Make beautiful music with this 12-key African xylophone
Handcrafted by artisans of Africa (where it's known as the balaphone) this captivating instrument is made of indigenous woods, twine and natural gourds
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Make beautiful music with this 12-key African xylophone.
Handcrafted by artisans of Africa (where it's known as the balaphone) this captivating instrument is made of indigenous woods, twine, and natural gourds. Its unique, exotic design makes an eye-catching decoration for your ethnic decor. A pair of playing sticks is included.
The Story Behind the Product
Nana was born to a family of 9 children in the town of Kumasi in Ghana, West Africa. His parents divorced when he was only 8 years old and Nana became so rebellious that his mother sent him to live with his father in Tamale (in the Northern region of Ghana) when Nana was 12 years old. It was there that he developed an interest in art. He dropped out of school when he was 14 and started training with a master carver in Tamale. In 2000 Nana began selling his products through Worldstock. Nana is now married with 3 children and lives in Accra, Ghana. He is now a master carver with his own shop and 10 employees. Nana?s life has been so improved since he began working with Worldstock that he named his son after his contact at Overtsock.com.
The handcrafted nature of this product will produce minor differences in design and sizing. Subtle variations will occur from piece to piece, adding to its unique qualities. Measurements may vary slightly.
You can return most new and unopened items within 30 days of delivery for a full refund.* Items must be returned in new or unused condition and contain all original materials included with the shipment.
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Great for the price. Very loud for it's size. Tone Very Warm. Records well enough anyway with a condensor mic. Great to add as an extra track for texture and percussion in general. Glad I bought mine.
I bought this as a gift for my son who enjoys original musical pieces. He very much enjoys it and it goes well with his "backwoods" drums and all. Delivery was timely too and packaged well. Thank you!
How often do you shop at Overstock.com? First time
If you want an example of an instrument from Ghana,ie a balafon, then this is fine. However, this is tourist junk that is not of playing quality. It should be pentatonic tuned and it is not. The small gourds at the underside do not add to the sustain of the note being played above. You get what you pay for in this case.
I bought this xylophone as a gift for my girlfriend. After reading the reviews, I was under the impression that it is a working instrument. It's not. It's horribly out of tune, and has an awful tone. It makes an okay, but very not authentic, mantle-piece, but other than that it serves no musical purpose. I studied xylophone in Ghana, and their xylophones are much better made; for starters, you can play a song on them. They're actual instruments, that their craftsman puts pride and effort into making. These instruments, on the other hand, are quickly mass-produced to appeal to "exotic"-minded foreigners. Unless you're simply looking for a not-authentic conversation piece about which your house guests can remark, "well, isn't that exotic!" to which you reply, "yes, it's from Africa!", I'd say look somewhere else for an authentic musical instrument. This website's "Dono" drum is a good deal for a decent sounding drum.
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