LingTing LT-K17A 17 keys Kalimba Mbira Thumb Piano（wind whisperer）

Arrived a day late, but the item was in pristine condition. The attention to detail and obvious care and respect with which Lingting craft kalimbas extends to how they package them; the packaging is not just something rather special, but well designed so that their kalimbas can withstand the post without looking like they've ever bumbled about in the back of a van or sat in a warehouse. I've never had a kalimba unboxing experience quite like it; it was like some expert wizard from Diagon Alley had sent it over - magical.In a nut shell (or beautifully designed box, albeit), the Lingting LT-K17A does the kalimba justice, unlike many, making it ideal for beginners and seasoned players alike and, hence, a worthwhile investment; in line with Lingting's signiture quality and attention to detail, the kalimba even arrived correctly tuned, which I hadn't expected, but new players (who aren't using to hammering kalimbas in to shape) might be interested to know.Another Lingting feature is that they pack their boxes with a plethora of useful extras, saving new players from having to fork out on things they need or might not, such as letter / number stickers, hard and soft travel cases, a tuning hammer, external pickup (the Lingting LT-K17A does not have an inbuilt pickup jack), polishing cloth, tremlo chain and ornate tassel (for those who like to um be-tassle their musical instruments).Lingting also include thumb protectors with the kalimba, though the carefully rounded tines do go a long way to help avoid sore thumbs for players yet to master a prefered (a.k.a pain-free) technique, and thumb protectors are worth avoiding if possible; using them dulls the notes somewhat and can decrease precision when 'hitting' the tines for some. A note also, no pun, on the tremlo chain, it is gold toned and matches the Lingting brand plate on the lower part of the kalimba body so as well as sounding magical, it looks it.Really, just a beautiful example of the instrument, made with real love and obvious care. Well worth spending a few extra quid, even (and especially, to be honest,) as a beginner; when you own something so ready to be played and lovingly crafted it is far harder to lose interest or motivatation in those early days; this kalimba simply begs to be played.

After being very disappointed when receiving an inferior product with ‘dead tines’ from another worldwide selling platform; I paid the extra for this one and it’s a delight to play. Gentle melodic tones that go all the way up to the shortest higher tines. A quality case and bag plus all the usual extras. It even has a pick up for connections to an amplifier. Wet very happy with this brand. I hope to update this review with a video.Note: I am updating this review as I found that when playing after a while, the tines seem stiff although they are in tune. For those with arthritis or dexterity problems this could be an issue. If like me then it is worth paying the extra for a Hokema whose tines are a lot more flexible.

Before going forward please bear in mind that if I consider this a 4.5/5,byt Amazon only allows full stars.I have so many good things to say about this kalimba, I'll start with the one fault.The missing 0.5 is because the description says the Kalimba comes pre-tuned, which I consider a huge bonus as I bought this as a gift and didn't want to have to spend an hour tuning it. Unfortunately, more than half the tines needed tuning. If you don't mind this, then consider this a perfect 5 star review.Other than the tuning, which I'm sure most people won't care about, I cannot fault this product. It sounds great across the board, with no stiff or dead tines. It feels like it is quality, with sturdy wood and beautiful tines. The wood feels durable, but not too heavy for longer sessions, and the badge and logo engraving on the back make it really feel high quality. The tines are thicker than I expected but much better than the wider, flatter versions a lot of kalimba seem to have. They are very soft on my thumbs and after a week of playing, they still look and feel as high quality as the first time I saw them.The extras were also very nice. Although the book is mostly in another language, which I expected, the few songs were very legible. Having multiple note stickers and multiple types of marking stickers was a huge bonus, too. Far too many times I've lost one note sticker and had to wait for a replacement set or have an unequal-looking kalimba because of it. I would have preferred the notes to be engravers but I understand this gives more options and will have a much cleaner appearance if you're confident enough to not need markings to find the correct keys.All in all, I am very happy and can't recommend this enough. I had several kalimba before this one and they all had problems, from being too heavy, not sounding clear, dead tines or feeling very cheap. Considering the price of this, I expected it to be another dud to add to that list, but I'm very happy.Thank you.

New to kalimba playing and this is perfect. No flat notes and having fun learning. Well presented and arrived on time

This is the first Kalimba I have bought or tried to play. You can play it at any level with several options for reading tunes, or you can just spend hours enjoying experimenting. It's very well made and is a quality instrument with a beautiful sound. Excellence also applies to the packaging and all the accessories which include a chain. I like my Kalimba so much I've bought 2 more the same as Christmas presents.

Brilliant tone from this kalimba. It makes a lovely sound and excellent quality. Comes with everything you need.