Best cajons according to redditors

You know, the thing is, this isn't a musical instrument, it's a toy. It's kind of like one of those teddy bears, where you pull a string, and it says "Hello". He would probably be amused by it, and would think that you were very thoughtful, but I don't see him actually seeing it as a musical instrument.

If you decide that you'd rather want a real musical instrument, there are some options:

If your price range tops out at the ~$60 the roll up drum mat would cost, then you can maybe get a cheap cajon, something like this. It won't be professional grade, but it will be a reasonably versatile instrument. This is probably something like the drum equivalent of the acoustic guitar one would play next to a campfire. If he's the tinkerer / DIY-er type, maybe a "make your own cajon kit" is an option too.

If you are willing to stretch the budget to a bit over $100, then you could obviously afford a much better cajon, but also some sample pads start to come into the picture. The KAT KTMP-1 is reasonably well regarded, and pretty cheap. It can be extended with a kcik pedal, and a hi-hat controller, so it can somewhat feel like playing a drumset. There are some other options, like this one from Alesis but those are starting to get expensive. Some drummers actually use sample pads as part of their acoustic setup for additional effects, so something like this is not necessarily just a temporary thing until he gets a kit, but maybe something that would see some use even in conjunction with a kit.

Here ya go

Get a set of these. https://www.amazon.com/Remo-RemOs-Tone-Control-Rings/dp/B0002J6H2Y

Meinl has kits. I purchased one and assembled/stained it myself.

You can buy them on Amazon

Here are a few pics of mine: one
two
three

Cheaper and more customization if you already have wood glue, clamps, etc..
I also highly recommend an orbit sander.

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Sela-SE-005-Cajon-Bag/dp/B00N1I4A1I/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&qid=1467457732&sr=8-9&keywords=Cajon+bag

I went for this. I got it just before the uk game expo and it's possibly the best boardgame related purchase I've ever made. It's really, really sturdy, reasonably padded, can be carried like a carrier bag, as a rucksack, and as an over the shoulder bag, it's not officially waterproof but it been keeping the rain off well.

I've got a half mile walk to my lgs and do it every week, I had it stuffed full and on my back back and forth to our hotel at the expo and it just worked brilliantly. It holds 7 standard (TtR, Kingdom Builder, Eldritch horror) sized boxes with space around the edges for little boxes and there's a zip pocket of the side. I've managed to take 13 games, drinks, snacks, and a little brolly in this and it's still been really comfortable on my back.

Obviously it's £30 not £15 but it's the price of a game to make hauling games around an absolute breeze, couldn't be happier with it.

There are a lot of cajon bags out there, not all will be poorly made.

I have this one and it's been fine for the 6 months I've owned it.

Happy Birthday!!
Man, these would be super helpful to record with

I have a cajon that doubles as a nightstand, extra chair, foot stool for reaching high things. Then every once in a while I remember its a drum and jam out! Good purchase.

Tunebot


Moongels


Cajon

I'd get a new beater for the cajon.

https://www.amazon.com/Gibraltar-SC-FLTSOFTY-Cajon-Beater/dp/B009I4R4TY

That or even a bomber would be better than hard felt.

[here](http://www.Gibraltar.com/ SC-FLTSOFTY Cajon Beater https://www.amazon.com/dp/B009I4R4TY/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_apa_i_V7vNDbP8QZE1Z)

https://www.amazon.com/Meinl-Percussion-Snares-Made-Europe-Baltic-SCAJ1LB-NT/dp/B00EZJRJJ2

Cajon (percussion)

Melodica

Ocarina

Kalimba

Beginner violin

Tin Whistle

Recorder

A lot of these may seem simple to play (or not "real" instruments), but proficiency in even these type of instruments is good. And as someone has already said, buying used opens up more possibilities.

Good, cheap, fun!

Strongly recommended

Meinl VivaRhythm VR-CAJ2GO Fold-able Pop Up Cardboard Cajon-2-Go with Internal Snares