So, types of snare in cajon went through several developments to become more than just a box instrument and were transformed into one of the most important percussion instruments in today’s world. One most greater of that development is having a “snare” inside the instrument. Whoever was or were the enthusiasts coming up with such a thought of repurposing an actual snare in a cajon to add a sizzle to the sound was no less than a genius as it brought a revolution to the cajon’s history and players’ experience with it as well.

Now before starting with the snare talk, let’s know about a few features of cajon that are solely associated with the build-ups of a snare. Basically, this box instrument has only three functioning sides out of six, from which the top side is used to be seated, the backside has a sound hole cut on it, and the face or the front part is the only striking side to be played. The face is made out of thin layers of plywood, called “tapa” which has the most important role in the sound texture and in having added snare stretched across its back. Now we know the fundamental construction of a cajon and where the snare is placed inside the instrument. As a percussionist strikes the tapa, the snare adds a buzzing effect to the sound that is produced by the tapa.

So, what a snare is? The literal meaning of snare is a length of wire that is stretched across a drum head to produce a rattling sound. Very prominently, the new-day drummers wanted to develop the cajon in a way that sounds like a drum as near as possible to replace drum kits with this convenient instrument and therefore repurposed drum snare into it. Although in cajon’s scenario, it’s not just a drum snare, it can also be guitar strings to make the buzzing sound. So there are 2 types of a snare. The least famous type of cajon is the one without a snare which is the Peruvian cajon. Usually for not being able to produce a rich sound that has a big range, these type of cajons tends to sound better when played together.

Guitar Strings as Snare

Since the time Paco de Lucia, one of the most famous flamenco guitarists ever took a cajon with him back to Spain, the instrument began its own whole new journey to the modern world. Having quite a similar sound to the staccato of flamenco music, cajon caught his eye with its wide possibility to become an integral part of flamenco music. Guitar strings were added vertically to the back of the tapa to produce a sizzle to the sound. The kind of sound it helps to produce is tighter and more precise than a Peruvian one. This type of snare gives room for more controlled and rapid playing. Tighter strings produce less buzz. Some cajon makers these days use beaded wires or bells attached to the wires. The string settings can be done in many ways. One of these is straight strings with or without bells. But the most relevant way is a diagonal setting of the strings across the top corners, as the players pointed out an issue that the snare would vibrate no matter where they strike the tapa. So strings that are stretched across the corners diagonally made them vibrate only when the top corners are played, leaving the bass totally buzz free and keeping the sound clean and deep.

Drum Snare

The snare cajons are named after the usage of a real drum snare inside the cajon. So the snare consists of the same tightly curled snare wires that are found on a snare drum. Each manufacturer has his own choice of a number of snares, depending upon the model as well but usually, two sets of the snare are found most commonly. Each snare is made of many little wires. The more the wires are in number, more the sizzle it adds to the sound. The snare wires can be arranged and positioned in many possible ways. Usually, the fixed snares are attached to the bracing or the “frame” of the cajon. These are the simplest to be made but cannot be adjusted or muted. The bar-mounted snare system spans from side to side inside a cajon, usually in the upper half. The stationary bar can be fixed or removable depending upon the manufacturer. The angle of the snare wire and distance from the tapa is determined carefully by the builder to maximize the snare sound. If the bar is removable, then the player must get off the cajon to reach inside to take it out. A great feature of an adjustable bar cajon is the control over the snare by adjusting the snare wires. It can simply be switched from a snare-off to a snare-on cajon by muting the snare. The adjustable cajon has a knob or pedal built to one side which allows changing the snare response by simply loosening or tightening the snare wires or string or brushes. This makes the cajon more flexible while having that drum snare slap sound on it. This type of snare doesn’t allow to produce a tighter sound but typically produces a wider sound and is therefore not suitable for highly technical playing, unlike a flamenco cajon. Despite this, cajons having drum snares are great for emulating a drum kit for the above-discussed reasons.

Even though these two types of snares are found the most, cajon builder these days are constantly trying out new things to push the boundaries to the edge and widen the possibilities of specializing snares in their own ways.

Over time, various types and styles of cajon have been developed to meet the requirements of percussionists and suit their genres. The following are but a few.

Peruvian Cajon

The Peruvian cajon is the earliest and most primitive version of the cajon drum. The first version of the Peruvian ones was not strong enough and didn’t produce a refined sound. Being considered by the mass as the original, these cajons traditionally were without any string or snare effect and were all about the tone of the wood. Most of these types of cajons have heavy overtones that usually are achieved by having fixed tapas. Typically, it is made up of hardwood to which a sound hole is glued together in the center of the back panel. The front side is made up of thin laminated wood. The middle part of the instrument produces resonant and deep sounds whereas the corners at the top produce sharp and short sounds.

Cuban Cajon

The Cuban cajon is a little bit different in construction than the other cajon instruments. It is not usually a “sit-on-the-top” cajon, but rather designed to be held by the player. Compared to a Peruvian cajon, it produces sounds that are greatly resonant. Other than that, like a Peruvian one, it similarly didn’t have any snare traditionally. The Cuban cajon is usually made up of wood having four sides. The sides flare outwards towards the thin square top surface. The bottom of this cajon acts as a sound hole and is open. The edges provide higher and separate notes compared to the center, while the middle area provides bassy and deep notes with a properly defined pitch. The Cuban cajons comes in various sizes that are meant to produce different types of sounds, and so named different according to the shapes and sizes. Such names are – Quinto, Conga and Tumba, while Quinto being the smallest and Tumba being the largest in size among these.

Flamenco Cajon

After the modifications were made to Cuban and Peruvian cajons, various other types developed later on. Flamenco is one of that. It is also known for its snare sound and has become one of the most famous and widely used cajon in the world today. The snare comes from having a buzzing sound that comes from guitar strings that are stretched across the back of the tapa inside the box. the sound produced by flamenco cajon is tight and precise which allows for a more controlled and rapid playing. The cajons are typically made up of plywood and have a very good ratio of strength to weight. The flamenco cajons have had quite a few modifications in the past few years like the rounded corners, adjustable and controlled snare response, diffusers for interior sound, etc.

Snare Cajon

Snare cajons are made separately from flamenco ones to create a different snare in the sound than a flamenco cajon. While flamenco cajons are known as snare cajon for having a buzzing sound due to guitar strings that are added against the tapa, the snare cajons are meant to produce the same kind of snare as a drum snare. These cajons are originally constructed by adding the same snare as the one found on a snare drum. Snare cajons typically produce a wider sound and therefore don’t allow for overly technical playing, unlike flamenco cajons. Each manufacturer has their own number of snares, but most commonly two sets of snares are found. Each one is made up of many little wires. The more the wires are in number, the more sizzle they can produce. Having many similarities in the sounds like bass and snare of the drum kit brought popularity amongst the audience and players all over the world to this cajon.

Bongo Cajon

These types of cajons are one of the latest innovations in recent times and are made up in either of two of the following ways. One is by combining two Cuban cajons together that are smaller in size, usually square, octagonal or circular shells of wood. The other method of construction includes a trapezium or rectangular shaped play surface, made up of wood, consist of four sides. The box is partitioned by a small panel into two different sized area, each of which has its own unique pitch of the sound.

Bata Cajon

The Bata cajons are drums that are double-headed that are played across their sides on the player’s lap. Initially, the drums were made up of animal skin, later on, it got replaced by Bata gradually to make the instrument cheaper and more effective. The wooden heads are made up of octagonal or square-shaped Bata and come in various sizes that are meant to produce various kinds of pitches. This cajon produces a dry sound with brighter, crisper, and shorter resonance.

These are some widely used types of cajon that are dominating the world of musical instruments for having their own unique properties and characteristics. These cajons are nowadays the most used and must-haves by percussionists across the world and are preferred over the usual drum kits. Enthusiasts are believed to put their imaginations more and more in the coming times to modify cajons and there will possibly be endless designs to emerge in the future to develop and uplift the cajon industry.