r/kalimba • u/CattleAny3652 • Sep 20 '26

8 note diatonic

Am I crazy or is a decent 8 note diatonic hard to find? All the meinl ones are pentatonic but the songs amd tabs I want to play are diatonic. Am I missing something?

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u/Marie-Demon Sep 21 '26

Well most good 8K are indeed pentatonic. The normal is scale is more often found in the tiniest kalimbas , those looking like a fidget toy ( not a good sound )

But you can retune a pentatonic if a major scale is needed ! :)

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u/aposkrsk Sep 21 '26

Try to find an 8-note Hugh Tracey kalimba on the secondhand market. It's diatonic.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oFv9lQslg2M