Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Setting Up Your Kalimba
Do Some Tines Stick up or Lag Down?

OK, we've covered the X and Y dimensions in the previous two tips, now we look at the Z, which represents height, i.e., how high or low are the tips of the tines? The tine tips, where you play the tines, need not all be at the same level, but they do need to vary smoothly and be in line with each other.

If one or more tines is too high or too low, you may need to bend your tines a little bit. The whole point behind spring steel is that however you deform it, it springs back to how it used to be. That's what makes the tines vibrate. But if one tine is sticking up too high, you can actually make a permanent deformation—or perhaps we should call it a re-formation.

Scoot the other tines out of the way as much as you can and grab the tine with some needle-nosed pliers, as close to the bridge as you can, and bend the tine up or down a bit. Get a very small radius of curvature to the bend in order to make the bend permanent, and aim to bend it just a little bit so you don't overdo it.

While bending the tines, be very careful! I have heard of one person who broke a tine on their kalimba this way. At Kalimba Magic, we usually don't set up the tines in the Z direction unless they are way out.

 

 

 

 

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