Meinl CAJ9SNT-M pickup cajon, American white ash

General

Meinl's CAJ9SNT-M is a pickup cajon, which means it has a active system built-in behind the American white ash frontplate. You play it like you would any other cajon. Simply take a seat on the cushion on top and strike the frontplate with your hands, or even your heels. What happens after that, however, is a bit different from what usually goes on inside a cajon. The sound is picked up, preamplified and sent to external speakers through a jack connection. Thanks to the integrated long-lasting battery, you can simply plug and play. For these reasons, the CAJ9SNT-M pickup cajon is better suited for larger stages than its acoustic cousins.

Internal workings

When you strike the pickup cajon's frontplate, you create a sound that resonates through the body. It is then picked up by the snare wires - which are adjustable with the String Mute System - that give it its sizzle. After that, the sound is picked up by the B-Band by UKKO DST Pickup mic, with its active A1.2 preamp system and Shadow volume control. This allows you to adjust to the sound and volume of your pickup cajon, something you can't do with a purely acoustic instrument. Then the sound gets sent to he preamplifier and through to the jack connector, which takes it away towards a speaker and into the great wide open.

Special feet

To play the cajon, you have to sit on top of it, and luckily the padded seat provides plenty of comfort and the edges and corners have been rounded. When you play it, the cajon is bound to move about a bit, and it might even tip over a little. To prevent anything like that from damaging your instrument, the bottom of the cajon is fitted with special rubber feet. But besides protection, these feet serve another purpose, as they prevent its sound from being distorted due to direct contact with the ground.