Comments on: kalimba obsession

kalimba obsession

Dave Faris — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:00:45 -0800

Experiemental Thumb Pianos flickr photoset

By: Dave Faris

Dave Faris — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:01:34 -0800

By: DU

DU — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:06:19 -0800

Awesome! Ever since I got out of the hospital I've been wanting to pick up the piano but I didn't know if I'd be able to with an experimental thumb.

By: brundlefly

brundlefly — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:08:57 -0800

Neat!

By: drezdn

drezdn — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:12:20 -0800

Neat, thanks!

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:15:26 -0800

They look tres coolio-- any representative sound files about?

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:17:29 -0800

What's the weight capacity on that thumb, DU? If it's rated for a quarter-ton or so you should be fine. (IANAPM YMMV)

By: DU

DU — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:26:28 -0800

The scientists who installed it said something about having "the technology" and whenever I flex the thumb everything goes into slo-mo, so I think I've got the weight capacity. But Mrs Austin says I need to rest for a few days before I overextend myself.

By: nebulawindphone

nebulawindphone — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:37:04 -0800

Hrm. Best stick to kalimbalifting, then.

By: Dizzy

Dizzy — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:38:02 -0800

Does your thumb sport a tiny little tracksuit? Is your advisor Oscar Goldfinger? Am I going to flag myself?

By: hoskala

hoskala — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 11:46:37 -0800

Obligatory Ko no no N°1 -links. Cool sounds from Congo...

By: lekvar

lekvar — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 12:09:32 -0800

Those are some awesome kalimbas. If they sound as good as they look...

By: ZachsMind

ZachsMind — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 13:53:34 -0800

Just so long as they stop at the thumb (may N be SFW). Dang. I spoke too soon (def NSFW).

By: ZachsMind

ZachsMind — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 13:55:42 -0800

Encore! It's a medley! (still may N be SFW)

By: unknowncommand

unknowncommand — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 14:12:11 -0800

Really cool.

By: Joseph Gurl

Joseph Gurl — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 17:31:12 -0800

They look great, but they don't seem to be very experimental - they're just beautiful/artistic. I was hoping for whammy bars / flexible resonance chambers & shit like that.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 18:36:31 -0800

Hey, nice find, DF, thanks for the post. I've got about 6 or 7 sanzas/likembes/thumb pianos/whatever-you-wanna-call-'ems, mostly from various African countries, including one unusual all-metal one from Zaire that sounds really sweet. I use them from time to time on recordings and whatnot. Great instruments, and I'd sure like to get my thumbs on some of these from your flickr link.

By: flapjax at midnite

flapjax at midnite — Tue, 27 Mar 2007 19:00:21 -0800

A number of these are very charming and funny, especially the conceptual ones like this and this. But none of these have that feature of the African sanza that, I think, really gives it that great sound and uniquely African personality, and that is the little sizzling sympathetic rattles (for want of a better term) wrapped around each key (You can see them just behind the bridge on this instrument). The lack of that sizzling buzz is what made the famous Hugh Tracy Kalimba (which arguably popularized the instrument on a mass level in America and Europe) a bit of a bore. Whenever I hear sanzas without that feature, I feel like something is missing, sort of like a frequency that should be there but it's not. Like, say, classic jazz without a ride cymbal. Sonically incomplete. They look great, but they don't seem to be very experimental Well, I dunno, this and this seem to qualify as experimental, but you're right, most of them are simply beautiful/interesting as sculpture.

By: marlys

marlys — Wed, 28 Mar 2007 00:13:55 -0800

They look great, but they don't seem to be very experimental This suggests that the sounds may be unusual as well. Is the instrument hooked up to an amplifier? Or simply built to resonate with a reverb-like effect? I have no idea - but it would be fun to play with for sure. Thanks for a neat post!

By: Joseph Gurl

Joseph Gurl — Thu, 29 Mar 2007 17:52:53 -0800

Yeah, that's pretty obviously running into a delay. There's no way any small resonator could generate delays that long.