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The Liquid Triangle (bottom left) has a large triangle welded to a water-filled base

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Bill 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 finish 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 finish, with the other end free to vibrate

The most out-worldly creation is the Galaxy, with two liquid-filled resonating chambers joined by a long circular steel ring orbiting the chambers. The Galaxy is played with the supplied padded beater, but we 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 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 flatter profile 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 finish, 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 fingering the base with the grasping hand. There are similarities between this and the Berimbau - fun to experiment with, and by moving the base away from the body you get differing levels of resonance.