Thomann TK17-R Kalimba

I got this Kalimba now almost 3 years ago and it's still in tune! Very sturdy instrument, excellent wood quality and make, really convenient size ... the whole nine yards.

I found the sound to be a lot more pleasant (and volume slightly louder) than that of other (more expensive) kalimbas I had the chance to play/listen to.

Obviously, the high notes in kalimbas are always a concern as most entry-level ones don't sound them that well, but I've had no issue with how the high notes on this kalimba sound—I rarely play pieces that include them, anyway.

One thing I intend to do when upgrading to a more advanced instrument (say to a 21-key one) is getting one with carved notes on the tines. The stickers (which conveniently come with the product) are a very cumbersome substitute to that; half-glued stickers produce an abnormally strong vibration when the tine is played, and they fall off pretty easily over time. One could obviously solve that by learning the notes, but I'm not there yet.

All in all, with its ridiculously low price and great quality, this product comes highly recommended.

Juste parfait, pour le prix j'ai un kalimba qui est juste et avec un sons plus que correct pour le prix.
A l'exception de 2 lamelles, il est arrivé jouable et correctement accordé!!
Plusieurs heures de jeux et il est toujours accordé.

Petits bémols mais pour le prix c'est "compréhensible":

- les lamelles les plus aux extrémités n'ont pas une résonance top top.
- les petits trous pour l'effet "wawa" sont plus là pour décorer car trop petits pour générer un effet convenable, mais ça peut être utile pour l'accrocher au mur.