Number One: The Experiment (I'm keepin' this one)

So I am starting this off with a confession... i used to watch American Idol ::ehem!::. On a particular episode, there was a performance where it was not just the singer on the stage but there were a couple guys sitting on boxes and hitting them (http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x5xsti_katharine-mcphee-black-horse-and-a_music). AND there was a really different and cool sound coming out of the boxes.

At the time, I was fascinated but not much more. That was a long time ago but it stuck in the back of my mind. Sometime in 2011, I started getting together with some friends and playing some music. I would move my Roland V-Drums around and hook them up to speakers to play. That is extremely easy compared to packing up and moving an acoustic set. However, it was still a lot of setup for an hour or an hour and a half of play time. In addition, it was sometimes a bit loud for just playing a few songs with the kids and family around. I like it when someone picks up a guitar and sings some songs with friends. You know, like camp fire songs. But I play drums. You can't hear people talking when the drums are playing. A couple of times, I have picked up a guitar case at a campfire and thumped out a little beat on that while a friend played guitar and sang. That was alright. But then I connected this idea with those boxes I saw. If I had a box, that I could just pick up and bring along, wasn't too loud, and had more than just the dull, flat sound of a guitar case, it would be the perfect match for adding a little rhythm to a few songs while hanging out. I didn't have to have the whole setup all the time.

So I started looking into these boxes. It turns out that the box is called a cajon (Ka-hone). It means something like drawer, crate or bin in spanish. You can find them easily online. However, I started listening to good recordings of them and the ones you get for under $200 sound like you're hitting a cardboard box with some wires dangling inside... well that is exactly what those are. However, the nice ones ($250+), with adjustable snare wires actually give you quite a bit of thump for a bass drum sound and a nice crisp snare sound like the snare drum. Add on the fact that the whole thing is made of wood which has natural acoustic qualities when used percussively and you've got quite a versatile, mobile, drum box!

My problem... money is tight. There are much more important things to spend it on and I already have a drum set. So I looked into how they are made. I found some videos of people making them and those gave me a rough idea. However, most of the instructions showed using guitar strings or mounting snares in various positions that didn't make that crisp of a snare sound.

SO, that lead to the experiment. I found the cheapest piece of 3/4 in. birch plywood I could find and drew up some simple plans. Thanks to a friend (J. Delga) I was able to get the boards cut down and then get it all put together. This first drum sounded way better than I thought it would (for a first try). And it sounded exactly like I had hoped. It had great thump and nice crisp snare. So I started playing it with some friends. It has been awesome. We can play songs and hang out and it isn't too loud. It also doesn't take a half an hour to pack up the drums every time we feel like playing a few songs.

Now I keep coming up with ideas of how to improve on the original design and they keep sounding better (and looking a bit better since they are made of nicer materials).

On top of all that, there is something undeniably fun about playing it. Here is how it sounds...