DOBANI Thumb Piano, Large:either pick up the phone and give us a call direct or get online and send us an e-message. however you contact us, we'll aim to sort out any problem you have as quickly and effectively as possible. I had one of these many years ago after seeing Taj Mahal in concert where he began by holding a Hugh Tracey version of this up to the microphone and noodling around with it and saying "Everybody should have one of these!" I bought one almost immediately and enjoyed it for many years but it gradually bit the dust what with moving around and letting toddlers play with it. I have always missed it and found this at a very reasonable price so I snapped it up. It arrived almost overnight, and initially I had a sinking feeling that what other reviewers had written about its horrible sound possibly being true. They're not true at all -- it's a great little instrument with a very nice tone, once it's tuned properly.For some reason (probably to keep the cost low) this arrives untuned, so it sounds horrible with none of the beautiful resonance that happens when it is played after being tuned. The instructions, while being accurate about how to tune it, in my opinion are horribly off-base when they suggest that it should be tuned to a D major scale. As another reviewer has already pointed out, when it's tuned to D the highest tines are too short to produce decent sounding notes. I remembered my original Kalimba being tuned to a C major scale, so I just spent the last half-hour tuning my new one to a C major scale and it sounds great, just like I remember.It's very unfortunate that this arrives untuned because non-musicians who simply want to enjoy the pleasures of making pleasing sounds on it are sadly disappointed and unless they have musician-friends to help them tune it, it's worthless to them. I used a combination of my ears, matching the tines to the pitches on the piano and then used an electronic tuner for the final fine-tuning. Initially it's very difficult to move the tines, and trying to push it with the flat edge of a screwdriver like it says in the instructions is not very productive. I needed to use small pliers to grab the playing end of each tine and slide it side-to-side while pulling to make the longer. After each tine began to move it got easier to move it but initially the tines were very stiff. It's important to pay attention to the pliers because they will slip off the tine easily if you're not careful and they can scratch the wooden resonating box.So my 5-star rating is because of how nice it is when it's tuned -- I wish I could give a rating for what it's like out of the box and another rating for how it ends up. For non-musicians, how it comes is only 1 star in my opinion. For musicians who have the patience and the skill to tune it, I would rate it 3 stars right out of the box. But once it's tuned to the key of C major, it rates 5 stars.max 74% off,year-end annual account,max 77% offDOBANI Thumb Piano, Large
Rosewood thumb piano; 17 Steel keys; Two vibrato holes on the back.
Dimensions: 5" x 7";
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Product description
Kalimba. Origin Country: Pakistan. 2.1 lbs. Made by Mid-East.
Rosewood thumb piano, 5" x 7", 17 steel keys and two vibrato holes on the back. The thumb piano originates in Africa. It is also known as the mbira or likembe. The metal keys are mounted on a wooden box that acts as the resonating chamber. To play, rest the thumb piano on the fingers of both hands and hold it between your palms. Cover the vibrato holes with your fingers. Then pluck the keys with your thumbs. As you play you can un-cover and cover the vibrato holes as you like. Many different tunings are acceptable, according to personal preference. Specific tuning of a thumb piano is only an issue when two instruments are played together; then they should generally agree in tuning. Otherwise, the tuning is subjective and should only be pleasing to the player. The longer keys have lower pitches and shorter keys have higher pitches. The keys can be adjusted by tapping them in or out to adjust their length, and therefore their pitch.
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DOBANI Thumb Piano, Large:either pick up the phone and give us a call direct or get online and send us an e-message. however you contact us, we'll aim to sort out any problem you have as quickly and effectively as possible. I had one of these many years ago after seeing Taj Mahal in concert where he began by holding a Hugh Tracey version of this up to the microphone and noodling around with it and saying "Everybody should have one of these!" I bought one almost immediately and enjoyed it for many years but it gradually bit the dust what with moving around and letting toddlers play with it. I have always missed it and found this at a very reasonable price so I snapped it up. It arrived almost overnight, and initially I had a sinking feeling that what other reviewers had written about its horrible sound possibly being true. They're not true at all -- it's a great little instrument with a very nice tone, once it's tuned properly.For some reason (probably to keep the cost low) this arrives untuned, so it sounds horrible with none of the beautiful resonance that happens when it is played after being tuned. The instructions, while being accurate about how to tune it, in my opinion are horribly off-base when they suggest that it should be tuned to a D major scale. As another reviewer has already pointed out, when it's tuned to D the highest tines are too short to produce decent sounding notes. I remembered my original Kalimba being tuned to a C major scale, so I just spent the last half-hour tuning my new one to a C major scale and it sounds great, just like I remember.It's very unfortunate that this arrives untuned because non-musicians who simply want to enjoy the pleasures of making pleasing sounds on it are sadly disappointed and unless they have musician-friends to help them tune it, it's worthless to them. I used a combination of my ears, matching the tines to the pitches on the piano and then used an electronic tuner for the final fine-tuning. Initially it's very difficult to move the tines, and trying to push it with the flat edge of a screwdriver like it says in the instructions is not very productive. I needed to use small pliers to grab the playing end of each tine and slide it side-to-side while pulling to make the longer. After each tine began to move it got easier to move it but initially the tines were very stiff. It's important to pay attention to the pliers because they will slip off the tine easily if you're not careful and they can scratch the wooden resonating box.So my 5-star rating is because of how nice it is when it's tuned -- I wish I could give a rating for what it's like out of the box and another rating for how it ends up. For non-musicians, how it comes is only 1 star in my opinion. For musicians who have the patience and the skill to tune it, I would rate it 3 stars right out of the box. But once it's tuned to the key of C major, it rates 5 stars.max 74% off,year-end annual account,max 77% offDOBANI Thumb Piano, Large
