# Kalimba Musical instrument



## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

Ever wanted to play the Kalimba?
I found this site that lets you play online using either your
mouse or your keyboard, Neat eh?

http://www.stormpages.com/kalimba/

The only thing that I couldn't figure out is...How to buy one.

Dave


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## Greenman (Feb 22, 2003)

Hi Dave,

serendipity or what... I received my Lee Valley Tools catalogue yesterday and one of the first things I saw that interested me was a Cedar Board Kalimba (pg 12) Item # 45K46.20 - $29.95

I haven't checked their online site yet but it's probably there too.

Nice sound! I'm sure you've also heard the guy playing one (or perhaps a more authentic African Thumb Piano) in the TTC - usually at Yonge & Bloor.

Cheers!


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

I saw the Kalimba in the Fall catalog by Lee Valley but I also
noticed that it's the non resonating type, The one that I'm
interested in is the type that has two little holes in the back of
the boxed type of Kalimba.

There's a good description of it on the above website.

I'm not sure how the Lee Valley version would sound without the
box and resonating holes, I did find one on eBay that is the
boxed type with the resonating holes for $25. u.s.d.
(It's not as nice as the ones in the above website though)

Cheers!

Dave


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## Greenman (Feb 22, 2003)

Yeah you're right the sound box would make a big difference...

There's also a shop on the Danforth (near Chester) that sells 'world' goods - they may have Kalimba's w/ sound boxes.. I'll be in the neighbourhood on Friday and I'll drop in and take a look.

Cheers!


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

That's funny you should mention that area of town,
I was looking through a store at Chester and Danforth called
Ten Thousand Villages (Or something like that) and asked them
if they carried them and they said they'll probably get them in
before Christmas.

Dave


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## Macified (Sep 18, 2003)

Please keep us posted. My son plays piano but is interested in many kinds of instruments, this would be a great Christmas gift. The sound chamber models would definately be better.


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## Greenman (Feb 22, 2003)

> That's funny you should mention that area of town,
> I was looking through a store at Chester and Danforth called
> Ten Thousand Villages (Or something like that) and asked them
> if they carried them and they said they'll probably get them in
> before Christmas.


Bingo! That's the place Dave, I was going to drop in tomorrow but as you've already beat me to it.... I'll keep my eyes peeled (god doesn't that sound painful!)  and if I find another source I'll post it here.

Cheers!
Rob


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

I found this site:
http://www.hmtrad.com/catalog/percussion/kalimba.html 

But it mentions that the Hugh Tracey type are being discontinued.



> Hugh Tracey Kalimbas
> Made by Bantu villagers in S. Africa.
> Hardwood box kalimbas with soundhole and 2 vibrato holes, 15 or 17 color coded keys of Sheffield steel. Precisely tuned to a standard diatonic scale. You'd be surprised at the music you can play on one of these.
> 
> ...


I'll keep searching.

Edit:
I just punched in "Hugh Tracey Kalimba" in Google and turned up this:
http://paultracey.org/instruments.htm 

Looks like Paul which is Hughs son is selling them on his own site.
(Cheaper than any of the other sites that I have seen them on)


Here's one on eBay (But it's in rough shape) 

Here's the source (I think):
http://www.kalimba.co.za/kalimba.htm

Dave 

[ October 21, 2004, 11:50 AM: Message edited by: dolawren ]


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

I found another one on eBay 
I bought one online that is exactly the same as this one,
I hope to get it soon. (I paid $25. usd)

I used to sell the Hugh Tracey type of Kalimbas when I was in my
teens in the 70's during the embargo against South Africa,
I remember that I used to have to peel off the "Made in S. Africa"
sticker off the back so that no one would know where they came from.
I used to sell them for $40. cad back then, Sadly I never kept one for myself.
It's funny that there is such a big demand for this product lately.

The web page of the home base for the Hugh Tracey style
Kalimba has a list of distributers and I have noticed that the U.S.
distributer is no longer in business.

I've found that this company is distributing a version of their
own that looks similar to the Hugh Tracey Kalimba and it also
has other variations of it. The company is called Latin Percussion 

Here's the one at Lee Valley Tools:

Lee Valley Kalimba sound board 

If you put a microphone up to it then you could get a nice sound
out of it on your computer, It might even be interesting to play
in Garageband.









One last thing I forgot to mention,
There was an electronic version of the Kalimba made by an Artist
at the Music Gallery in Toronto in the mid to late 70's.
I tried a search for it, But it seems to have quietly disappeared
out of existence. (It was kind of experimental at the time anyways)

It was about the same size as a normal Hugh Tracey Kalimba,
Except this version ran on batteries and had a plastic case with
metal touch sensitive surfaces to change the notes.

It was quite the oddball instrument at the time and I'm not sure
if it ever made it to commercial production, I saw it and tried
one that a friend had when I was in Art College at the Ontario
College of Art.


Dave  

[ October 21, 2004, 01:26 PM: Message edited by: dolawren ]


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

Holy smokes...An Electric Kalimba!!! 

Electric Bass Kalimba 

Dave 

[ October 21, 2004, 01:53 PM: Message edited by: dolawren ]


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

I've emailed a number of sources of the Hugh Tracey Kalimba
and other makers of Kalimbas in the U.S. and South Africa. (Za)

So far I have received one reply,
I'm still waiting for another reply from the U.S.

Dave


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## Lawrence (Mar 11, 2003)

I'm about ready to give up on the suppliers for the Hugh Tracey
Kalimba in S. Africa. (Their shipper wants too much)
The shipping costs for 10 Kalimbas would equal $153. cad + duties + Taxes.
Now I know why the U.S. distributor "Latin Percussion" has
decided to stop importing them, It just costs too much to import them.

Latin Percussion sells them for $72.95 U.S. ea, Which is way over
priced compared to the U.S.'s own local industry Kalimba makers.
The locally U.S. made Kalimbas aren't as nice as the Hugh Tracey
Kalimbas, But they are still nicely made and cheaply obtainable.

Dave


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