congaplace.com

I sometimes see videos of players out there who seem to be using a cajon as their high drum and a conga or tumba as their low drum. Since they're playing in a group, I can't necessarily tell how their particular combination of drums sounds together. Does anyone know of any cajons out there that have a nice, crisp quinto-like sound and that would pair well with a standard conga?

No, the cajon is generally not a high drum. In modern rumba groups the cajon often serves as a bass and timekeeper and the conga next to it can serve either as the tumba (first clip) or as the tres dos (second clip). The quinto cajon is generally a small box also with a pretty low sound but more clear slaps, either played by itself or with a high quinto next to it for accents.

Cajon played as part of the tumba part:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF5Z-ZjIWzI

Cajon played as part of the tres dos part:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hWyCGU6UoBE

Hey Doc

You are from California and PM Percussion is north of the Bay Area. Peter makes Cajons and Congas, they are custom and expensive but there is an expertise there that you may be able to tap into. I have do not have any of his products but he did get back to me about skins a few years back.

Worth a try, marcus

I would not want to play a high pitched cajon. The high pitch comes from thicker, harder wood top, and is not friendly to your hands. That is one of the reasons cajones are usually low in pitch, the top is softer and less likely to destroy your hands. For a high drum I recommend a 10" to 11" quinto with a skin, and not too thick at that.

In rumba some cats will alternate between cajon and quinto, usually holding the cajon between their legs and having a high pitched quinto off to the side. Plenty examples out there.


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gF5Z-ZjIWzI

Yeah, that is the Rumberos de Cuba video I just posted, but the point is that the quinto cajon is low pitched not high pitched. The only high pitched quinto sound you hear is from the quinto drum, not the quinto cajon. The larger cajon Yosvani Diaz is playing with the tumba is also low pitched. You rarely see high pitched cajones played in rumba, and when you do it kills your hands when you play it.

true. The slaps are pretty high though!

If you go to this site, you will find all cajons used for rumba for sale. . . also go to ebay and just type in "cuban cajon" or "tumba cajon" or "quinto cajon"

http://www.etsy.com/shop/63rdstreetpercussion

https://youtu.be/k9hMlL2_ACw