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I have been using this contraption with an band I've been playing with recently. There is no trap set player, so I wanted to widen up our sound. It's really fun to play with too. If you play it lightly, you only get the high-hat sound, and if you stomp it a little, you get mostly shekere sound. With the band I'm in playing mostly rock/americana stuff, it seems like keeping the shekere on the back beat seems to work better than the down beat. I guess it kind of simulates the snare sound when on the back beat. If they play something 6/8 I will usually play a columbia sort of thing with shekere on downbeat. If I want a more New Orleans kind of sound I use a son clave pattern on high-hat against a basic tumbao, and swing it a bit, but I can't play as freely when I play the clave part ,yet.

What a coincidence - LP has got this gizmo as the latest invention


Time for you to claim it as yours!
http://lpmusic.com/Product_Showcase/Wha ... ekere.html

I've used a tambourine on a bass pedal bracket in a similar way in Rock, Americana and Ska as the only drummer. Sometimes in a cymbal type role, and then sometimes hitting the quinto and the tambourine at the same time to fake a snare sound. This is in an "unplugged" situation and not with a full on electric band.

If you check out Mike Spiro in the Talking Drums vid, you can see him doing the same. I'm not sure if that's an invention of his, or if he got it from someone before him.

Good to hear you're out there playing stuff with that same creative spirit Dusty!
They're lucky to have you!
Do I recognize those cherry reds as the Potatos??

Mike wrote:What a coincidence - LP has got this gizmo as the latest invention


Time for you to claim it as yours!
http://lpmusic.com/Product_Showcase/Wha ... ekere.html

I do not enjoy the sound of that thing at all.

I wish a company out there made a louder shekere. It's alot funner and looks much cooler to play than maracas or other shakers. Today I played a Meinl shekere and I found it too quiet. I also played the Jim Grenier LP Shekere. Loud but not loud enough. Not enough high end to cut through.

Funny, I always thought that the various fiberglass shekere were too loud. One of my home made shekere has a real thin gourd. It doesn't have much of a tone from the gourd but it sure is loud. I always thought I would use it if I ever had to play shekere in a metal band.

The old LP one is really loud. It's good if you want to cut through a loud band, but anything else and it sounds pretty bad. A friend was using it for a big rumba group in Cuba, and it cut through drummers and mic'd singers. It's too loud to use in a guiro though.

I'm actually pretty impressed with Pearl and Meinl's fiberglass ones. I haven't played LP's new one. I'm don't like to bring my gourd shekeres around, I'm always worried they'll get dropped.

bengon wrote: I'm don't like to bring my gourd shekeres around, I'm always worried they'll get dropped.

I know that feeling. I give people the evil eye if they even look at mine too hard

I like the organic shekeres, but one of my problems besides its obvious fragility is that sometimes it gets wet and I'm afraid it will sort of melt.. I still haven't applied anything beyond its original oil stain. Suggestions?

I poured polyurethane varnish in to a gourd guiro, and coated the inside with it then hung it upside down to drip dry. It also soaked into the pithy inside wall.

Made it stronger and gave it a brighter sound

Dice