Grab a Cajon and turn it into a hybrid with built-in electronic sounds!
Unique and versatile, the EC-10 EL Cajon allows percussionists to enrich their music with electronic sounds.
Please note:, The EC-10 remains a great sounding acoustic instrument, so we're not talking about a digital surrogate. Let's say it is a Cajon with all the famous Roland percussion technology, which allows you to mix a multitude of sounds with the normal typical percussive voice, such as tambourines, shaker e snare drums, electronic drums, sound effects and much more.
Fully self contained, with built-in amplification and battery operation, the EC-10 EL Cajon puts the dynamic world of hybrid percussion in the hands of cajon lovers.
• A unique hybrid instrument, combining a true acoustic cajon with Roland percussion technology
• Standard cajon dimensions (50 x 30 x 30 cm), with sapele wood front surface
• 30 electronic kits to add to the acoustic sound
• Each kit includes two independent sounds that can be triggered by two of
verse areas of the front surface
• A versatile selection of acoustic and electronic percussion sounds to support all genres of music
• Also includes studio-recorded cajon sounds, which will refine the acoustic sound, giving more depth and power to the performance
• Intuitive control panel for kit selection, volume control, dual head / edge trigger balance and more
• Integrated amplifier and coaxial speaker
• Up to 12 hours of continuous use with 6 AA batteries
A true acoustic Cajon and a Roland sound module in one instrument
Thanks to its compact size and versatility, the cajon has become one of the most popular instruments among percussionists, from local jams and street performances to real performances in the best venues. With its built-in Roland sound module and independent head and edge sensors, the EC-10 expands the organic simplicity of the cajon to break new ground in any genre of music. Enhance your performances with a djembe or tambourine, give a new twist with a TR-808 style snare drum, or give the piece a twist with an electronic kick drum. Studio-recorded cajon sounds are also great for giving more voice to the instrument in terms of depth, size, and punch.
Very easy to use while playing
The controls are housed in the upper part of the EC-10, designed for quick access and ease of use even while playing. Using two keys it is possible to scroll through the various categories, while with the other two you can choose which variation you want to use within the category. Once this is done, with the volume control on the rear panel you can adjust the volume of the electronic sound, and use the Trigger Balance knob to adjust the balance between the sounds of the two triggers. You can even modify the sensitivity of the triggers to suit your playing.
Complete and battery powered
Part of the cajon's popularity is due to its completeness and simplicity. While containing a lot of technology, the EC-10 maintains both these characteristics, for an instrument that is always ready to be played. The built-in amplifier and speaker offer a lot of quality and the batteries guarantee up to 12 hours of continuous use, to really play anywhere! There is also a convenient input to play music from your smartphone or any song player you have. And since the EC-10 is a true acoustic instrument, you can always turn off the electronics and play it like a traditional instrument.
Roland EC-10 El Cajon How to play
Roland EC-10 ElCajon Playing Technique
Here is the interview with the project manager
Q: First, could you let us know about the background and process of development of the EL Cajon?
A:
I have been working in marketing and development of Electronic Drums (V-Drums) for many years. In the past twenty years, we have successfully expanded the Electronic Drums business, and V-Drums are recognized as the top brand in the worldwide market. However, even nowadays, the electronic drumkit is mainly used as for home practice, as a replacement for acoustic drums (because of noise). I feel unsatisfied about that.
On the other hand, Roland have been developing Hybrid Drums and Acoustic Drum Triggers for acoustic drummers. After we launched the latest model RT-30 series (See the picture, right) in January 2015, more acoustic drummers have accepted our electronic drum products and many drummers tend to use our drum trigger to make create their own drum sound on the live stage-no matter how big the venue. Based on this fact, I am considering what concepts and products we can propose for the market, using the sensing technology of Hybrid drums.
After globally researching the percussion market, we understand that that the peak of the 'Cajon boom' in the market has already passed. However, the cajon is still well-accepted all over the world, it is sold at an average rate of 1 unit per day in music shops in Tokyo or Nagoya (that means about 50,000 units sold in Japan of the year). Also, the cajon does not require any specific playing technique, which means all music lovers enjoy playing Cajon casually. Furthermore (this is very important), there is no stand-alone Cajon in the market that combines electronic layered sound on the acoustic sound. SoI started to think“We can make some new business with Electronic Layered Concept”
When I told this concept to one of my friends who was working in Digital Piano R&D Department, he gave me the push I needed and said “Why don't you make a sample instead of thinking”. We purchased a user-produced Cajon Kit form a well-known European cajon manufacturer and assembled the speaker unit and piezo sensor within the cajon kit. We tested it by connecting it to aV-Drums sound module. That is the start of the EL Cajon's development.
Q : How did the first prototype of the El Cajon turn out?
A : 
It was terrible! It was painful to play. No acoustic resonance even when hitting so hard. We could never say that it was a Cajon (see the picture, right). However, we felt comfortable when we had an electronic tambourine sound on the cajon. It gave me confidence and allowed me to think “We can make something better and it's possible to create a product, if we develop the electronic layered sound combined with the acoustic sound”
Q : What was the most difficult aspect in the process of developing the product from the first prototype to the final version?
A : The acoustic sound (cabinet resonance) and adjustment of the triggering consistency
Q: What do you mean by difficulty of achieving a good acoustic sound? You didn't have a good acoustic sound from the beginning?
A: No, we didn't. It sounded so muffled, like a suitcase with many jackets inside. Since we had made a speaker hole on the playing board and installed some electronic parts, we could not get a good sound in the beginning. After we modified the position or size of speaker units within the cabinet, we finally got the standard acoustic sound that we can recognize and legitimately calla cajon.
Q : Is the EL Cajon's sensing different from V-Drums?
A : Yes, it is. An electronic pad from our V-Drums has a piezo sensor under the mesh or rubber head to detect the vibration, which sends an electric signal to the sound module. The EC-10 needed customized mechanics to detect the upper middle and top edge area of the cajon to make the two different-positional sound. (See the picture, right) Also, it has a speaker unit inside the cabinet-we needed to make a counteraction to avoid false-triggering that came from the unexpected vibration of the speaker. It was
so important to develop the suitable software program within the EC-10's internal electronics to solve this issue.
Q
: Clearly there were many things you had to do to achieve a good acoustic sound. Was there anything else you had to do when layering the electronic sound?
A : The EC-10has three sound groupsthat include 30kinds of different sounds. Each sound group has a different concept or function;
The Cajon group has 10 kits, which utilize the acoustic sound of the EC-10 Cajon as the main ingredient, while we use the electronic layered sound to add a little spice and make the EC-10 Cajon sound more dynamic. There are some sounds that, when you add to the acoustic sound, you cannot tell the difference. But it is our aim to make one sound with acoustic and electronic elements. After playing the 'hybrid' sound with the acoustic and electronic elements together and then mute the electronic layered sound, you can tell the difference very clearly
The Percussion grouphas 10 kits which can layer some typical percussion instruments over the acoustic sound of the cajon, such as a Tambourine, Shaker and Djembe. Normally, it's not possible to play both instruments at the same time with only two hands. With the EC-10, you can easily play many percussion sounds without bringing those all instruments together with a cajon – this is a new proposal from Roland to the cajon player.
The SFX group also has 10 kits which basically includes many electronic sounds. Together with the acoustic sound of the EC-10, it's possible to create a new style of
cajon performance or sound that we have never seen before.
In a big concert hall, you can get a more powerful sound by connecting the line out (Electronic Sound Out) to the PA system. In that case, it would be more effective to use a microphone to capture the EC-10 acoustic sound and balance the acoustic and electronic sounds through the desk.
Q:Can I ask you about the graphic on the playing plate on the front of the cajon?
A : It's a good question. This graphic design includes several meanings. The most important point is designed to show a guide-line, so that the user can unconsciously place their hands in the proper position to play the EC-10(See the picture above). When you place the hands above this eclipse line, you get the proper triggering to play the EC-10.
Q : You mentioned the graphics have several meanings?
A : We tried to show this design as “moon and sun”. It'san idea to give make the speaker hole some kind of natural or meaningful design, rather than just being a hole for a speaker. “Moon and sun” also means “male and female” and musically it's related with a minor chord and a major chord. We thought it would make sense to indicate that the EC-10 is a real musical instrument.
Q: Lastly, is there anything that you would like to tell the EC-10 customer as the producer/leader of R&D of the EC-10 product?
A: Well, I want to simply say “thank you” to the customer who purchases an EC-10. Hopefully, they can show this EC-10 to their surrounding neighbors, families, friends, musicians-to make people smile with their EC-10 performance.I hope they will have a lot of fun while playing it.I'm personally looking forward to seeing uploadedvideos from real customerson YouTube, Facebook and other social mediafrom people all over the world.
