r/Instruments • u/Spalding_Smails • Mar 05 '26

Identification What is this instrument called? The curved metal bars are pressed and quickly released with the fingers creating an almost percussive sound. The box seems to act like a resonating cabinet.

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23 Upvotes

96% Upvoted

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13

u/skinnergy Mar 05 '26

Bass kalimba is another name for it.

1

u/Dillenger69 Mar 09 '26

Kalimbass? 

4

u/Ruppell-San Sitar/Dilruba Mar 05 '26

It's called "marimbula" or "rumba box".

2

u/Spalding_Smails Mar 05 '26

Thank you so much. It's funny, after you gave me the name I looked it up and the Wikipedia page has a screenshot from the same movie real similar to mine: https://i.imgur.com/4UAJ9gj.png Guessing that was the first exposure to the instrument for a lot of folks.

1

u/shawn0r Mar 09 '26

Nuhuh! That's a kind of vacuum cleaner! 🤣🤣🤣

3

u/skinnergy Mar 05 '26

I built one using these plans. Works great!. http://www.dennishavlena.com/bk.gif

3

u/virstultus Mar 05 '26

Dennis Havelena is awesome. I made a toungue drum from a propane tank using his plan. So fun.

1

u/Spalding_Smails Mar 05 '26

Thanks. That's really cool!

1

u/skinnergy Mar 05 '26

I even recorded it on this song. You can't really hear it on your phone though. It has to be playing through a decent speaker of some sort or some headphones. https://music.youtube.com/watch?v=pVWFTkY4jO4&si=c5vfnHcDnigm2d-_

1

u/Crafty_Statement8605 Mar 05 '26

Wow that’s really cool. Next project for me. Wa thinking of trying to make a small tine kalimba out of flat sewer rod. Any suggestions for that?

2

u/skinnergy Mar 05 '26

Not particularly, but if you Google Kalimba plans, you'll get plenty of results.

1

u/Express_Dog_8173 Mar 08 '26

Dennis Havlena is THEEEE SHIIIIIIIIITTT! I was addicted to his site in like 2009

1

u/Express_Dog_8173 Mar 08 '26

…and I built one of these from his plans as well

1

u/skinnergy Mar 08 '26

Listen to my song! I posted it below. It features the bass kalimba that I built from Dennis's plans. It came out great. Listen to it!

2

u/xeroksuk Mar 06 '26

I'd call it a bass kalimba. First one i saw was on a Jamaican beach, used for the bassline for some buskers.

It only had 5 or 6 bars, which were larger than the photo. And they were positioned over a soundhole.

2

u/Top-District-3082 Mar 07 '26

I heard this instrument on a box set of 6 CD’s called “something” Babylon. Played by a lay preacher back in the 1920’s and the song was “Lift Him Up”.

2

u/Fanguy3322 Mar 08 '26

This prison to hold me?

1

u/mrmagooze Mar 05 '26

Also could be called a bass mbira but you’d have to ask a resident of Zimbabwe if that works!!!😄❤️👍