MEINL SIGNATURE HAND PERCUSSION

88 RHYTHM MAY 2010
EXCLUSIVE
SPARK SHAKERS
have a tactile, perforated UFO
shape containing steel pellets
LIQUID TRIANGLE
has a large triangle welded
to a water-fi lled base
PRICES
Bill Saragosa Line:
Helix Bowl, £68
Liquid Triangle, £70
Galaxy, £85
Spark shaker, £20
Headed Spark shaker,
£20
Spin Spark shaker, £22
Clamshell Spark
shakers, £36
Wakah shaker, £17
Cone Stack shaker, £75
Luis Conte Artist
Series Studio shaker
(red), £13
Luis Conte Artist Series
Live shaker (black), £13
Luis Conte Artist Series
Stadium shaker
(grey), £13
CONTACT
Active Music
Distribution Ltd
7 Goosegreen
Trading Estate
47 East Dulwich Road
London
SE22 9BN
Tel: [phone]
Website: www.meinlp-
ercussion.com
ESSENTIAL SPEC
RECOMMENDS
Spark’ shaker features a regular Spark shaker
joined via an adjustable screw to a circular
metal base that radically changes the pitch of
the instrument as you loosen or tighten it. The
third Spark shaker features a goatskin head
on one side with the other sporting a fl atter
profi le than the rest. The wooden Wakah
shaker is small enough to be cupped in the
hand, with two separate chambers joined by a
plastic membrane and a mutable sound hole
to control its subtle ‘wah’ sounds.
Meinl’s Clamshell shakers have a similar
Spark shape but a smooth fi nish, a split
middle and a plastic membrane that changes
its tone when squeezed. Luis Conte’s trio of
signature shakers are all the same light
plastic shape and are essentially three shakers
in one easy-to-play design. They’re colour
coded, with red being the softest tone, black
when you need more volume, and grey
being the loudest.
Hands on
The Helix Bowl is gripped gently, held to your
belly and struck or scraped down the helix
with either end of the beater, producing an
eerie ‘boing’ tone that’s controlled by fi ngering
the base with the grasping hand. There are
B
ill Saragosa might not necessarily
be a household name but it was he
that devised the revolutionary Spark
Shakers that we will examine later,
as well as some brand new ‘metal’ percussion
creations. Meinl’s association with master
percussionist Luis Conte is well established
with a signature range that includes congas,
bongos and timbales. Here, though, we
examine his trio of dual signature shakers.
Build
The Helix Bowl looks like it should be
attached to a Dalek, consisting of a steel alloy
hollow base cup with a wobbly steel spiral
welded to the base. Meinl include a beater
with the choice of metal or rubber striking
surfaces, and there’s a drastic difference in
both feel and sound in each. The steel alloy
exterior has a black nickel fi nish that’s classy
as well as looking durable. Liquid Triangle
again has a similar shaped base but this time
it’s a closed design that contains water.
Welded to the top is a large triangle in the
same fi nish, with the other end free to vibrate.
The most out-worldly creation is the Galaxy,
with two liquid-fi lled resonating chambers
joined by a long circular steel ring orbiting the
chambers. The Galaxy is played with the
supplied padded beater, but I also had great
results using timpani and marimba mallets.
The Cone-Stack is the largest model among
Saragosa’s range of shakers. Resembling salt
and pepper pots from the USS Enterprise, they
are essentially two steel alloy shakers that can
be played like maracas or screwed together to
achieve a formidable four-chambered ‘stereo’
effect. The Spark shakers are so easy to play,
with a tactile, perforated coated steel UFO
shape containing coated steel pellets. The’Spin
MEINL SIGNATURE
HAND PERCUSSION
From £13 Meinl joins forces with Bill Saragosa and Luis Conte.
Charlie Price discovers the joys of metal and water
RHY176.gear_meinl 88 19/3/10 2:19:38 pm