Flat Board!

Although it is quieter without a sound box, the sound it produces is more dolce/smooth/sweet, plus there's less chance in running into issues such as dead tines / dead body / ringing tines which happens at times for hollows 😆

@kalimbaverse so disassembling a flat board and putting that hardware on a box, would that be the best of both?

I bought some cheap tines on Wish and built a kalimba out of a cigar box. It had deadness and no sustain. I took that apart and put the hardware on a solid piece of oak. It does have more sustain, but some of the tines are still dead. The E° broke when I first built it on the cigar box.

I think a hollow box with a sufficiently thick top would work. It seems counterintuitive coming from a stringed instrument to have a thick soundboard.

I only have one, a resonant box type. First kalimba I've played and I love it! 

For now, flat board, as it is still common for hollow kalimbas to have very stiff or even dead end tines with little resonance and a clingy tone throughout notes. 

I did a lot of research before getting my first one, and got a hollow/resonance box kalimba. For some reason, I think I thought it was better and looked more like a "real" musical instrument. However, since then I've decided I like the flat board kalimbas better. I like being able to play the high notes. For me, it doesn't matter that it's not as loud. There are certain instances where someone might like a hollow one better, like for producing special effects with the sound holes. I guess they both have pros and cons, depending on the sound you're going for! 🙂

@ookami my hollow box one is very resonant with no dead tines, and yet was a cheap one from Amazon. I guess I got lucky.

@greenlarry, yip, that's good for you 👍 :). Good there are exceptions, as this means there's hope for improvement and that the exceptions work to become the average. Some brands or/and wood types seem less prone to it too. 

I'm not excluding hollow boxes in the long run, just waiting that one comes out that reliably overcomes these general issues 😉 ( keeping an eye on multiple reviews/reports/covers played on different models).

On the market available to me, the cheapest hollows are not necessarily that much cheaper, compared to a flatboard (wood or acrylic). And I have a few other criteria too, such as variety of keys (21),  tines very soft and easy to pluck (in particular high ends) (sensitive skin and rather short nails 😆 ), the type of sound coming out (difficult to describe, it's down to personal preference and often brand/model specific). Flat boards offer more choice with 21 keys, can't even remember in my research a hollow kalimba with 21 keys. That played also a role in picking up a 21 key flatboard as my first Kalimba, just slightly more expensive than first prized hollow.

@alpobc I don’t think that would work. I’m no expert but I feel like the reason that a hollow kalimba has problems with the high notes/outer tines especially is that you get too close to the edge, the hollow box is what resonates and that works best in the middle. 

I haven’t had the opportunity to use a hollow kalimba. When I researched before buying my first kalimba I was very grateful for the videos that explained the difference, I am totally fine with the kalimba not being loud and the sweeter sound of the flatboard is exactly what I prefer, so I bought a flatboard Lingting. If I hadn’t done research I probably would have bought one of the cheaper, off brand hollow kalimbas.

 Before I got my current hollowboard my partner order a small 10 note flatboard from wish as a surprise. It came but there was no board. Just a bag of tiny tines and the bars lol. I might get round to putting it together some day...

@greenlarry classic Wish haha - let me know if you need any guidance or if you have any questions. I recommend you install then on a flatboard

@admin yes I am looking for something I can use as a flat board, and I'll need to know where to install the bars

@greenlarry try visiting the local carpenters get a leftover board in shape. I'll see if I can find blueprints for it and post here later on

Check this video Larry - one important thing to mind when installing the tines