I now sell the line of Hugh Tracey Kalimbas and Karimbas made by AMI (African Musical Instruments) in South Africa. These are the finest Kalimba and Karimba being made anywhere by any company. Please note that all the Hugh Tracy Kalimba and Karimba can be purchased with a built-in pick up that can be plugged directly into an amplification system.


Treble Kalimba
This is the basic Kalimba of the range, and is recommended for beginners. It has a clear, resonant tone well suited to guitar or voice, for solo or group playing. 17 notes, box based with vibrato holes. Range - B to D''

These instruments are the fruit of ethnomusicologist Hugh Tracey, who was amongst the first to travel through central and southern Africa and record this amazing music in the early 1900s. His creativity culminated in the design and building of Kalimbas in western tunings as well as Karimba that are African tuned and the development of African Musical Instruments which employs numerous people in Grahamstown, South Africa.

I was born in Bulalwayo, Zimbabwe, the land of the Mbira Dzavadzimu of the Shona people. But I grew up in Zambia near the Congo border where they played a Karimba that is very similar to the Nyunga Nyunga - the same keys and tuning as the Hugh Tracey African Karimba. Further north in the Congo they played Likembe.

Please check out Erica Azim's website on Mbira - CLICK TO VISIT Erica has been a student and teacher of Mbira for many years and her non-profit has been and still is instrumental in providing first rate information, workshops and CDs on Mbira and the music of Zimbabwe.


Alto Kalimba
A deeper toned Kalimba to accompany the treble or for solo use if preferred. 15 notes, box based, with vibrato holes. Range - G to G"


These instruments are also perfect for playing and developing a feel for the 6/8 and 12/8 rhythm that so typifies African music. These rhythms were what I heard and came to love from childhood and developed my sensibilities if African music and drumming.

Please note that these are real quality instruments made in South Africa and even the western tuned Kalimbas are head and shoulders above any of the copies made in Indonesia, Paksitan or elsewhere. If you want to explore the wonderful world of Kalimba these are the instruments you should buy.

Celeste Kalimba
A small, quiet model with a clear tone for solo playing. Illustrated is the treble layout, with 17 notes, board - based. Range - B to D''. But we also produce other layouts based on the celeste board configuration. These include the alto notes, two junior models (one pentatonic and one diatonic) with wider spaced notes for small fingers, and the African tuned Karimba shown below





African Karimba
An African tuned Kalimba based on traditional mbiras from the Zambezi valley in Zimbabwe. The instrument has two ranks of keys with brass buzzer rings, and comes supplied with an instruction leaflet for six tunes. It is also available with the traditional African 'Trade mark' shaped board base.