Could be a bit louder, which would require it to be bigger and more expensive, I suppose. I disagree with the other reviewer who said egg shakers are louder; this one's louder than my egg shakers for sure. Makes one set of shaker sounds when you shake it back and forth, another set of sounds when it goes left and right, when you rotate it the thing kind of sounds like a helicopter, and you can also get a different sound when you swing it in a semi-circle, and the sound varies in texture according to how you tilt it through all these moves. Haven't seen anyone in a review or video mention that you can mute it; in fact if your finger(s) are in contact with a surface that's making sound then you are muting that surface. To play it without muting you have to hold it by the corners. Didn't like this at first, but eventually realized that it's just more things the shaker can do and that made me like it even more. When you can put all of these little sounds into a pattern without losing your rhythm then you can start to kick butt on this shaker. I find myself playing it more and more as time goes on. Looks very cool too. Maybe at some point LP will make a big brother for this shaker, maybe 20-25% bigger for a louder and lower sound, I'd get that one too. But this shaker is quite awesome on its own. The Qube is my 11th shaker (some are pairs) and for versatility, quality of sound, looks and fun factor it's either this or my Gon Bops talking shakers (the price of which just went from $6 to $49 so heck with them). PS: just got another one for my brother.
I found it very harsh sounding( understandingly being made for live shows).So I swaped it for the Studio version and it sounded just as great but just that bit softer.Once you start experimenting with you'll find your groove. Great instrument!
It's probably smaller than you think. And it has a simple, harsh sound. Almost like the BB's inside are too large and too few to get anything but a harsh, sharp attack. Much prefer the LP session shaker which costs less, sounds better, and seems to cut through the mix just as well as this does. On the up side, it looks really nice and I'm keeping it as a musical decoration.
This is a unique shaker that gives you some fancy abilities in generating more complex rhythms, BUT, it's not very loud. Chicken egg shakers are louder, so for the price, I would think this would blow the other cheaper shakers off the stage, but not so. Other than that, it is cool.
Big sound. Works best with the LP Conga or LP Egg shaker (blue color - medium sound). I simply cup the LP conga or LP egg shaker under the LP Qube. Gives great, likeable sound dimension!