Mic Archive

Instrument

Cajón

A wooden box that the player sits on and plays with hands. Five sides are thick (13-19 mm) wood; the sixth, thinner plywood side is the playing surface (the tapa), and a sound hole is cut in the back (Wikipedia). Many have snare wires or strings inside that rattle against the front (SOS White; SOS Daley).

Sources
6 (6 independent)

Recommended mics

Mics sources recommend

10 setups from 6 sources, 6 of them independent of any mic maker. Each mic shows how many sources name it for that role, and how many of those are independent. Listed alphabetically: there is no ranking.

Studio and stage

Close

The 1 setup behind this: placement and quotes
  • Close Shure SM57
    inside or in front (first named mic in the guide)
    Check out the time tested Shure SM57 Dynamic Instrument Microphone (paraphrase; page links to a retailer)1

Studio

Close

Multi-mic plan

  • AKG C 4141 independent source
  • AKG D1121 independent source
  • Sennheiser MD 4211 independent source
  • cardioid condenser1 independent source
  • kick-drum mic or full-range capacitor1 independent source
The 8 setups behind this: placement and quotes
  • Close Sennheiser e602
    at the port, off to the side and angled in about 45 degrees
    slightly off to the side of the port and angled in at about 45 degree to reduce the 'chuffing' sound2
  • Close SE Electronics X1 (earlier version of the sE X1 S)
    front, a little further back (sizzle and snares)
    a large diaphragm condenser microphone placed a little further back ... to capture the sizzle on the cajon's surfaces2
  • Close Shure SM57
    low on a short boom, pointing up along the front face between the player's legs
    slide an SM57 in as low as I could on a short boom stand pointing up and along the front face of the cajon2
  • Close Lauten Atlantis
    front, angled; for detail not thump
    a large-diaphragm condenser microphone on the front (a Lauten Atlantis) at a bit of an angle3
  • Close KEL Audio HM-7U
    rear, adjusted near the sound hole (open, round low end; jazz/bossa session)
    for the first one (a Brazilian jazz/bossa record) I decided to go for a condenser microphone (a KEL HM-7U)3
  • Close Beyerdynamic M 88
    rear, adjusted near the sound hole (more energy; folk session)
    for the second ... a dynamic microphone (a Beyerdynamic M88) ... I wanted more energy3
  • Multi-mic plan front: Sennheiser MD 421 or AKG C 414 + rear port: Sennheiser MD 421 or AKG D112
    one mic in front, one at the rear port
    A Sennheiser 421 or 414 in the front, placed about three feet ahead of the player (engineer Boris Milan) ... a second 421 several feet from the rear port, slight angle looking at the sound hole (Milan) ... he's experimented with dynamics, such as the AKG D112, in that role (rear mic) (Milan)4
  • Multi-mic plan rear sound hole: kick-drum mic or full-range capacitor + front: cardioid condenser
    one mic at the rear sound hole, one in front
    a kick-drum mic or full-range capacitor model is placed behind the box 'looking' towards the sound hole ... around 20cm away ... a cardioid capacitor mic serves perfectly well ... just below the top edge of the box, angled downwards5

On stage

Inside

  • Shure Beta 52 (earlier version of the Shure Beta 52A)1 independent source
The 1 setup behind this: placement and quotes
  • Inside Shure Beta 52 (earlier version of the Shure Beta 52A)
    in the rear hole, like a kick drum
    The best way to address the cajon is just like a kick drum - a Shure Beta 52 in the hole6

Range

Measured bass-tone spectrum of a test cajon (inside 260 x 280 x 470 mm, 3-ply plywood front, back hole 74-160 mm): three main low-frequency peaks between about 60 and 400 Hz. The lowest peak (taken to be the Helmholtz resonance) rose from 63 to 94 Hz as the hole grew; the front board's (0,0) mode was 131.5 Hz in modal analysis (about 110 Hz expected for a typical thin board), next modes 303 and 373 Hz. Excited by a dropped silicone ball, not a player. Upper slap/snare range not measured.7

Where the sound goes

Two: the vibrating front face (attack, "slap", snare sizzle) and the rear sound hole, which "allow[s] some low-frequency projection" (SOS White). The two radiate in opposite directions, which is why recording one on each side needs a polarity flip (SOS White).

Recording it

Studio: one mic in front, 30-40 cm away just below the top edge, angled down at the playing surface and clear of the player's legs and hands (White); another behind, 20 cm from the hole and offset about 45 degrees to avoid boominess (White; Mixdown agrees on 45 degrees to reduce the "chuffing" of air from the port). Milan (via Daley) puts a 421 or 414 about three feet in front. Record to separate tracks. Live: Pro Sound Web puts a Beta 52 in the hole like a kick drum.

Problems to watch

Close to the port: chuffing, boom (Mixdown, White). Front mic: the player's hands and knees. Rear mic: phase against the front mic.

About the range

None given by any source I opened.

Sources

  1. Kopf Percussion: How To Mic A Cajonretailer · kopfpercussion.com
  2. Mixdown (2025) Mixdown's guide to: Recording the cajonmagazine · mixdownmag.com.au
  3. Rizzo Schettino, A. (2017) Recording Cajon and Mixing Tips, Puremixeducational · puremix.com
  4. Daley, D. (2006) Recording Latin Percussion, Sound On Soundmagazine · soundonsound.com
  5. White, P. (2012) Recording The Cajon, Sound On Soundmagazine · soundonsound.com
  6. Hogan, J. & T. (2016) Accordions & Didgeridoos: Mic Techniques For 'Exotic' Instruments, Pro Sound Webmagazine · prosoundweb.com
  7. ACOUSTICS High Tatras 2009: Frequency and dynamics analysis of bass tone of cajon box drumPeter Kičák · academic · 2009 · 34iac.acoustics.sk