solo4652

Errrm, you lost me with " iOS iPad drum apps"! We'd like to keep the performance as live as possible; "Everything you hear is being played by us, here, now, and live" - that's why I'm looking for an "instrument" that the audience can see being played in front of them.

I play with a 3-piece trio, switching between (electric) bass and miced-up cajon, depending on which song we're playing. I'm looking for something just a little more advanced than the cajon to extend the beat sounds we have available. Shopping list: Table top drums or drum pads. Portable. Can gig it be playing it through the desk, or my bass combo. Simple - I am a beginner with drums! 4-pad to begin with, maybe. Simple - probably no need for foot pedals at this stage. Simple - no need for loads of complex samples and built-in rhythms. Inexpensive. Budget is £100 max. First web trawl throws up these. Any other suggestions? https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B016KNIJHG?psc=1&SubscriptionId=AKIAIDFS7VHPOOMSWYMA&linkCode=gs2&creativeASIN=B016KNIJHG&tag=edadvisor-21&creative=165953&camp=2025 https://www.gear4music.com/Drums-and-Percussion/DD40-Electronic-Drum-Pads-Pack-by-Gear4music/16DR?origin=product-ads&campaign=PLA+Shop+-+GENERIC&adgroup=GENERIC&medium=vertical_search&network=google&merchant_id=1279443&product_id=54927d1&product_country=GB&product_partition_id=582794439500&gclid=CjwKCAjwtuLrBRAlEiwAPVcZBqjvgzCr86dOkjCI5OYL4ZfMz3qVSTosEt2t_eO6VgiRb9eM5MUKfRoC-TYQAvD_BwE

I've asked the seller, and he says it's 175 cms! I've sent instructions explaining how to measure it, but seller doesn't seem to understand. Can anyone hazard a guess at the scale length from the photos, please? https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/401868085337?ul_noapp=true Update: Problem solved. Seller has successfully remeasured, and it's a 34" scale.

Thank you!

Just to say, Si, this was filmed at a rehearsal. Thank you for your kind comments! Steve

I've just looked inside my cajon - professionally built, don't know the make. Peering through the sound hole, I can see a 10" length of drum snare held onto the striking face of the box in a vertical orientation by metal clips at the ends. The snare is positioned in the bottom LH corner of the cajon. I can see a small wooden block pressing a foam strip onto the snare, held in place by a length of elastic stretched between the metal end-clips. Clearly, the idea is that the small block can be slid along the snare wire to change the tone. No idea how you actually reach it, though! I've attempted to photograph it. On a seperate note, I found it very uncomfortable sitting on top of the box and leaning forward. This playing position really hurt my back. So, I knocked together a folding stand that enables me to play while sitting on a comfy chair, with the striking face of the cajon at an angle between my legs. See photo.

Have you tried micing the cajon? I always do, when I'm not practising at home. Main reasons: it means you don't feel the need to hit the box hard, quite possibly hurting your fingers and wrists in the process. Micing also greatly improves the depth and spread of the tones you'll get. Lots of mic options - you could simply use a vocals mic lying on a cloth inside the cajon. Or, you could get a clip-on drum mic. I use a £20 Yoga D-606 - http://vi.raptor.ebaydesc.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItemDescV4&item=352730741518&category=29946&pm=1&ds=0&t=1565797779000&ver=0 through either the desk, or my Eden 10 bass combo.

You're very kind - thank you!

Following on from our Kiss cover, here we are doing Human. Anybody else do this?

Thank you! Lead guitarist, drummer and singer are all very good musicians and, together, pulled the band towards (prog) rock stuff. That wasn't my bag. I'm much more oriented towards soul, funk, pop, groove songs. Classic band split was the result. The rhythm guitarist/synth guitarist/vocal synth guy and myself have joined forces with a female singer to set up a lounge/jazz/smooth trio., with me switching between bass and cajon depending on the song being played. I miss the push and power of the full band, especially playing with a drummer. Nowhere to hide in a trio!

@ Al Krow. I prefer your version over ours. Yours is much more "accessible" and easier to listen to. When we played ours live, the guys in the audience would get up and video the guitarist, while the ladies would disappear from the dancefloor. Sadly but predictably, the band in my video folded a couple of months ago. Good standards of playing, but too loud and blokey for most pub venues.

Struggling to upload the video. It's not on the web, only on my laptop. I'll see if I can post it on YouTube. Work in progress....

Over in the Amps and Cabs forum is a discussion about 112 cabs. Al Krow of this Parish has posted a clip of his band doing Kiss, to demonstrate his 112 cab. Kiss is/was a favourite of my band, and he we are - posted here so as not to derail the 112 cab thread. Edit: Blast! Can't work out how to post video here. Bear with me......

Oooh - Kiss! Ha! I managed to convince my band to play this, and it was always a crowd-pleaser. We came up with a different vibe to you. So as not to derail this thread about 112 cabs, I'll post a YouTube link in the Recording forum.

Errr - bit beyond me, sadly!

Impressive! But way beyond my capabilities, sadly.

Heart very much in mouth, here's a short phone-video of us under the "Loose Change" buskers collective banner at a local Makers market. Forget the drummer - he was only there for that one gig, and is not part of our trio. Please remember; I'm not the coolest dude in the bass world. You'll see me wrestling with my notes at a couple of points. Schoolboy error. Will take clothes pegs next time. First time the singer had ever sung in public. First time we had played together in public.

Thanks folks. Here are my thoughts, as prompted by some of the responses; We'd like to keep the band footprint as small as possible - so, 3 people, not 4. Like @Sibob, I don't really enjoy playing bass with no percussion - I feel a bit lost. I tend to agree with @Dannybouy regarding the novelty factor of having the cajon in the line-up - even more so if I switch between it and bass. Joe public would almost certainly not have seen that, and it would differentiate us from virtually all other local acoustic trios. Easier to get gigs as a result, maybe? I'm happy to switch between bass and cajon, depending on the song. I suppose my question is - How do I choose which songs to play bass on, and which songs to play cajon? My first thought was cajon on the slower numbers e.g Don'y know why - Norah Jones, True Colors - Cyndi Lauper, Hallelujah - Leonard Cohen, and bass on the faster songs e.g. Breathless - The Corrs, Sunday Girl - Blondie, Mr Rock and Roll - Amy MacDonald. However, the guitarist and singer have different ideas. Then there's the in-between songs e.g. Thank you - Dido, You're still the one I want - Shania Twain, Out of reach - Gabrielle. Consequently, I'm dazed and confused about what I should play on which song.

I'm involved with a start-up acoustic trio. Good acoustic guitarist who adds a voice-synth and guitar synth to his acoustic guitar. Also sings BV's. Pretty good female singer who does not have much live experience, but is coming along really well. She prefers slower/jazzy numbers to up-tempo toe-tappers. Then there's me. I started off playing (electric) bass to all songs, but at the last rehearsal I played cajon on a few. Straight away, both the guitarist and singer said they preferred me on the cajon. Probably a reflection of my rubbish bass-playing! I don't want to play cajon all night. I am happy to switch between bass and cajon, depending on the song. But - how do I choose? I am now faced with the job of saying whether I'd play bass or cajon on a growing songlist of 16 songs. I don't know how to make that decision. Can you good people help, please? Three examples: Breathless - The Corrs. I'd have said bass straight away, but no. Guitarist and singer want me to play cajon. That man - Caro Emerald. Hotel California, specifically this cover: I'd want to play bass, but guitarist is suggesting cajon would be "a better fit".