Well made and in tune

I read all the reviews before buying it and it was just as I expected, if not better! Anyone that's willing to tune it will love it!

Hard to figure out how to tune it. Instructions aren't good - not in English.

Although it didn't come tuned, with some pliers and a good musical ear it's easy to set up in almost any key you'd like. Although the booklet suggested the key of D, I opted to tune to C as it allows the exterior keys to ring more clearly. I only gave four stars for not being tuned upon arrival -- otherwise it sings and rings so, so beautifully it's easy to just thumb around with it mindlessly, almost in a trance

Tuning takes some effort, but it's worth it. Great sound, except for the shortest tines, which don't really resonate.

Very interesting instrument. See YouTube videos on how to play it, tune it. Made a great gift!

Sound is good. Like the rounded back.

Nice tone, but tuning issues. At least two keys have the same note.

Quick note on tuning:<br />The tension bar does not loosen, however the easiest way I've found to tune it is by using a wooden dowel rod to push the tines longer or shorter. If you use pliers, you may damage the surface and cause discomfort during play.<br /><br />The reason it didn't get 5 stars from me is that the edges of the tines are rough on some. A little 400 grit sandpaper will fix it and it will be a beautiful instrument.

The tones are nice but getting it tuned right is rough, some dings in the metal but an excellent buy.

Pretty but not well tuned

Feels good in the hand, nice wood, good sound projection. Got it for my grown son - he likes it too!

This is a beautiful instrument. It has great tone, and with multiple sound holes, you can get a nice reverb effect. The one problem I have is the keys are made of, I guess, a plated metal, which flakes when I play, so that I end up with what looks like glitter on my clothes and my hands. It takes some work to tune it, but with some experimentation, I was able to come up with a workable method. The suggested way to tune it did not work at all.

Its very nice. The high notes on the end are a little bit tin sounding and tuning it is nerve-racking because you have to hit the instrument to tune it. But I really like it. Can't wait to get a handle on playing it.

Grandson said it takes a long time to tune but otherwise likes it

My &#34;Mid-East Thumb Piano Large&#34; (17 keys) arrived in two days in perfect condition (in a nice, solid carboard box that can be used to store the instrument). It's finished very nicely and the grain is interesting. I tuned it to the recommended D Major scale using a plastic punch and mallet and a tuning app on my iPod Touch. That took about 45 minutes. The tines ring beautifully, except the very highest note on the right, the F#. It's just too short and sounds a dull 'tink' with no sustain. In my opinion, that tine, as is, has no musical value. I might pull that tine out until it rings to a nice sustain, which might be several half tones lower, and then adjust the other tines to that scale.<br /><br />It's fun and easy to pluck quickly in a pattern and plucking two adjacent tines makes good harmony. It sounds sweet and mellow. Thumbs up.

I have not tried to play this kalimba yet as I haven't been able to figure out how to tune it. The instructions are not much help but I did find other instructions on the internet of various tunings.<br />It does seem to be made very well, with the exception of the smallest tines at the ends, they don't play very well.

fun toy to recreate popular tunes, bring it on camping trips or long car rides because it's lightweight. next one i get will have more keys so that i don't have to tune it so often

I've always loved kalimba music, and I decided to try my hand at playing. This kalimba is really good quality. The wood is smooth, and it feels nice in my hands. The tines are a little tight, making it tough to tune it, but it isn't a huge issue. It's a beautiful instrument, and easy to learn to play!

I received this instrument as a gift, and I love it dearly. It sounds great and the wood is heavy and feels good in the hands. However, it does come untuned, and the tuning process is pretty difficult as there is no way to actually loosen the bar. I'd recommend that beginning musicians who have never tuned an instrument before, or people who might have difficulty tuning instruments, get a pre-tuned kalimba. It's a bit more expensive, but you'll save yourself a lot of grief.<br /><br />I'm a cellist, so I'm familiar with needing a little bit of elbow grease to get an instrument in tune. The instructions say &#34;firm pressure,&#34; but what you really need is a pair of pliers and a free hour or so to really yank on the tines until you get them just right. It's quite difficult to get the higher register in tune, as a nearly imperceptible adjustment of the top few tines will throw off the pitch more than a whole step. Once it is in tune, however, it will never go out unless you yank or bend the tines again, so there's that. The only downside is that the pliers did scratch up the wood behind the tops of the tines a bit, but it's not really visible from the front.<br /><br />I've never played any other kalimbas before, so I can't really judge this one against other instruments like it. However, once it is tuned (I tuned mine to the standard D major scale, on which you can also play in b natural minor, and some fun modes like e dorian) it sounds like a sweet, mellow music box. The tines are arranged so that each adjacent pair is a third apart, so by gliding your thumb or thumbnail over three or four adjacent tines you can easily play chords. It's a little tricky to get used to the staggered arrangement of notes, especially if you are used to playing an instrument where the notes are arranged in order, such as a piano, but with some practice it becomes second nature. It's really fun to just mess around on.<br /><br />There are two holes on the back which produce a really nice &#34;wah-wah&#34; vibrato-like effect if you move your fingers over them--this effect works best on notes or chords played at full volume. The hole on the front can produce a similar effect, though it is more difficult, I find, to get to work.<br /><br />When I read that this instrument was played with the thumbnails, I was afraid it would be difficult or painful to play, but it's actually really comfortable and easy for me. But it is easier to play if you don't have very short thumbnails. Playing the tines with the pad of your thumb instead of the nail results in a softer, mellower, muted sound.<br /><br />Tl;dr: Very nice-sounding instrument once in tune, but requires some time and yanking with pliers to tune. Recommended for people who have tuned instruments before.