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luge style means that the main body of the kalimba is 3/8 inch birch plywood with stiffener hand holds glued to the edge. on this one the stiffeners are made of wenge wood.

it is currently tuned to D major.

this is the ex-bridgable feature. if you undo the two furniture bolts the entire bridge and the tuned keys come off as a unit. the kalimba stays in tune. this would be good if you wanted to work on the wood and make it prettier.

the pickup system on this kalimba is all contained in the wood. the jack is placed in a slightly angled hole(to avoid hitting the center pressure bar bolt)on the top edge of the kalimba. it is held in this hole by a set screw. this hole communicates to the forstner bit dug, shallow hole on the front middle of the kalimba face under the tines. this is the best place for the pickup to *hear* the keys evenly.

the pickup, which is a brass disc an inch and an eighth in diameter with piezo crytal on one side, is soldered to co-axial wire which is soldered to the jack. over this is an aluminum bar which has been secured by two brass wood screws. this bar has been tapped to accept another set screw and keeper nut to apply just the right amount of downward pressure on the piezo disc for maximum volume.

does this all sound like a lot of work? well, it is, but the results are worth it. this kalimba sounds great and and it all can be undone to work on if there ever was a problem.(there never has been a problem yet)

this kalimba is currently tuned to C major but could be adjusted upward a bit. it has buzzers, which add a sweet sizzle to the notes, but since they are the *gravity fed graphic buzzalizer* type they can be turned off by simply leaning the kalimba down.

to see the front side of this instrument go here:

http://www.ekalimba.com/forsale2.html

 this one is sold now.

for sale

and there is a lot of new stuff  on the index page as well.

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the sides were a small shadow-box frame with spline joints.

it is currently tuned pentatonic, B C# D# F G. it of course can be retuned.

it sold for $250.

this kalimba has 15 keys which are arranged pentatonically, A B D E G.

this kalimba is 9.25 x 5.5 x 2.25 inches in size.

that is really nice to hold in the hands.

this kalimba does not have buzzers at this point but a set could be put on for $25.

this kalimba is sold now.

this is a solid body, ex-bridgeable electric kalimba. it is RK 411, and it has 22 keys. it is stained and lacquered a tan color. the wood is quarter sawn clear hemlock.

it is tuned pentatonically, D E G A B. it does a wonderful throb when the double keys are played, very much like organic-tremelo.

   you plug it into an amp just like an electric guitar.

it is being offered for sale for $200.

this kalimba sold at the hand-made instrument show.

that plexiglass bass in the front right has a thunderous sound! it is RK391 and is $350. there is just something about the plexi that absorbs the higher frequencies and lets the bass through.

i guess we shall see how quickly they sell. the other two in front have been described in blogs already.

RK391 is sold now.

it's a bass electric kalimba of a style that i call subpeona-pancake. it has 9 keys with clear plactic end tips. the lowest note is a B. the pickup hears the keys quite evenly. the pickup is glued to the back of the plywood and covered by the walnut outrigger, which also contains the jack.

 it is 12 inches long by 8 inches wide.

   as a solid-body it has very little feed back problems in a loud stage environment.

    it has 12 pentatonic keys. not my favorite, but people like it.

it can be retuned.

the lack of sound hole could be good for anti-feedback.

up close

RK 385

this one is for sale at $275. it has leaded keys and multiple overtone dampners. it sounds nice and low.

   the pick-up is on the front and has a Zimbabwe eagle coin glued to it.