in it, or some other type? 2) What sound do you want? Is it a rhythm or solo instrument for just playing cajones, like rumba, or to accompany guitar and other instruments, or do you want it to sound like a kick drum and snare? If you can give us some more details, it would help us make a better recommendation for what mic(s) to use.

I suspect that there isn't much call for cajons in Israel, which is where David lives. And the players may not know the subtle differences between the different types.

Hopefully they know that the word is pronounced kah-hohn and not kah-joan!

-a, from where we get Mexican cajons all the time

[David Bedrack]

 Dear Friedman-Jimenez  & Peters:


Darbukas are not the only percussion instrument here, so "cajones" might well be within the assortment of instruments in the sets of our local percussionists.

I lived 11 years in Chile  and my spanish is perfect, so I know how to pronounce "Cajon" without a bit of gringo accent ) Cubans  might call it " cahom"

We have here world class  musicians , percussion players included, so I guess that they know the difference between a cajon tumbador and plain cajon for oranges  

Now, I still have no clue what music those dudes wil be playing and wether the cajon will be just for rhythm or will have a more up front role. The player, who is a fine drummer (also sings- grrrr), might use the instrument in a full expressive mode.

Whatever happens, it might be an interesting experience a bit beyond the regular stuff I  regularly handle. I think the last really challenging thing I did in the past was a duo of rennaissance (sp) players with lots of period instruments.

And now comes this cajon


Thanks to all for their advise- will be back next week to tell how it went, with pix and full sound track

david b.

[Mike Caldwell]

At least a couple times a year I'll get a Cajon come through. Over time I have used a D6, 421, D4 and a PZM in them. My least favorite was the 421. They all have been the style where the player sits on them. They can sound better than many bass drums I have had the pleasure in micing up.

Mike Caldwell

[Bob Kenton]

I was just at a large out reach today and used a D6 near the hole and a 57 on the front close to where the drummer slapped the face. Sounded very good, lots of thump from that little box in the subs.

[Mike Dixon]

I've also used a SM/Beta91 inside and your percussion mic of choice on the outside, but I've placed it on the front (about a foot off) so that you can get some of the "hand" sound.  It sounded great.

[George Friedman-Jimenez]

Last night we played an AfroCuban rumba de cajones with bass, second, and quinto cajones (3 players) plus one conga to the side of each cajon. The audience was about 150 people (about 50 standing) in a room that normally holds about 100 and the console was at the rear of the room. The PA was set up mainly for the vocals but I put SM57s on the cajones. I didn't need the mics on the cajones at all, I turned the faders down on the cajon mics and kept just the vocals on the PA. It was plenty loud and I got lots of complements on the sound. The key was highly disciplined and talented AfroCuban drummers who knew how to play cajon and knew about dynamics and not playing over the singers. There were no other instruments in that set. With other instruments (bass, piano, cowbell, claves, guiro, tres guitar, flute, trombone) later on, I just turned up the cajon mic faders a little and it sounded fine. The SM57s sound good on most hand percussion instruments, including congas, bongo, bata, as well as cajon. This is for AfroCuban rumba cajones built from Home Depot plywood, I don't have any experience with Peruvian or Spanish cajones, or with commercial cajones where you are trying to emulate a kick/snare sound.
You might try calling up the cajon players and asking them what kind of mics they have liked to use in the past for a venue the size you are working.