oh oh....I did finally find it.   thanks....such interesting things we read about here.   No wonder I get to bed so late. ooooooooooooops, 

thanks Steven for your comments...and Thanks VERY MUCH for Pondoro for your photo of cat in the hole.  cute...and yep, I've been wondering where that instrument is made.  So I looked up "CLOUD NINE" on the net.  no results.  Can you direct me more.   I've seen those played on you tube....with a quick pass by 'em....as it's usually a big group that is playing and I wanted to see more of the bass sound that I was hearing.  THIS IS THE INSTRUMENT....more info please.  thanks loads.  aloha, irene

My wife has a 7-key bass model built by Cloud Nine. I was shocked at how easy it was to tune. I realize that bass notes are less critical (she has no "Bb" key and the standard advice is, "Just use B"!!). But I clipped my Snark electronic tuner on the edge of the sound hole, loosened a screw and slid the key. Took about 5 minutes and is good until the weather changes drastically (like winter > summer). If she was a professional she'd probably tune it before every performance but for playing around home 2-3 times a year is fine. In the picture our cat is going up close and personal to validate the tuning.

Cat Inspects Marimbula.jpg  •  137KB

IIRC tuning instruments like that is a matter of how long the twangy bits are... each has a set screw sort of arrangement and can be slid in/out a tiny bit to adjust how much is flexible.

I don't know about this particular instrument, Irene, but to tune a kalimba, you need a tiny hammer. These hammers sometimes come with the purchase of the kalimba...if not, they can be found on ebay.

One needs to be the patient sort...they can be a real bear to tune and to keep from buzzing!

Thanks Ken for this link.   THAT IS BEAUTIFUL MUSIC.  and he was playing it soooooo cruz like.  wow.  It's a Stineway version of a thumb piano.  I bet it is no easy picnicking to tune.   aloha, irene

Irene -- can you not click on the words Array mbira in Ballad Gal original post?  It's a link...

hey hey, folks, I want to see a photo of this  marimbulas.   Curiosity....aloha, irene

I have a 17 key kalimba....quite enough for me, folks!

Yup -- Arry is the brand -- the maker company.  I've made a couple of small kalimbas, but that 5 octave marimbula is really fabulous!

They are also called marimbulas, m'rimbulas, etc. No one seems to spell it the same way. The large ones that I have seen have had a lot less "keys" and were in the bass range. The smaller ones are usually called kalimbas and come in a variety of ranges. This is certainly an Olympic class version. And you are correct, I would hate to fall on it.

That's a remarkably pretty sound. I'm pretty sure "Array" is a brand and the instrument is called an mbira.  They are sometimes called thumb pianos and usually only have about an octave range.  I've never seen one that large before.  Pretty cool.

I've never heard of an Array mbira before. Sounds pretty. Looks kind of scary though!

Array mbira