MusicRadar Verdict
A great value instrument that usefully fills a gap in the market.
Pros
- +
Build; finish; power.
Cons
- -
Not the most tonally versatile.
MusicRadar's got your back
We've previously looked at some wonderful cajons from Spanish company Duende. Now we've got our hands on yet another set of Spain's finest percussive instruments: the Elite and the Pro.
The Elite's dimensions are fairly standard at 48cm x 30cm x 31cm. It's robustly made of birch wood (surround and frontplate) with a silicon non-slip seat top.
It sports a rich and classy (some might say slightly conservative) finish with no front-mounted adjustment screws. The snare system on the Elite has three strings that are independently adjustable inside by three guitar-style machine heads and as such are quicker to tweak by hand than key.
Hands On
The Elite is definitely a big boy in terms of sheer power and volume. Its bass response is staggering and that thin birch frontplate (tapa) gives you a powerful and exciting surface to explore. The snare response, however, is minimal and on my test model couldn't be adjusted too widely.

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