Best Castanet Reviews 2023

Our first product comes from Meinl, a company with a long tradition of making superb-quality Latin and African instruments. Their products are marked with high-quality materials, with an excellent finish. Meinl instruments are concert-grade, so, if you want the best of the best, you need to go to them. They also promote artists and have their own artists test the instruments.

Talking about their castanets, the FC2 Concert Castanets are some of the most beautiful castanets we've ever seen. They're made out of rosewood, which is both beautiful, durable, and produces a great sound. They're standard size, so those with smaller hands might have some difficulty in handling them. FC2s are made for concerts as well as flamenco.

It should be noted that these castanets are nearly professional-grade. Their high quality is certainly commendable, and they produce a rich, cutting sound, the kind you’d like them a pair to produce. Being made in traditional style, they also feature a slip knot and a cord in order for you to adjust them better for your hands.

For those without time, here’s a short list of the product’s features.

• Rosewood construction
• Rich and crisp resonance
• Flamenco and concert size
• Traditional style
• Slip knot and cord for adjustment
• Standard size

Overall, Meinl is one of the best companies when it comes to Latino instruments, and their FC2 castanets are excellent. They sound awesome, and, with some dedication and care, you’ll be playing with them for a long time.

Unless you’re a music teacher or musician, when you think about Suzuki, you first think about motorcycles – but we are talking about a different company here. Suzuki Musical Instrument Corporation makes musical instruments for children and beginners, so they can learn to play, as well as advanced musicians. Officially founded in 1953, Suzuki Musical has become the world’s leading provider of instruments within the music education arena – from pre-school to the professional level. They have products that range from simple beginner’s recorders and rhythm sticks, to a their sophisticated line of acoustic grand pianos, digital pianos and other electronic instruments.

Today we’re presenting Suzuki’s CW-200 Wooden Castanets. They’re some of the least expensive castanets out there, but they perform very well, and are best for beginners looking to learn how to play them, or for children if you're planning to introduce them to instruments. The product is also well-made, so it won't break and will last you a long time.

They also feature a very good and full sound, something you wouldn't really expect from a cheap product like this one. They'll not measure up to Meinl castanets, as those are really professional-grade, but they're good enough and will approximate the appropriate sound, giving you a better sense of what a pair of castanets should sound like when you're starting out.

As before, here’s a list of the product’s features:

• Very affordable product
• Features finger loops
• Wood construction
• Excellent for beginners and children
• Solid-quality sound
• Very durable

All in all, if you need a pair of castanets when you’re starting your flamenco lessons, you can always count on Suzuki’s CW-200 Wooden Castanets. They’re sturdy, wooden, and produce an acceptable sound that’s very similar to the sound produced by professional-grade castanets.

Jale is a Spanish company, seated in Valencia; so, if you’re getting your castanets from them, you’re getting them right at the source. Jale specializes in castanets for professionals and semi-professionals, but it’s got a wide assortment of beginner instruments, too. Its castanets are even accepted in advanced courses on conservatoriums. Jale products are made in traditional styles and are of exceptional quality.

The Jale product we're presenting in this article is the Jale Semi-Professional Spanish Castanets. As the name says, these castanets are perfectly tuned for semi-professionals, although they could be used by professionals as well. They’re made of chestnut wood, which is the traditional material used to make castanets. They also feature a reddish finish, in order to make them more stylish and in tune with your flamenco dress.

When it comes to the sound they produce, Jale Pulida Caoba castanets are superb. The clicks are crisp, loud, and rich. The chestnut wood is even better than rosewood and produces an even better sound. The castanets are also extremely durable, so only little maintenance is required. They also feature cords so you can adjust them to your hands; the castanets come in two sizes: 5 and 8.

Here’s a list of the product’s most prominent features:

• Chestnut wood construction
• Cords for size adjustment
• Semi-professional item
• Durable
• Requires little maintenance

Like we said, if you want a really good pair of castanets, go with Jale. Its castanets are prime quality and sound awesome, especially in the hands of a professional. These Spanish Semi-Professional Castanets are certainly the top product on our list, and we would definitely recommend it.

Our penultimate products also come from a dedicated Latino instrument company. We're talking here about Latino Percussions, or LP for short. This manufacturer focuses all its energy on creating ultimate products, sticking to traditional manufacturing materials and techniques. However, it also makes more contemporary devices, if you fancy them.

If you're a person who plays a Cajon, you may also want a finger castanet to go with it. Well, today you're in luck. The Latino Percussion Cajon Castanets is one such castanet—small and compact, it attaches easily to your finger via Velcro and thanks to its O-ring design. This product is made of ABS plastic, so it's durable and light.

When it comes to producing sound, this castanet produces a very high-pitch sound. Not being made of wood, the sound won’t be authentic, so you probably won’t use it in your Spanish dance class. However, for accompanying a Cajon, there is no better instrument.

These are the product’s defining features:

• O-ring design rope
• Double-face Velcro
• Made of ABS plastic
• Light and durable
• High-pitch sound

In the end, this may not be a traditional castanet, but it’s not meant to be used with traditional dances. Instead, this is a perfect companion for a Cajon, so, if you play one, you definitely want to check it out.

For our last product, we've got something a little bit different. Our last castanet comes from Green Tones, an eco-friendly company that specializes in creating instruments for small children. It was founded by the Hohner company, and it’s got over 160 years of experience, so you know it’s a company to trust.

Today, we're presenting its Frog Castanet. Small and cute, it has a green top with eyes to look like a frog with its mouth open. The instrument is a smart way to introduce your child to music, and the froggy design makes it a pretty toy too, so your child will be interested in it. The castanet is small enough to be easily handled by a child's hand, so you don't have to worry about sizing.

When it comes to the sound, the Frog doesn’t produce top-notch tunes, but, then again, it doesn’t need to. The castanet is covered by Rubberwood coating that makes sure the instrument doesn’t croak prematurely. On top of that, in accordance with the company’s green policy, the Rubberwood is chemical-free and so is the paint.

Here are some of this product’s features for you to consider:

• Kid-friendly design
• Rubberwood coating
• Highly durable
• Small enough for a child’s hand
• Chemical-free paint and Rubberwood

If you’ve got a small child you’re looking to introduce to music, this might be the perfect toy. The product is very child-friendly, due to being small enough for a 3-year-old’s hand, as well as its coating and paint being chemical-free.