Recording a Cajon and puting a constant mic/pick-up in it

flippo2007 · Post by **flippo2007** » Wed May 28, 2008 3:48 pm

Hi Guys!
I want to work with a Cajon and Ableton Live to put some effects on the sound and to record it.

The best solution would bei the Meinl Pick Up Cajon http://meinlpercussion.com/products/mei ... ajons.html

But in my opinion it sounds crappy, when played. The snare sound snares whether I hit the base section or the snare section and the overall sound is flat. Damn!

So what would would you suggest, if i wanted to "steal" the great idea of the MEINL-Cajon and build a comparable setup into a cajon i like when it omes to the sound of the instrument?

*) what would you use to record the instrument into an audio interface? A pick up? A microphone for drums? If one of those, which one? What´s important when it comes to mics or pick-ups? Do i need a preamp or can i use the ones on my interface?

*) I´ve read about solutions with more than one mic for recording, but i´d like a setup that is as easy to plug in and to use as the MEINL Cajon.
Even if the sound can´t be recorded 100% perfectly with just one mic, i could adjust the quality afterwards within Live and still have a versatile and mobile E-cajon.

Thank you very much,
Flip

kraze · Post by **kraze** » Wed May 28, 2008 6:32 pm

I had to record one of these for a session back in January.

I used a stereo pair of high end condensator mics, a kick drum mic and a harmonica green bullet type copy kind of thing. The owner of that set now uses the same stuff but behringer c2 stereo pair (60 bucks) instead and it sounds really good. All goes into a phonic mixer with stereo out.

flippo2007 · Post by **flippo2007** » Wed May 28, 2008 7:06 pm

Hi Kraze!

Thanks for your reply!

What i would like is a more simple setup, since im not in a studio, recording the thing once with big effort.

What i would need more, is a setup that makes it possible for me to pull the Cajon out of the bag, take my mic, place it, plug it to the interface and start playing... and doing the rest with Abletons Eqs, Compressors, Reverbs, etc...

I heard from a guy, that he played live with his Cajon and they only used on bassdrum mic from AKG - and it sunded good, he said. Do you think one of those mics can pick up the high snare sounds in an acceptable quality too?

Because if you think so, that would be the perfect solution: a small mic, a clip or a small stand - right in front of the Cajons hole in the back panel and thats it.

Waht´cha´say?

Greetz and thanks again, Flip

kraze · Post by **kraze** » Wed May 28, 2008 7:42 pm

Unlucky for you i don't think there's a one mic end it all setup availibe. A stereo pair like the cheap behringer c2 would probably work and since its a matched pair you can find some balance but it's certainly not going to give you a perfect recreation of the full audioficial spectrum.

I know that professionals in the instrument usually just mic up with a Shure 57 when they're just recording playing, and teoretically it should work pretty good.

polemans · Post by **polemans** » Thu May 29, 2008 2:29 pm

+1 for a shure sm57...

morgo · Post by **morgo** » Sun Aug 10, 2008 7:17 pm

im a cajon player and often record it and play live with it mic'd. From my experience id say the sm57 is the way to go. Its not the cleanest sound in the world but to be fair a cajon should be nice and dirty i reckon!

You can also do a cool trick for getting pseduo basslines from it. If you chuck the 57 inside the sound hole til it starts feeding back, then bring it out a tiny bit so it stops. Then you know you can change the pitch of the drum by sliding your foot up and down the front "skin" of the drum. If you get the mic placement rite, it should feed back as soon as you touch the skin with your foot, allowing for pitched bass feedback. If you chuck and eq or filter in the chain to tidy it up a bit, you get yourself a phat bass sound.