Tuesday, July 3, 2007
Hugh Tracey Kalimbas Mellow With Age

My favorite kalimba is my 20 year old Alto Hugh Tracey. It is the sweetest kalimba I've every played.

When I started selling Hugh Tracey kalimbas in 2005, I was at first disappointed, because the alto kalimbas were not very much like my old Alto. There were a number of design changes I noticed right away - the kalimba was heavier, due to a block of wood inside to help make the kalimba sturdier, and the face wood was thicker in order to improve the durability of the wood box. And the kalimbas didn't sound as mellow and sweet as my old kalimba.

In another Tip of the Day, I did state that "Kalimbas respond to love." If you love a kalimba and play it a lot, it will change its sound and meet you half way. I've experienced that with an older treble kalimba that my son found for me on eBay.

But last month, I met a great rising kalimba player named Ernie, and he had a Hugh Tracey Alto Kalimba he had bought just six years ago. It was the new design, with thick face wood and the internal block; this kalimba was nearly as sweet as my own 20 year old, loved-into-sweetness Alto.

This is proof to me that kalimbas mellow with age and playing. So, if you don't particularly like the sound of your kalimba, play it every day, and it will grow towards you--you will become good friends.

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