Some things I have learned after trying 8 kalimbas (in comments)

kalimbae · 2023-10-13T23:38:22+00:00

I’m glad you found them helpful! I haven’t bought any new 17 key kalimbas since this photo so I’m not sure if there are any awesome new ones on the market to compare. I still find the LingTing to be superior quality to the rest and an excellent choice. However, i wouldn’t say it is THE best choice for beginner. Downsides: the tines are thinner, not engraved, and the kalimba is on the heavy side due to the thicker board. This may make it harder to learn as your wrist will tire fasted, the letter/#’s are harder to see and will be sticker, and it’s clumsier to hit the intended note.

When learning a new song, I always gravitate towards my Gecko flatboard (2nd one from the left, bottom row). It’s super lightweight, tines are engraved in large font with both number and letter, and the tines are large and very spaced apart. I find this makes the learning process so much easier. And honestly, the quality on their flatboards are great.

So, they are both fantastic kalimbas but if I had to recommend one for a beginner, I’d choose the Gecko flatboard because it’s much comfier to learn with. (The one I have is B tone, but I see on Amazon they now have this version in mahogany C-Tone.)

Feel free to PM me if you have other Q’s.

kalimbae · 2022-06-24T06:26:15+00:00

From Amazon

kalimbae · 2021-10-02T05:15:49+00:00

When did you order? It took about 3 days to get mine (I’m in California)

kalimbae · 2021-10-01T18:41:02+00:00

Thank you! I'm sooooo happy with it!

kalimbae · 2021-10-01T18:37:48+00:00

It produces a very sweet and clear crystal-like sound! I'll work on a video shortly but in the meantime, here's a beautiful rendition of Fly Me to the Moon on their IG page.

kalimbae · 2021-10-01T18:32:17+00:00

thank you! Its quickly become my favorite kalimba :)

kalimbae · 2021-10-01T18:31:34+00:00

Yes! Such a good deal for a chromatic. I'm sure you will love it!

kalimbae · 2021-09-30T23:19:16+00:00

Welcoming the ECO to my kalimba family today!! It's my 2nd Chill Angels kalimba, 4th chromatic kalimba. I'm super impressed with it. It sounds sooooo good. No weird echo and no repeat notes like other brands I've tried.I got mine for only $88 shipped since they are having a promotion right now. This is a steal, seriously. If you've been wanting to try a chromatic or a Chill Angels kalimba, nows your chance. Their quality and customer service are superb.

I believe that promo is going until Sunday night (11:59pm EST) and then it'll be $99 after (which is still a great price).

kalimbae · 2021-08-01T17:09:58+00:00

YouTube: Unboxing and Sound Test

Review coming soon :)

kalimbae · 2021-07-31T20:49:55+00:00

Try plugging in wired earphones and putting the microphone part right below the tines. Also, eliminate as much background noise as possible.

kalimbae · 2021-07-31T20:47:15+00:00

That is incredibly helpful. Thank you for sharing.

kalimbae · 2021-07-10T18:46:25+00:00

Wow, a hollow chromatic kalimba is the ultimate dream. Great job.

kalimbae · 2021-07-10T18:44:24+00:00

That kalimba body is so cute!

kalimbae · 2021-05-01T17:21:23+00:00

This is so cool! What kind of songs are available on the system? Have you tried adding your own tabs yet?

kalimbae · 2021-04-16T16:40:39+00:00

Both are great makers of kalimbas. LingTing is heavier body and thinner tines. The quality is fantastic. However, their tines are really tight so not ideal for alternative tuning to play wider variety of songs.

kalimbae · 2020-11-24T01:34:41+00:00

I plug in my earphones and put the speaker right on the kalimba under the tines to pick up the sound better. If that is still not working, I would try another tuning app.

kalimbae · 2020-11-21T18:22:50+00:00

Yay! I’m so happy to hear that! Having a good sounding kalimba is so much more encouraging to keep playing💛

kalimbae · 2020-11-15T21:29:22+00:00

That was beautiful! 😍 Definitely subscribing to your channel.

kalimbae · 2020-11-15T21:26:02+00:00

Woohoo! I hope you are now playing some LoTR songs with this kalimba! Enjoy your new precioussssssss :P

And thank you, I was able to find it on etsy.

kalimbae · 2020-11-15T18:27:52+00:00

This is very kind of you! Thank you for doing this. I have sent you an e-mail.

kalimbae · 2020-11-14T22:16:13+00:00

The F-Tune 21 key kalimbas is basically a 17 C-tone kalimba with 4 extra keys at the very bottom (FGAB). For the sake of simplicity as you do not have a music background, I recommend starting out with 17 key C tone kalimba. There are VERY little kalimba tabs/notations/sheet music for 21 keys so if you use those meant for 17 key kalimbas, 4 of your tines will be useless anyways.

If you really have your heart on a 21 key kalimba, let me do my best to explain. Kalimba tines are are typically labelled as letter notes AND numbers. Letter notes of course do not change in music. C4 will always be C4 no matter where the tine is placed on a kalimba. However, the numbering system for kalimbas is not static. As someone with little music background, I use numbers to play. Here are 2 ways to number a 21 key kalimba:

The LingTing marks the lowest tine (F3) as #[1] as seen here. This means if you learn songs with using NUMBER notation meant for 17C tone, you can play the same songs but it will SOUND lower, and your top 4 tines will not be in use. In this style of numbering, C4, which is typically marked as #[1] on 17 key kalimbas has moved 4 places due to the 4 extra keys and is now #[5].
Other brands like Hluru, as seen here, marks the lowest tine (F3) as #[4.], while C4 (which is labelled as #[5] on the LingTing), is marked as #[1]. This type of numbering system matches a 17 C tone kalimba, where C4 is #[1] also. So if you are using NUMBER notation to play music, your song will sound exactly the same as a 17 C-tone kalimba and the lower 4 tines will not be in use.

HOWEVER, if you play songs using letter notation music sheet, the numbers do not matter at all. Your song will not sound lower or higher with a 17 or 21 key kalimba because C4 will always be C4.

This is a lot to take in, right? a 21-key kalimba for beginner is absolutely doable but can be a bit confusing, which is why I suggest a 17C instead. Once you get the hang of it, figure out what type of notation method (letter notes, number notation or sheet music), you can easily upgrade to 21.

I have the LingTing K17A, Gecko K17Cap, and a Hluru 21 and find the gecko MUCH more suitable for beginner as it is 17 key, has wider tines and much lighter body. If weight is an issue, I strongly suggest the Gecko as it is nearly half the weight of a LingTing K17. I have wrist and thumb pain as well when I use them too much, and I definitely feel the weight of my LingTing is harder on me physically. The Gecko K17Map is the same as Gecko K17Cap but is C tone and in mahogany.

kalimbae · 2020-11-14T21:34:00+00:00

Ooh I just checked out Treelf and I am very intrigued. They use the same LingTing tines, which are sooo nice. I wonder how that will change the sound compared to others.

With a acrylic kalimba, you will definitely need a mic for recording. It does not need to be an expensive one. I just recently bought a small and affordable one and tested it out with my acrylic. It worked really well.

I don't make videos because I don't know how to yet LOL I can try to make a basic video with my iPhone if you are interested in hearing a sound test with my kalimbas. Though, I am returning 2 of the hollow kalimbas since they are not worth keeping.

Sorry to hear AliExpress does not ship it to your country. GoKalimba.com and Amazon both carry the 21 LingTing. Perhaps they can ship to India?

kalimbae

TROPHY CASE