How to choose Kalimba keys| GECKO

Kalimba thumb piano is a very small, beautiful sound instrument, here to introduce you how to choose keys, hoping to help you.

How to choose Kalimba keys

The number of Kalimba keys is not fixed, there are 5 tones, 8 tones, 10 tones, 17 tones, 21 tones and so on. Kalimba with different tone numbers is of course different. 5, 8, 10 Kalimba thumbnail: there are fewer keys, so the range is narrow, and the repertoire is easy to be restricted, but the operation is easier, it is suitable for beginners to get started quickly, the body is small, and it looks very exquisite. It is recommended for children or bought as ornaments.

17-tone Kalimba thumbnail: more keys, wider range, more songs can be played, harmony can also be played, playability is further increased, suitable for advanced learners and capable beginners. In short, many novices on the market will choose 17-tone Kalimba as an introduction, from the difficulty and range point of view, 17-tone is indeed more suitable for beginners.

21 tones: there are more keys, a wider range, and more and more complex songs that can be played, but it won't be too difficult to learn. I suggest that beginners can choose either 17-tone or 21-tone. They don't have to worry too much about not being able to learn.

Now the Kalimba on the market is basically improved, which is different from the original Kalimba. The development time of the improved Kalimba on the market is very short, so there are many technical defects in the process of production, the most obvious manifestation is that the piano is prone to murmur.

The reason for this murmur is that the shrapnel used by most manufacturers is straight shrapnel, and the contact area between the pressing piece and the shrapnel pressing part is very large, so it is easy to appear unstable or misplaced, so there will be a murmur. But now some merchants have solved this problem, making the shrapnel with radians, so that the pressing and shrapnel can be effectively pressed together, which can reduce the dislocation of pressing and shrapnel, and avoid noise when playing.

When you choose, try to understand clearly, it is best to choose arc pressing Kalimba, which can really reduce a lot of trouble in the later stage, after all, it is really difficult for beginners to adjust murmur by padding piano keys. Not all brands use this kind of curved shrapnel, and some low-end brands with tens of yuan will rarely use this kind of keys, so we must ask clearly before we buy it.

The above is the introduction of how to choose Kalimba keys, if you want to know more about Kalimba. Welcome to contact our gecko kalimba manufacturer for advice.

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Here are some customer selection ideas

I believe M is for mahogany and K is for koa. These are both different types of wood that will affect the sound. Here's a really useful video that compares the same exact brand but just in different woods. https://youtu.be/xh-4O9OVkmA It compares maple, mahogany, and koa. The end of the video rates them for weight, pitch, and vibration. Maple is the most expensive of the three shown and is my least favorite (at least for the song they played).

I have kalimbas in both and like both woods. The mahogany is definitely lighter in weight but doesn't "feel cheap". According to the video, the pitch sounds better on mahogany but the koa has better "vibrations" (by which I assume they mean "sustain" or "resonance").

The type of metal can affect the sound as well. My Gecko is mahogany. The other kalimba that I have in koa does not have metal ore tines, so I can't compare them directly, unfortunately.

Maybe one day I'll spring for the Gecko in koa, but I've literally gone overboard in buying kalimbas lately. It became a mini obsession, and now I'm broke. Lol But I hope this video helps. :)

Sure thing! I checked the Gecko website (https://www.gecko-kalimba.com/), as well as listings on Aliexpress (e.g., https://www.gecko-kalimba.com/gecko-kalimba/), and I can't tell a difference, other than the color. The best I can determine is that MBR = mahogany, brown. (There's also an MBL, which is blue-stained mahogany.) They also have products made of curly maple, camphor, eucalyptus, and bamboo, all with similar naming conventions (except for the eucalyptus, which has the same CA label as camphor). I have no idea why there is a price difference. Lol I have the MBR and am perfectly happy with it. :)


Post time: Jan-06-2022
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