Kalimba Magic NEWS

Ask Mark
Effects of Pickups on Acoustics When Unplugged
Tuning a Mid East Mfg "Kalimba"

I get one or two dozen emails each day asking me all sorts of questions, and I answer almost every one. Some are asked over and over again, so I try to answer those really well by putting them into an "Ask Mark" article. —Mark Holdaway

Do the pickups affect the acoustic sound of a kalimba?

Hey Kalimba Magic, through some YouYube videos I've recently stumbled across your site and am now obsessed with the prospect of owning one or more kalimbas. I'm interested in the "sweetheart deal" with the alto/treble Hugh Tracey kalimbas. My only concern is the pickups. When it comes to acoustic guitars I find that plain ones usually sound better than those with pickups installed and drilled into the wood. Do the kalimbas with pickups sound the same (when unplugged) as the ones without pickups? I hope you get back to me because I'm quite eager to start playing one of these things. Thanks in advance for your time. —Danny

KM: There is essentially no change in the acoustic properties of the kalimbas when you add the pickups - the wood is a bit thicker and stiffer than guitar wood, so the effect of the extra mass will be smaller. There is a minimal effect in adding a jack hole to the kalimba (the "wah wah" effect made by covering and uncovering the sound holes is reduced by about 5% due to the extra hole). Every now and then the O-ring on the jack could come loose and will rattle or buzz with most notes - in that case, tighten it again, or even glue it and tighten it.

Can Kalimba Magic tune my Mid-East-Mfg kalimba?

Several months ago, J contacted me asking about tuning her Mid-East-Mfg kalimba, and I tipped her off to Kalimba Magic's Learn How to Tune the Kalimba page and, if that was too difficult for her, there is always the The Kalimba Doctor.

A few days ago, J wrote again requesting the help of The Kalimba Doctor. I didn't see J in my list of people who had bought a kalimba from me, but I offered to tune her kalimba for $20 (including return shipping), or $15 if she had bought it from me or from a store I wholesale to in the last 6 months. However, I also told her that I would not tune it if it was a Pakistani-made Mid-East-Mfg (M.E.M.) copy of the Hugh Tracey 17-Note Treble kalimba.

J: Well it's a Middle East Mfg kalimba that I purchased some time around March. I'm new to this and needed something just to start with that wasn't very expensive. But since you won't tune it, do you know where I could get it tuned?

KM: I would suggest you ask the person who sold it to you. If the people who sold the M.E.M. kalimbas had to tune them, a number of things might happen: the kalimbas would be somewhat more playable; the sellers might have to raise their prices to cover their time tuning the kalimbas; and some sellers would realize they aren't selling real musical instruments, or that they don't have the time to deal with tuning the kalimbas, and they would stop selling the M.E.M. kalimbas.

I'm sorry about not helping you out, but the M.E.M. instrument is a seemingly-exact copy (i.e., knock-off) of the Hugh Tracey Treble kalimba, which sells for a fraction of the Hugh Tracey price, and they are very difficult to play (and tune!) - so they are not the same thing at all. As they probably outsell the original Hugh Tracey kalimbas by a huge margin, they represent a major threat to the existence of the genuine Hugh Tracey Kalimba and, indeed, sully the musicial reputation of kalimbas in general.

They are so inexpensive, I myself bought two of the Pakistani copies several years ago, before I realized they are basically unplayable compared to the Hugh Tracey kalimbas. Oh well, live and learn!

Send me your questions! I certainly don't know everything about the kalimba, but I know a lot, I'm learning more each day—and I am happy to share this information.