Results 1 to 13 of 13

Thread: Shekere Pedal Project

  1. #1

    User Info Menu

    Default Shekere Pedal Project

    This weekend I drilled a hole into the bottom of a shekere I have and attached a hi hat clutch to it to try to get a pedal shekere going. It worked, the only problem is the beads don't hit the gourd until the rebound, so if I play quarters on the hi-hat pedal I'm getting the sound on the up beat like: 1 Chick 2 Chick 3 Chick 4 Chick. There is an excess of string where the latice is tied off at the bottom, and I'm thinking about pulling out the hi-hat rod and attaching a cable from the pedal chain to the excess string. That way when I push down on the pedal the string pulls the beads into the gourd, hopefully putting the sound on the down beat. However, if I get rid of the rod I have no way to mount the shekere. I'm struggling with what I think is a great idea here so any opinions or suggestions would be much appreciated. I'll try to post a pic, my camera is lost in a box somewhere and my phone won't send the pictures I take, but I'll see what I can do.

  2. #2

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Shekere Pedal Project

    Cool idea GH. Maybe you can make your own out of a smaller gourd so the beads don't have as far to travel between beats. I dunno.

  3. #3

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Shekere Pedal Project

    Normally when I play the shakere, I strike my knee on the down stroke and my other palm on the up stroke. Sort of a Pa Te Pa Te Pa kind of sound. You may think about constructing a hard rubber stop above and below it for the gourd to strike. Not sure how it would work, but you could at least do it on the down stroke side...
    ---- If thine enemy wrong thee, buy each of his children a drum. - chinese proverb

  4. #4

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Shekere Pedal Project

    hey GH, sounds like you have something going there. Keep us informed with the progress you make on this. Quite interesting.
    • Crush Limited Reserve Wenge
    • DW Collectors
    • Sakae Pac-D
    • Roland TD-9
    • Zildjian K/A Cymbals
    • Crush, DW, Pork Pie, Trick Snares
    • MAY Sennheiser, Audio Technica Internal Mics
    • Gibraltar 9600 hardware
    • Protection Racket/RoadRunner Touring cases

  5. #5

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Shekere Pedal Project

    Quote Originally Posted by Gretschhead View Post
    This weekend I drilled a hole into the bottom of a shekere I have and attached a hi hat clutch to it to try to get a pedal shekere going. It worked, the only problem is the beads don't hit the gourd until the rebound, so if I play quarters on the hi-hat pedal I'm getting the sound on the up beat like: 1 Chick 2 Chick 3 Chick 4 Chick. There is an excess of string where the latice is tied off at the bottom, and I'm thinking about pulling out the hi-hat rod and attaching a cable from the pedal chain to the excess string. That way when I push down on the pedal the string pulls the beads into the gourd, hopefully putting the sound on the down beat. However, if I get rid of the rod I have no way to mount the shekere. I'm struggling with what I think is a great idea here so any opinions or suggestions would be much appreciated. I'll try to post a pic, my camera is lost in a box somewhere and my phone won't send the pictures I take, but I'll see what I can do.
    ***************
    HOLA como esTas GRETSCHHEAD Mi amigo Creative Artistic open Minded
    DRUMMER ARTIST (CAT) within alot of aware-ness Wisdom Knowledge*
    THATS VERY COOL amigo getting deep within your Creative Artistic **
    SOUL of your MIND AND PASSIONATE ARTISTIC CREATIVE * SOUL **
    EXCELLENTE' amigo

  6. #6

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Shekere Pedal Project

    I finally got this thing working correctly and man does it sound awesome with the congas! It needs a little work still though, my tape job isn't really cutting it very well and I have to adjust the height of the shekere every so often or I lose volume. If I can get a good design down for the mounting of the shekere I'm probably going to switch to a larger fiberglass one for extra volume.

  7. #7

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Shekere Pedal Project

    dude sounds awesome! if i could mount mt guiro or cabbasa itd be awesome! anyway sounds awesome
    "it aint got no thing if it aint got that swing"

    Yamaha Stage Custom Noveau
    10,12,14,20,14 (standard 2 up 1 down)
    Evans EC2 over Remo Ambassador Resos
    Evans Genera Dry over ambassador resos
    DW 5002 double bass pedal
    Sabian 14 inch AAX Xcelerator hats
    Sabian 14 inch HHX X-plosion crash
    Sabian 16 inch AAX studio crash
    Zildjian 17 inch Z custom crash
    Sabian 21 inch AA rock ride
    Zildjian 18 inch oriental china trash
    Agrazian 10 inch Splash

  8. #8

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Shekere Pedal Project

    Quote Originally Posted by Christiandrummer777 View Post
    dude sounds awesome! if i could mount mt guiro or cabbasa itd be awesome! anyway sounds awesome
    This is fairly new and expensive:

    http://meinlpercussion.com/products/...ot_cabasa.html

  9. #9

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Shekere Pedal Project

    Yea the meinl foot cabasa is pretty cool, but I agree a little pricey. Thats why I went this route, a $10 hi-hat stand and $7 shekere off craigslist, and $4 worth of hardware from home depot .

  10. #10

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Shekere Pedal Project

    Meinl has a very creative staff!!!

  11. #11

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Shekere Pedal Project

    I have to agree BLD, they are definitely putting out some cool new innovative products and seem to be 1 step ahead of the competitors.

  12. #12

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Shekere Pedal Project

    Quote Originally Posted by Gretschhead View Post
    Yea the meinl foot cabasa is pretty cool, but I agree a little pricey. Thats why I went this route, a $10 hi-hat stand and $7 shekere off craigslist, and $4 worth of hardware from home depot .
    Got a picture of that contraption?

  13. #13

    User Info Menu

    Default Re: Shekere Pedal Project

    I lack a camera at the moment, but I'll try get one up soon.

    Basically I just took off the top half of the hi-hat stand, this stand has a 2 part pull rod, so I unscrewed the top part. I got a connecting sleeve, like a long 2 sided nut, and attached an eyebolt to the top of the lower pull rod. I then tied off the excess string from the bottom of the shekere (not all shekeres will have this though) to the eyebolt, so when you push the foot pedal the string pulls. Then I attached the other half of the pull rod to the outside of the stand with tape and a pipe clamp. I drilled a hole in the bottom of the shekere and screwed on the hi-hat clutch upside down so I can tighten it onto the upper half of the pull rod. So now I push on the pedal, the strings pull down and force the loose beads to hit against the gourd. I have a new idea for mounting it though as the taped on rod isn't really cutting it, I'll keep you updated on progress.

Tags for this Thread

Bookmarks

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •