Tuesday, May 10, 2011

I had some alaskan yellow cedar that was not quite right for instrument material, but it made an excellent kalimba case! Aaron Chavez, master player of the chromatic kalimba, custom ordered this four-octave (yes, four octaves!) fully chromatic instrument, of his design.

The bass keys hang over the treble keys, so that you can double a note or chord with a bass note two octaves below simply by touching the key 1/2" or so below it! The chromatic notes are on the back side, the flat notes behind their corresponding naturals on the front.

The kalimba is imbuia and walnut, and that gray foam padding inside the case is IMPOSSIBLE to find- even though it comes with virtually every electronic you'll ever buy!