Güiro: the best wood, metal and polymer guiros on the market

The best wooden güiros:

1. Nino Nino 4 Percussion Set
2. Nino Nino 515 Rhythmik Set
3. Thomann TKP Guiro Beech
4. Thomann TKP Guiro Shaker Beech
5. Thomann TKP Guiro Tone Block Beech
6. Thomann TKP Guiro small Beech
7. Nino Nino 520 Guiro Shaker
8. Guiro Nino Nino 561 Agogo
9. LP 249 Cuban Guiro
10. Meinl GU1AM Guiro

The best plastic güiros:

1. Nino Nino 581R
2. LP 243 Super Guiro
3. Meinl GU7BK Fiberglass

The best metal güiros:

1. LP 452 Multi Guiro Metal
2. LP 305 Merengue

The best wooden güiros

The wooden guiro is the most similar to the traditional guiro, originally made from the shells of elongated gourds. It has the most natural sound and the greatest capacity to produce woody overtones that enrich the band's musical performance.

Nino Percussion is a specialist in the manufacture of sets with small percussion instruments. This beautiful pack is a great sample of what they are willing to offer for Latin music lovers.

Materials and Design

The güiro, stick and claves are made of pine wood, while the eggs, banana and apple are made of common PET plastic. The main benefit of pine is sound quality, although it also has good resistance. PET, on the other hand, offers durability and sound clarity. The triangle is made of stainless steel and has the highest strength of all the instruments in this set.

The güiiro has a samba design. The shakers are shaped like apples, bananas and eggs, which is very appealing to children from the ages of two and up. This set is ideal for strengthening children's motor skills and can be useful to kids up to twelve years of age.

Sound

It has an excellent sound for a pine güiro and mainly stands out for the clarity of its area with 28 rings. It has a good volume and can be tapped for more percussive sounds. That is why it's an ideal instrument not only to accompany samba, but also other styles such as Cuban son, cumbia and guaguancó.

The food-shaped shakers have excellent resonance and the reverb is a blast. They are heard with a generous clarity that the little musicians are sure to appreciate. The triangle, on the other hand, gives beautiful harmonics. It also includes an African caxixi with a very characteristic sound that complements the rest of the instruments very well.

Conclusion

This Nino Percussion set is an ideal accompaniment for your children. We love it because it sounds considerably good despite being inexpensive. We also like the striking design of the shakers that give a tropical feel to the whole set. We recommend it for children from three to twelve years of age. Find the best price at Thomann.

This pack offers an impressive sound quality and range of nuances. In it our little musician will find everything he needs to become a great master of small percussions.

Materials and Design

It has two güiros. One of them is conventional and made of pine wood. The second is a mini güiro that, according to the manufacturer, is made of fiberglass. However, our experience with this type of instrument leads us to believe that it's made of plastic, probably PET. Both are of good quality, although the wooden one has a better resistance.

This is one of the most complete small percussion sets on the market because it has a wooden güiro, a plastic güiro, an agogo güiro, a medium sized triangle, a pair of plastic maracas, a racquet tambourine, claves and energy chimes. To complete the set, there is a double caxixi and several shakers in egg, banana and triangle shapes.

Sound

The conventional güiro has a bright and quite clear sound, while the two-tone agogo is excellent and gives a woody sound with good overtones. Whether you make a scratchy or thumping sound, these two guiros will make you happy because the sound is warm and loud.

Shakers and maracas offer a good quality sound, while other instruments such as the triangle and the energy chime produce sustained harmonics, with excellent vibration and great volume.

Conclusion

This set will allow you to explore different woody tones and the goodness of synthetic sound. It's very useful for the amateur or semi-professional percussionist. But it's also a complete playful musical game that will reinforce all the sensory and motor senses of your little ones. Find the best Thomann price on this link.

The TKP Guiro Beech is considered a children's instrument. But the truth is that semi-professional percussionists recommend it because its characteristics exceed the rating assigned to it by Thomann.

Materials and Design

It's made of beech wood (Fagus sylvatica), which has a medium density like pine. However, its elasticity is much higher and therefore it's quite resonant. It also has excellent shock resistance and many users have reported that it's stronger than some professional LP models.

It's of medium size and has 28 grooves or scraper rings with shallow incision depth and not very wide. The wooden scraper is somewhat fragile, so you may prefer to use a plastic or metal scraper. Although it may appear to be solid inside, it's actually hollow and has two holes in the back for fastening.

Sound

The sound is a little opaque. When the surface is scratched, there are no prolonged vibrations and this detracts from the nuances of the performance. This also affects resonance and sustain, because the sound is expected to be prolonged, sustained. In addition, we think it somewhat lacks volume.

Now, we are not saying that it's a bad instrument and we should throw it away. What we mean is that it doesn't match the very positive comments given to it by some. However, its sound is ideal for musical styles such as Latin jazz, since percussionists of this genre like a slightly opaque sound in the güiro.

Conclusion

Thoman has created a güiro with an excellent quality construction for its resistance to shocks and the polished finish of the wood. Its sound is not as wonderful as some buyers claim, but it's not bad either, and Latin jazz lovers will appreciate it. Interested? Find the best price at thomann.

This is one of the most versatile cheap guiros we can find. We are so glad to know that it exists, because it seems to be a total success. That is why we have selected it for this list and will analyse it in detail in this review.

Materials and design

It's made of beech wood, which is very popular for making inexpensive but good quality instruments. This wood is quite resistant and can withstand intentional blows or even unwanted falls. In addition, it's one of the woods with the highest vibratory capacity.

As for the design, we love it because it's a versatile güiro that has good shaker qualities and you can hit it for clave. But perhaps its only drawback is its small size, measuring 25 cm long and 4.4 cm in diameter. This means that the area for scraping is very limited.

On the other hand, this design is ideal because it's a compact, one-piece instrument, but with triple functionality: scraping, tapping and shaking. The best thing is that children can experiment with various intensities and perceive the changes,

Sound

The scraping area, although small, produces a good vibration. This is the consequence of its hollow but closed interior. In this sense, the resonance is reinforced by the seeds inside, which vibrate together with the wood on the surface.

When used as a shaker, the vibrations are higher and you can feel a good rain effect. We also like the sound it produces when just turned and tilted, because it provides a short but good seeded sounding rain. The rod has a thin side and a thicker side as a hammer. This allows it to be used for striking and marking the clef, making its sound more versatile and offering more sonorous tones.

Conclusion

Thomann has created a great instrument for children because it allows them to approach the aspects of movement and helps them develop musical skills such as rhythm and hearing. For this reason, we recommend the Thomann TKP guiro shaker as a starter instrument that has an excellent value for money, ideal for enhancing children's skills. Interested? Check out the best price at Thomann.

The Thomann TKP guiro Tone Block Beech is a useful instrument for smaller percussionists to diversify band sounds. There are several aspects that we can highlight and that we will describe in this review.

Materials and design

This guiro tone block is made of beech wood, one of the most valuable botanicals for making minor percussion instruments. This is because it's very resistant and is also the second most elastic and vibrant wood in the world. However, it has a lot of imperfections, but if we look at this model, we can see that Thomann used the best part.

Its design is unconventional and non-traditional because the base of the scraper is small, at 12 cm, and it has a 10 cm handle. This type of handle is not common, but in this case it has a second function: it's a tapping block with a hollow interior of 4.4 cm in diameter.

Sound

We have been delighted with the warmth of the sound. It has an excellent balance between the different sound frequencies and doesn't abuse resonances. This is perhaps because its upper part is fully open and the lower part is supported by a solid base, which prevents the accumulation of vibrations.

The stick or handle has a sphere at one end that is used to mark the clef of the measures. This is vital for Cuban styles such as guaguancó, chachachá and son. In addition, its sound is great for setting dynamics in all measures.

One of the styles in which it has pleasantly-surprised us is reggae. Thomann classifies it as a children's instrument. However, any beginner or intermediate musician will be able to get a lot out of it.

Conclusion

We love the sound of this güiro because it's balanced and versatile. Its double utility is the best thing, as well as its price, since it's an inexpensive instrument. The only drawback is its size: it's small and we would have liked it to be larger. Find the best price at Thomann.

The Thomann TKP Guiro 2-Tone Block Beech is another option that differs from this one by having a louder and fuller sound, as well as being four centimeters longer.

This instrument is excellent news for percussion and güiro lovers. The reason lies in its design features that give it a spectacular sound and make it a useful instrument for any musical style.

Materials and design

Beech wood is Thomann's favorite for making minor percussion instruments and this one is no exception. As we have mentioned, it's a very resistant wood with an impressive elasticity and vibratory capacity.

In terms of design, it has basically the traditional cylindrical shape and is somewhat small, with a length of 25 cm and a diameter of 4.4 cm. Its interior is hollow, as a traditional one should be, but with the difference that it has an opening that covers 36 of the 38 lines of the base for scraping.

Sound

This Thomann model has an explosive volume and sounds more powerful than many other much more expensive guiros. The reason for this acoustic response lies in the front opening in the scraping area: it's from there that the sound is released with greater projection, as would happen with the ear of classical and flamenco guitars.

But in addition to the volume, it also has vibrations that enhance the natural reverb of the wood. The tone of the sound with the wooden rod yields delicate natural harmonics. But if you use a steel scraper you will notice that the harmonics are more pronounced and better.

Conclusion

Once again we have a güiro classified for children, but it's one of those jewels that are very rarely found. Above all, we like its sound because it's great, has projection and is balanced. Then we love its design, it looks traditional but that front opening is what makes the magic possible. Therefore, we recommend it for children and all types of percussionist musicians in general. Find the best Thomann price on this link.

This is a double musical instrument: güiro and shaker at the same time. It has an excellent sound and is very versatile. Find out what else Nino Percussion has to offer in this review.

Materials and design

It's made of rubber wood, which is less elastic than beech wood. At the same time, it has better acoustic properties because its pores retain parts of the plant's natural resin. Likewise, this wood offers much greater resistance to impact than beech wood and is therefore a better choice. The only drawback we have found is that it's a really small instrument, originally designed for children.

Sound

Thanks to the merits of rubber wood, the sound of this güiro is totally balanced. That is, its volume is not exaggerated and remains balanced wherever you scrape it. In addition, it's round and comes with rods of other materials, so you can vary the sound tones even more.

Likewise, the sound of the shaker is very good and can replace the maracas without problems. The volume is audible even if you do not have an amplifier and are accompanied by other musical instruments. However, in spaces larger than 40 square meters, it's advisable to use amplification.

Conclusion

We love this instrument for its versatility. In addition, it has an excellent value for money that can hardly be beaten by the competition. Although it's classified as a children's instrument, we recommend it for all learning levels and types of musicians. Interested? Find the best price at thomann.

This güiro agogo is much more than an instrument for children. Its construction and sound are very good, which is why we had to include it on this list.

Materials and Design

This instrument is made of rubber wood because it offers the best sound. In addition, being an agogo, it improves the sound response and resistance at the moment of striking to perform the keys of the measures. Its design is that of a double instrument that fulfills the function of a güiro and a clave. In addition, it comes in three different sizes, so its sound capacity is one of the most diverse you can find.

Sound

It has three different shades and this gives it great versatility. The volume has a good relationship and transition in its three guiros and clefs. Vibrations are stable and rich in reverb. Likewise, when used as a clef, this instrument offers three overtones that are very audible.

The rod has a ball at one end that is used to give another type of nuance when scraping and also when striking.

Conclusion

Both in sound and construction, the Nino 561 Agogo is an ideal instrument for musicians of all levels. Although it's classified for children from the age of three, we believe that any musician will be able to take advantage of it. Interested? Check it out at the best price at Thomann.

Another option is the two-tone Nino Nino 560 Agogo which has the same quality, but with one less tone.

The tradition of the Latin Percussion company prevails with this Cuban güiro that has everything a salsa guirero is looking for. However, we have reasons not to love it completely. Read on to find out what they are.

Material and Design

This Cuban guiro leaves behind conventional tree wood to use a real gourd. This improves acoustic quality, but is not very good in terms of strength. In fact it has received several complaints because its fragility is a constant and therefore requires a lot of care.

About the design there is almost nothing to say because the company just took a pumpkin, scooped out all its contents, treated it with some chemicals and let it dry. This is the common process followed to manufacture these Cuban guiros in a completely handmade way.

Sound

The sound is rounded throughout. Its volume is exceptional and fits the purpose for which it was created: Cuban salsa. As a Cuban would say, this güiro has the son, the tumbao and the candencia needed to give body to the purest salsa. The reverb is very good and dry, there is no sustain at all, and that is how it should be for a Cuban guiro.

Conclusion

This Cuban güiro offers an excellent and completely traditional sound. However, its construction is somewhat fragile also because it's made in the classic way: with a pumpkin. Interested? Check it out at the best price at Thomann.

With this instrument, Meinl clearly and undoubtedly outperforms the LP company. This is a reality in both build quality, durability and superior sound. This model is hands down the best one on our top list of wooden güiros.

Materials and Design

This is the first time we find an oak wood güiro and it surprises us for several reasons. First, oak is one of the densest woods available, so its durability is superior to that of almost any other wood. However, what surprises us is that, being so hard and heavy, its ability to vibrate and elasticity is one of those with the least range of action. But in this model, the result is extraordinary.

As for its design, it has several aspects in its favor. The size is good and the grooves in the scraping area are deep. In addition, the caliber or thickness of the wood is ideal to withstand almost any wear and tear.

Sound

Although the oak wood is very dense and therefore not very vibrant, the sound is rich in nuances. The volume is sustained because the scraping area is uniform and well finished. The sound tones are clear, with good timbre and reverb. But the best thing is that this is the first guiro on our lisr in which a fully audible sustain can be percieved.

We also note that, thanks to its plastic rod, you can strike it to mark the clave of the Cuban rhythms. Although it also adapts perfectly to other styles such as jazz fusion, bossa nova, latin jazz and other subgenres.

Conclusion

This güiro is impressive in every way. First, we love the durability of oak wood, we are also fascinated by the sound tones and aesthetic finish. But it's also very versatile and adapts to a wide range of musical styles. Find the best price at Thomann.

The best plastic guiros

Today, wooden güiros have given way to other materials. One of the most interesting is plastic and fiberglass because they offer greater resistance and the sound nuance is different. For this reason we have chosen three representatives that we consider to be the best on the market. Let's take a look.

This is an excellent option for güiro in materials other than the traditional ones. Both its construction and design are interesting, while its sound is different despite its small size.

Materials and Design

This is a non-traditional güiro because it's made of plastic, probably PET, which is for industrial use. This feature makes it a shock-resistant instrument and it will not break easily. Although it may end up with some scratches, but nothing to worry about. Another property of plastic is that it can bend and, as long as it's not extreme, it will not lose its shape.

It's quite compact and also very light, weighing only 80 grams approximately. The scraper is made of wood with double thickness and this adds two different tones of sound. It's suitable for children from three years of age.

Sound

The sound is basic yet solid and, for such a short scratch area, it's quite functional. Thanks to its wooden scraper, the volume is greater than in güiros made entirely of wood. Likewise, as the scraper has double thickness at its ends, you can achieve two different shades that are quite good.

Conclusion

This is an excellent choice for children and young afficionados because it has a compact size that fits small hands. In addition, it has a very functional sound that fits the needs of a beginner musician. It's also a great opportunity to help children from the age of three develop their motor skills while making music. Interested? Find the best price at Thomann.

Latin Percussion, to celebrate its half century of age, created a high quality super güiro that meets the demands of professional musicians. Its particular characteristics are praised by musicians such as Clodomiro Montes Jr. who is the founder of the band Colombian Latin Soul. Let's see what it has to offer.

Design and materials

It's made of ABS plastic, which is preferred by musical instrument manufacturers. The main characteristics of ABS are its ability to withstand shocks up to 1,000 kilograms and it also maintains its shape at almost any extreme environmental temperature. Besides, it doesn't matter how much you scrape it because it won't lose its shape. In other words, this güiro is bombproof.

Regarding its design, it was created to have a wide range of action and that is why it has a length of 45.2 cm by 15.1 cm in diameter. In addition, the 5 mm gauge makes it very resistant and also produces a more balanced sound wave action than wooden guiros.

Finally, for greater comfort, the guirero has two rubber rings in the grip holes. The purpose of these is to make it easier to hold and also to avoid mistreating the fingers of the percussionist.

Sound

It has the best sound out of all polymer guiros because it has all the features a percussionist is looking for. First, the volume is powerful and sustained in all sections of the instrument. Second, the scraping area is large and techniques can be varied. Thirdly, it has two rods or scrapers that allow the creation of different sound nuances that enrich the interpretation.

Conclusion

When it comes to Latin Percussion, we have always felt that their best products are made of polymers. In this sense, the LP 243 super güiro is a physical proof of this because it perfectly keeps the three most essential aspects that an instrument of this type must have. This is why we recommend it for intermediate and advanced musicians who want the best ABS güiro on the market. Intrigued? Find the best price at Thomann.

Meinl has always sought to maintain a place of honor in the minor percussion market. It has also sought to innovate with its products, to offer other materials and richer sounds. That's why they created this Meinl GU7BK guiro that has a good quality, although we have some critiques.

Materials and design

This fiberglass güiro is one of the most shock resistant güiros on the market. Its resistance capacity is class S-2, which is the highest in this type of material, since it has a breaking strain of over 4 thousand kilograms. In addition, it withstands temperatures above 500 degrees Celsius.

Its design is made in such a way that its entire extension has three areas with different density. It also has rubber rings on the grip part for greater comfort.

Sound

The volume is enormous, and if we are not careful it can be noisy. Each of the rings on the scraper are differentiated when grooves are performed, and this is very good because it can be exploited with touch techniques.

The three strike areas provide three distinct sonic nuances that greatly enhance the performance. Likewise, due to the strength of fiberglass, you can use the güiro to mark the clave. The only downside for us is that there is no reverb or sustain. That is to say, we have a güiro with a very dry sound and we don't like it very much. However, this makes it versatile and useful because it adapts to almost any musical style.

Conclusion

If you are not totally traditional or if you want the highest resistance in an instrument, this güiro is what you are looking for. However, if you have a strong tendency towards salsa, we do not recommend it and you may be better off with the LP 243 super güiro. Find the best price at Thomann.

There is also another cheaper option, the Meinl GU9 Turbo which is also made of ABS. The difference is in the sound quality which is slightly better. However, for a reason we don't understand, this one is not as appreciated by users as the Meinl GU7BK Fiberglass.

The best metal guiros

Metal guiros are used in Dominican merengue and other Latin genres. We have chosen two high quality and different options to represent the best of these metallic guiros.

This metal güiro is the ultimate in versatility and sound quality. In it we find the best of the traditional merengue guiro and that is why we have selected it.

Materials and design

This güiro is made of high density stainless steel, which makes it one of the most resistant on the market. This is true not only in hardness, but also in its anticorrosive capacity to withstand direct contact with the pH of the musician.

It has a double scraping area and one of them is fine-grained. This is the one traditionally used for Dominican merengue. Likewise, it has a second scratched area on the reverse side with indentations in deep lines.

It also serves as a shaker filled with small steel balls. This is why the instrument is cylindrical in shape and completely sealed. The scraper is a steel comb with 12 wires.

Sound

In the sound we find an excellent volume loaded with high frequencies but not strident. Likewise, the fine-grained part presents a sustained sound with excellent reverb and sounds phenomenal for traditional merengue. The reverse side offers a six-note effect sound that is rich in sustain. This is ideal for the merengue bomba, which is one of the most popular merengue styles today.

In general, its sound is so powerful and dynamic that you can use it in a 100 m2 room without the need for a sound amplifier.

Conclusion

The Multi guiro LP 452 shaker has everything you need to play traditional merengue, but is also fully functional for playing merengue bomba. If there is one güiro that every minor percussionist should have, it's this one. Do you like it? Find the best price at Thomann.

If what you want is a multi guiro with a scraping area with a sixteenth note effect, then we have the LP 451 Multi Guiro 2 Metal. It's also a great choice for percussionists who love sound effects.

We consider this to be the best merengue güiro on the market because it's everything the merengue percussionist needs for live sessions and studio recording. This is where Latin Percussion surpasses the competition and to which it owes its stellar reputation.

Materials and Design

It's made of stainless steel, Latin Percussion's preferred material for its high-end products. As a result, it's resistant to breakage and has maximum durability against corrosion. This is vital because if it were in brass, it would be very fragile and would oxidize quickly due to direct contact with the pH of the hands.

However, being a traditional güiro, its design is open and has a medium size compared to other metallic guiros, but it doesn't represent any problem to achieve the maximum performance of the instrument.

In the scraping area there are no grains, but rather geometric lozenges or rhombuses in a horizontal position. These create a uniform surface with small spikes that produce an excellent acoustic response. On the other hand, the scraper or brush was designed with eleven wires.

Sound

It has a reverb and sustain-laden sound that is ideal for traditional merengue, mix and bomba. In this güiro you will find the perfect balance between volume and brightness because the frequency response has a masterful balance. If there is one word to define the sound of this güiro, it's “perfect”.

Conclusion

Latin Percussion has created the ideal güiro for merengue because it combines a high resistance to any damage, as well as a solid sound that is able to suit the most demanding percussionists in the world. It's not for nothing that it's the most used merengue güiro by professional musicians. Do you like it? Find the best price at Thomann.

Other similar options are the Meinl MGU1 Merengue Güira, the Meinl MGU2 Merengue Güira Small, the Meinl MGU3 Merengue Güira Small and the Meinl MGU4 Merengue Güira X-Small. All have a rich sound but not better than the LP 305.

We also recommend you check our review on the best timbals on the market.

Technical characteristics Güiros