Newlam Kalimba Thumb Piano 17 Keys, Portable Mbira Finger Piano Gifts for Kids and Adults Beginners

I absolutely love this! It’s beautiful to look at but the tone lovely as well. It’s a nice size and very easy to hold while you play. I’m a pianist so it’s been a challenge to go back and forth for each note but it now comes very easily. It has kept it time very well once I tuned out perfectly. It’s a very fun and rewarding instrument for beginners as well as others.

This product has got some nice weight and sturdiness to it. I bought it for my 2 year old. He was amazed to be honest. Easy for a toddler to use and easy for an adult to learn. The package comes with a tiny booklet on a handful of songs and stickers to mark your keys. It comes with”tuned” but according to the booklet where I read about the app to help you tune it, it was off key. So that took a good thirty minutes to adjust before wrapping it as a gift. Very soft music, this does come with finger protectors and a little hammer for the adjustments. Comes with its own little bag as well for traveling. I can’t see it breaking or chipping.

Lovely tone with this beautiful kalimba. The wood is solid, fits just right in the hands, and is well made with quality care. It’s attractive to leave on the coffee table, and all visitors (and kids) enjoy picking it up and playing a tune.

Off the bat, I'm going to be reviewing this kalimba as a Starter/beginner kalimba and not as an extremely professional, high-end piece. I've been playing kalimba for a very short amount of time on my partner's much more expensive alto kalimba and loving it. But the alto has fewer keys and the keys are set up opposite of a usual 17 key and finding tabs for the alto was very difficult. I'm someone who gets into hobbies and then drops them a few months, even weeks, later so I didn't want to purchase a pricey kalimba if I wasn't invested. That's where this kalimba comes in. For a little over $20, I figured I could mess around with it, see if I enjoyed the instrument before purchasing an expensive kalimba. I was extremely surprised by my initial impressions of this kalimba. The look of the instrument is absolutely stunning and the sound right out of the box is lovely. I believe I may need to tune the furthest keys as they are a little buzzy but, overall, you get a pretty solid piece for next to nothing cost-wise. Pros - Very inexpensive - Beautiful appearance - Classic, "music-box" sound - Tune correctly out of the box (two keys are any exception) - Lots of goodies (tuning hammer, manual and music tabs book, stickers for the keys, black bag for storage) - Ergonomic shape with the side dents for your thumb to rest - Like most kalimbas, learning the basic mechanics of how to play is very easy - Engraved keys (the listing and many Q&As answered by the seller say the keys are not engraved but mine did come engraved and I think it is absolutely beautiful plus helpful) Cons - Multiple reviewers experienced the same damage from a crack starting at the soundhole and running to the base after a month+ of owning (I have not experienced this but will update if this happens) - Tuning hammer feels it is made of cheap material (will see if this is a problem later on) - No real paper trail on where this instrument was manufactured (may not be a con or even a care for many but knowing where your piece was made and exactly by who can be important for some) - Does not include a pickup (this might be a moot point for many but, higher-end kalimbas, such as the alto kalimba from Kalimba Magic I first started playing on, have an electronic pickup for amps) - No ability to request non-standard tuning (the vast majority of people want a kalimba tuned in Standard G. However, if you want a different tuning [aren't confident you could do that yourself], you won't be able to ask with any of the kalimbas found on Amazon for a different tuning like you can with other manufacturers like Kalimba Magic) Pro/Con/Neutral - Small (great for children and folks with small hands like me but might be annoying for someone with larger hands) - Lightweight (again, great for children and small-handed folks but could be frustrating for someone who wants a hefty instrument) - While gorgeous, I do question the quality of materials used. The craftsmanship is beautiful but, without knowing the specific source of all the material, it is difficult to provide feedback on the quality. I've included a few pictures and a (poorly focused) video of the kalimba being played. You may be able to hear the "buzzy" or "fuzzy" end keys in the video but, overall, this was tuned wonderfully. Additionally, I have not tuned or done anything to the kalimba besides play it a few times. This is the sound out of the box. I think this piece does the job for anyone test-running if they want a kalimba or not. It is very cheap which makes it easier to jump into; no pressure if you don't enjoy it and decide to give it away, donate, or just leave it on your shelf to mess about with once every few months. For a starter kalimba (barring any sudden and random damage as other reviewers have experienced with this specific piece) I rate this 5/5. It has everything a starter kalimba should have at a price point that is very difficult to beat. Compared to other, high-end and professional kalimbas, it absolutely lacks in multiple areas but, if you're just test-running this interesting and wonderful instrument, this little piece will help you explore. And, when you're ready to upgrade to a professional kalimba, you won't feel as though you wasted any money or time with this little cheapy buddy!

If you want a musical toy for your kids that isn't annoying, the kalimba is the perfect solution! It is surprisingly hard to play if you want to play an actual song, because the notes are not side by side as they are on a piano or string instrument. With some hard concentration and a good dose of intuition you can work out a tune, after some hard work. But for kids who just want to make sounds, it is perfect. It does hurt the fingers to play for very long. The hammer is really too dangerous for kids, though it solves the hurt finger problem, plus it makes the dinging sound so loud it hurts the ears. My one complaint is that one of the metal bars wiggles out of place a little bit, but it can be put right back and it hasn't broken. The wood is high quality and it really feels like a fine item, (so much so that my husband doesn't want the kids to play with it which defeats the entire purpose of it as a toy...,). If you like quality wooden toys for your kids that make beautiful, non annoying sounds (so long as they do not use the hammer), get your kid this kalimba!

Easy to play and lots of fun. I mostly just bang around instead of playing actual songs. I find the sounds to be soothing and calming. Finally my thumbs have a higher purpose, to make beautiful music.

Got it as a gift for my niece. Played with it when I got it and thought it was super cool! Great price and exactly like the picture! I’m not musically inclined, so I have no idea how to interpret the notes, but it doesn’t look too hard! I think she’s gonna love it and seems like a unique gift!

I was very impressed with the quality and the beautiful sound that this created. It is made of beautiful wood and easy to understand instructions to play it.

This instrument produces a lovely, whimsical and calming sound. My kids play random notes and it still sounds nice and isn't irritating. It includes a tuning hammer, a booklet with songs to play and little silicone thumb protectors (you'll need them until your thumbs strengthen up). It seems to be made of good quality, looks like and really was a great value for the money. It's not very big so can be easily left on a shelf when not using it and is very portable. We've had a lot of fun learning to play it.

Superb!!belle sonorité !!

Bought as a gift for my boyfriend who is into sampling sounds to create digital pieces. He’s a musician with lots of expensive digital technology and equipment but always messes around with this Kalimba. It’s got a beautiful sound, feels very well made, and is easy to use. Great value for the price, and feels good quality. It’s pretty self explanatory to use, and offers an interesting authentic sound.

Fun stuff

Delivered on time, with information and a downloadable music book, easy to play from day 1, the teenagers love it!