Drum Circle

The following review was submitted by an X8 Drums customer. While we feel the information is helpful, it does not solely represent the views and opinions of all staff members.

Hi X8 Drums,

I thought I'd give you some unsolicited Cajon feedback. You guys are certainly the experts, so I likely will not be telling you anything you don't already know, but here's a novice's view in case it is of any value.

I'm pretty particular about my musical investments (as you already found out!), so I wanted to just be sure I had picked the right Cajon. I got a hold of an LP Soul Cajon, as I was really interested in that one as well and needed to do my due diligence. Bottom line, I stuck with the Toca for several reasons. Here's a brief comparison "review", in no particular order of importance.

Appearance: The finish on the Toca Bordeaux Cajon in my estimation is much nicer than the LP Soul Cajon. The LP was a bit "rougher" in feel, and the paint job just didn't do it for me. The edges where they had taped off the front for the black had a bit of paint bleed, and the LP sticker on the front cheapened the look. Considering the price, I expected a much better look and finish.

Comfort/Seating: The Toca's padded top really helps. Also, the larger surface of the Toca is better for finding a good position to play, and is much better when tilting backward. The angled back of the LP makes that more difficult. Also, I found the Toca to be a bit "softer" on the hands/fingers. I felt like it was easier to get the sounds I wanted without punishing my knuckles. I full recognize that may be a novice user issue, however.

Bass: This is where the LP has the Toca beat. The bass on the LP is much closer (in my mind) to an actual kick drum sound, and is deep and resonant. Every one I showed them to heard that right away, with and without mics.

Snare: Each instrument has a different sound here. I feel like I can get a more of a conga sound from the Toca, while the LP was more of a snare. Just depends on what you want. The LP was definitely crisper, and I probably like the string sound a bit better than the snare sound on the Toca.

Flexibility: This is where the Toca took the lead. While I liked the string sound on the LP, I didn't like the fact that I could not disengage them. The ability to turn off the snares on the Toca was a big plus for me. I don't want every song to sound the same, and taking the snares out of the picture opens up a whole new set of sounds for the Toca, and will allow me to play it on more songs in a gig.

Summing it up, the Toca looks and flexibility made the difference. And frankly, no one will notice any sound differences since they will only hear the Toca! And as you well know, when you add a mic and some good reverbs, the differences diminish greatly.

Thanks again for all of your help.

Sincerely,

Todd J

Labels: cajon, cajon.drum, cajons, latin.percussion, LP, Review, toca, toca.percussion

The only place these djembes are light is on your pocket book. The new Toca line of lightweight hand drums feature authentic Afro-Cuban sound coupled with indisputable value: It's a match made in hand drum heaven. With the Toca Lightweight Hand Drums you receive an excellent combination of value, looks, and sound quality.

Toca Hand Drums feature sculpted shells in a variety of hand painted finishes that covers both the shell and the head, making them eye-catching as well as functional. You can find a Jamaican-inspired Rasta finish with black, red, yellow, and green stripes or an African-themed Earth Tone finish that offers an organic brown/black/tan pattern. The hand drum has a pre-stretched synthetic head and a protective rubber edge along the bottom. The shell itself is also synthetic, and was developed as a hybrid that combines the fundamental components featured in doumbek and djembe drums.

Although this drum is light, the sound quality is definitely not. The Toca has a wide frequency range and fantastic response, delivering both heavy bass tones and resonating crystal clear slaps.

The best thing about the Toca Lightweight Hand Drums? The price. Starting at just $49.99, this is the best drum for those who are on a budget or individuals who are buying in bulk for classrooms and drum circles. Plus, each drum comes with a an adjustable carrying strap and a drawstring-carrying bag.

Choose from three sizes: 9" x 16", 10" x 19", or 12" x 22". The Toca drums are high in sound quality, visually stunning, and are so easy on your wallet you may just may want to own all three.

These drums were introduced at NAMM 2010. Pre-Orders are now being accepted and drums will be available to ship in March.



Toca Lightweights Series Hand Drums, Rasta w/ Strap + Bag



Toca Lightweights Series Hand Drums, Earthtone w/ Strap + Bag

Labels: drum.circle.facilitator, freestyle, hand drums, Music Education, NAMM, toca, toca djembe, toca.percussion, toca.shell

Check out great deals on musical gear from Latin Percussion and Toca. All sale prices are good until 12/31/09 or while supplies last.

	Toca Wood Cajon, Bordeaux Sale Price: $179.99
	Toca Wood Cajon, Honey or Green Burst Sale Price: $179.99
	Toca Wood Cajon, Burl Oak Sale Price: $179.99
	CP Wood Bongos, Natural or Dark Finish Sale Price: $43.99
	CP Wood Conga Set, Natural Wood Finish Sale Price: $249.00
	Toca 14" African Mask Mechanically Tuned Djembe w/ Bag Sale Price: $119.99
	LP Aspire Bongo Kit Sale Price: $119.99
	World Beat 4-Piece Rhythm Essentials Kit Sale Price: $21.99

Labels: latin.percussion, LP, percussion, toca, world.percussion

In the August issue of Downbeat magazine you'll find a great review of the new Toca Freestyle Djembes in Antique Gold and Silver. Below, we have included a copy of the piece as well as a transcription.

Toca Freestyle Djembe: Full-Bodied Satisfaction

Toca Percussion has retooled its award-winning Freestyle djembe - a chaliced-shaped, single-headed hand drum with roots in the West African countries of Guinea and Mali.

Instead of employing the traditional method of carving the instrument from the trunk of a tree, Toca uses a patented shell made from synthetic PVC material for these djembes. This makes the Freestyle djembe amongst the lightest and the most durable models on the market. The PVC shell produces a bright resonance that allows for easy tone production and makes the drum an excellent choice for school programs and drum circles.

Toca puts hand-selected goat skin heads on the Freestyle djembes, providing an important organic element often lacking in all-synthetic models. The skins on the four djembes I played all had excellent quality heads with even thickness and no blemishes.

The new Freestyle djembes feature a low mass bold tuning system, unlike traditional djembes that use a somewhat complex rope tuning system. The Freestyle djembes are easily tuned with a small wrench that comes with the drums. The tuning mechanism provides for quick, practically effortless tuning of a wide range of tensions. The bolts on the Freestyle djembes have protective rubber sleeves on them, which protect the player's legs and enhance the look of the drum. A non-slip protective rubber collar is located on the bottom of the instruments.

The new Freestyle djembes are available in two new hand-painted finishes - antique gold and antique silver - to give them a distinctive, North African look. They come with a choice of four different head sizes: 9-inch, 10-inch, 12-inch and 14-inch. The heights of the drums are relative to the head sizes, making the 12-inch and 14-inch more of a traditional djembe size and the smaller drums are musch like a North African dumbek. All sizes produce full-bodied sounds with sharp high-end slaps and satisfying bass tones. - Doug Brush

AUGUST 2009 DOWNBEAT

In addition to the Freestyle Djembes, Toca also offers a line of Freestyle Didgeridoo instruments.

Labels: djembe, djembe.tuning, toca, toca djembe

Properly maintaining your Toca congas will help keep them sounding and looking great for years to come. After reading this blog you should have a good understanding of how to maintain your Toca conga drums.

It is a good idea to slightly loosen your heads after playing. Going in a circular motion, give each tension nut a half turn clockwise to loosen. Do this, working your way completely around the drum twice. This simple procedure will help to lengthen the life of your heads. During the manufacturing process, (before skin heads are mounted to the drums) heads are soaked in water to make them pliable for mounting. Due to this process, some of the oils are depleted from the heads. To achieve the best possible sound, we recommend rubbing a small amount of hand lotion containing lanolin into your drumhead, once they have been tuned. This will make the skins sound better, increasing volume and tonality, because the skin can relax to vibrate better. Occasionally the tension rods will squeak when tightening or loosening. This occurs when the lubricant between the nuts and washers dries up. If this occurs apply some Toca Lug Lube. You can keep fingerprints off your shell with a chamois polish cloth.

When putting on a new bison conga head it is a good idea to turn the head upside down and fill the inside with 1/2" of cold water. Let soak for two to three hours. This will make the head more pliable and will make it seat on the bearing edge. Tighten the head until there is no valley on top and it is even all the way around. Let sit overnight and tune with method described above.

Toca Hardware Maintenance kits are available with any Toca Conga order at X8 Drums.

Toca Synergy Conga Set

Toca Sheila E Custom Series Congas

Labels: bison.conga.head, skin.heads, toca, toca.conga, toca.conga.maintenance, toca.lug.lube, toca.percussion

Virtually all percussion instruments that are manufactured today are made in Bangkok, Thailand. Bangkok's close proximity to the raw material and skilled labor needed to manufacture percussion instruments make it an ideal location. Brands such as Tycoon, Latin Percussion, Toca, Meinl, and Fat Congas to name a few are all manufactured in Thailand. In fact Latin Percussion and Toca are subsidiaries of Kaman Music. However, only Tycoon owns its own factory in Bangkok. Most other brands rent factory space in Bangkok to manufacture their line of percussion instruments. The factories rented are in many cases generically set-up to produce all sorts of products - not just percussion instruments. That's not to say that these brands aren't quality, it's just the reality.

Because of Tycoon's specialized factory for making percussion instruments, there are some cases where companies commission Tycoon to manufacture their percussion instruments where they are eventually shipped to the states and sold to you under a different brand name.

Tycoon Percussion has been manufacturing high-end percussion instruments in their own factory for 20 plus years and has just recently decided to market the Tycoon Percussion brand in the U.S. market. We decided to carry the Tycoon percussion line because of their excellent reputation and experience in making top quality instruments. The Tycoon Percussion brand name is very well known and respected in Europe and Asia and is now on its way to becoming a top competitor in the U.S market. We're excited to offer these high quality instruments directly to you at the lowest guaranteed prices. Enjoy!!

Labels: bangkok, bongo, conga, djembe, fat.congas, latin.percussion, meinl, percussion.instrument, tambourine, toca, tycoon.percussion