Tiny Thumb Pianos

Click Here for MP3 Demos   [split] About Contents Kontakt Format Specifications   The Kalimba is a modernized version of the ancient African Mbira, also often called a thumb piano. It has a humble, melodious percussive plucking sound with a marimba-like warmth and tonal body. It is often used in conjunction with pianos and other tuned percussion instruments to add a sharper attack and playfulness to the sound. Our instruments were made of wood and coconut shell, with hammered steel tines suspended over their sound holes. The notes span about an octave and a half for the smaller of our two instruments and over two octaves for the larger kalimba. We recorded kalimbas in 3 different environments: Close and Dry in our studio; at medium distance in a small bright chamber; and in a large, long linear hall, at both close (1 meter) and far (15 meters) microphone distances. We call our long hall “The Bunker”, because that’s exactly what it really is – a deep underground World War 1-er