LP Aspire LPA131 Castanets, Hand Held, 2 Pair

The sound is wonderful.

They sound perfect for what I want them

These are very authentic, great sounding castanets. There is a male one (lower pitch) and a female one (slightly higher pitch). I had never played castanets before but had a part that called for them in our musical. After watching a YouTube video and practicing a little bit I was able to find the "sweet spot" of holding them and reliably getting sound. (The key is to keep your wrists loose and don't tense up). Love the sound of them. Very warm and bright. It cut through just fine.

Al ser de la gama Aspire, son unas catañuelas que rinden y tienen un buen sonido.

This is was my second purchase after a year! (I had rated the first set 5 stars!!). This one is kind of a knock-off of the original pair that I purchased a year ago. Looks like company has now switched to "made in China". The new item is heavier, thicker and bulkier with terrible sound. (I am an advanced player. ). I am disappointed and filing a report with Amazon.

Although, I liked these castanets for a beginning class, I purchased 2 sets that were suppose to have 2 pairs of castanets for each set. I got only 2 instead of 4. When I called I asked for the other 2 and received only 1, so I am still short 1 pair of castanets.Other than that, they are good beginner castanets and perform as expected with teen dancers.I would have given them 5 Stars, if the description matched what I actually received.

As some other reviewers have noted, the macho and hembra don't have the greatest seperation in the world, but I like 'em anyway. There is a slight seperation and I wish it was more, but they still sound pretty good and you get 2 pairs for cheaper than alot of similar ones that only have 1 pair in the set. Like alot of my less expensive instruments (some of which are Aspire) I usually play them in some unconventional way; can't comment on the thongs, don't even strap them on. I just hold the wooden parts by the ends and bang 'em on my leg, my chest or whatever; sounds crazy I guess but it works for me, they still project and I can play them really fast and in perfect time. They seem kind of clumsy with the straps on, they don't have a really sharp, clicking sound and seperation could be better, but for around $15 I' ll take 'em.

Feel so good in the hand. We were confused at first by the long strings but these allow any size of hand to work the castinets easily and securely. (It took a 20 year old to show us)