Nice design, beautiful woodwork but not tonally accurate. A few keys were pretty off. But for a 9 year old grandson, it is good enough to get him interested in this handy instrument. It's a fun instrument for any age. Leave it on your office desk and see how many people will pick it up and start to play.

A little smaller than expected.

I read the other reviews and thought:<br />1. heck I know how to retune it.<br />2. Stiff tines--so what?<br /><br />Well it turns out the tines are so stiff that getting any volume on glisses hurts.<br />Also, my copy has uneven height on the tines and this is harder to fix than tuning.<br />Conclusion: If you know how to play a kalimba , get a better one. This one's flaws will limit your ability to do what you already know how to do.<br /><br />Edited 6/20<br />The tone of the tines was so nice that I kept trying to make it play comfortably. It took some work to figure out how to bend the tine tips and round them a bit, but I can finally do sweeps on it. Turns out this is a 'some assembly required' kit with a really nice final sound.<br />Upgraded from 2 to 4 stars.<br />I bought two more to have test beds for experimental tunings.<br /><br />If you are a beginner<br />1. It arrives unturned and takes a while to tune even with a chromatic tuner.<br />2. The tines are stiff enough to be problematic for a beginner.

Good instrument once you get it tuned properly. From the factory, not so much.

It sounds very nice but I cannot for the life of me tune it. You have to tune it extremely (and I mean extremely) high to get a correct scale. Otherwise fantastic

This is a Christmas Gift for a distant relative, but I think she will LOVE IT!

well I need to find someone to tune it but I am sure once it is tuned it will be all that I expected!

Little hard to tune but with right tools I was able to tune it properly .. not as high quality as I was expecting but with this price point I think I am fine with the product

Great instrument to play with- very relaxing sound. I can't compare with any other brands because I've never tried them, but this instrument has a nice clear sound when tuned right. Sounds louder to the person holding it than to anyone else.<br /><br />One of the tines on mine had a chip, which makes it a little harder to play, but nothing that is too serious. One other tine also buzzes, but this is fixed with a piece of paper wedged underneath the tine. Somewhat difficult to tune (you need to use a hammer), but once it's in tune it stays in tune.<br /><br />Very simple to play, and very sturdy, if you want to give this as a gift to a child (kids love it!).

Would have liked if it were tuned more than it was but all and all very well made.

This little instrument sounds wonderful! It did take a while to tune. We used an electronic tuner and some serious elbow (or thumb rather) grease! Having some fun with it!

The quality of this thumb piano is good. The wooden base and bridge are well made. The holes in the bottom allow you to change the tone of the sound. You will have to tune the instrument when you first get it by adjusting the length of the tines. I chose a minor scale instead of the major scale. An additional step I took was to file the end of the tines, as a few of them had sharp edges. One of my tines had some corrosion on it, so these two details made me give this four stars instead of five.

The DOBANI Thumb Piano fits well in my hands, and the keys are comfortable unlike other models that I've used.<br /><br />I feel the need to make a note if this right off the bat for those who may be wondering:<br /><br />YES YOU WILL NEED TO TUNE IT, like any other instrument. It doesn't come pre-tuned. It's a pain to tune, and the instructions only help a little. I managed to tune mine using an old Korg guitar tuner. Now it works like a charm.<br /><br />Ultimately it's a pretty good learning thumb piano, but I would see myself upgrading to a nicer one in the future.<br /><br />My only gripe if any was the packaging it came in. It came in a plastic ziplock bag that was packed into a cardboard envelope. It wasn't damaged, but you can never be too safe.

Arrived as pictured. Good, quality construction. the only problem I had was that it comes un-tuned. It would have been great if a musical scale could have been applied.

I'm not really a musician--I purchased this as a gift. This thumb piano has good build quality and sound. It was a little difficult to tune.