The durable Sansula Renaissance
If you are looking for a robust Sansula that is suitable for children, tolerates energetic playing and captivates with its balanced sound and volume, then the Sansula Renaissance is the right one for you.
The membrane used here is a synthetic REMO drumhead, which was specially developed for percussion instruments and has excellent sound properties on the one hand and is weatherproof and hard-wearing on the other. In addition, the frame has been reinforced so that the Sansula Renaissance can be used in kindergartens, schools and in therapeutic work. Its advantage over a simple Kalimba is its higher volume, but also its softer sound.
Playing Sansula music is easy
The Sansula Renaissance convinces not only with its lasting stability, but also with its easy playability and its enchanting tones. Every combination of notes sounds melodious. Intuitively, you can glide your thumbs over the spring steel tines and indulge in the melodies and rhythms that emerge. Warm and cosy, spirituous, full of overtones and loud and sustained, the sound resonates - simply beautiful.
The different Sansula models
After the Hokema Sansula Basic in the factory tuning A minor pentatonic was launched in 2001 and soon became a patented bestseller, there were further versions and innovations in the following years. Until today, more robust types, further tuning variations and the diatonic "Melody" models with 11 reeds in G major were added. We also offer some models tuned to the concert pitch of 432 Hz.
The sound membranes or drumheads of the Basic, Renaissance and Deluxe
The Hokema Sansula Renaissance is a further development of the previous models Sansula Basic and Sansula Deluxe. The Sansula Basic sounds excellent, but has the disadvantage that it must not be dropped or roughly handled. The Sansula Deluxe has solved this shortcoming with a drumhead made of genuine calfskin. Although this can be retightened, it is still sensitive to the weather. And it is not vegan either. The Sansula Renaissance with the synthetic drumhead made by REMO is insensitive to humidity fluctuations and very robustly built.
Playing melodies and songs with the Sansula Melody
There are also the "Melody" models of the Sansulas, which have 11 diatonically tuned reeds instead of the 9 pentatonically tuned reeds, which are pre-tuned to G major. While the pentatonic versions are more suitable for intuitive and meditative playing, the diatonic ones can also be used to play songs and melodies from sheet music.
Tunings
You can choose from eight Sansula tunings. However, we do not always have all of them in stock, so please contact us if you are interested in a particular tuning.
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A minor (A4, C5, C4, A4, A3, F4, E4, E5, B4)
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A major (A4, C#5, C#4, A4, A3, F#4, E4, E5, B4)
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Akebono (A4, D5, D4, A4, A3, F4, E4, E5, A#4)
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Hijaz (G4, C5, D4, A4, A3, F#4, D#4, D#5, A#4)
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A minor 7 (A4, C5, C4, G4, A3, F4, E4, E5, B4)
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Pygmy (A4, D5, D4, A4, A3, F4, E4, F5, C4)
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D major (A4, D5, D4, A4, A3, F#4, E4, F#5, B4)
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Heavenly A (A4, C#5, D4, G#4, A3, F#4, E4, E5, B4)
Sansulas in 432 Hz
Due to the high demand we also offer several Sansula models with the concert pitch A4 = 432 Hz. If your desired Sansula is not in stock, please contact us.
Sansula tuning
If you want to retune your Sansula, bring it into one of the above mentioned tunings or experiment with other harmonies, you can easily tune it with the help of a small hammer. You can find instructions on our blog or directly at Hokema.
Sustainability
Especially worth mentioning is the sustainable manufacturing of the instruments at Hokema:
- energy-neutral production
- packaging and shipping free of plastics
- no tropical woods
- surfaces of the woods are only treated with linseed oil
- all materials are selected and processed for durability
Maintaining the Sansula
You can easily care for the wooden frame of your Sansula by treating it with linseed oil, olive oil or another care oil. It is also best to rub the reeds with a vegetable oil or metal care product from time to time so that they do not patina so quickly. The tines of the Sansula are made of spring steel, which has excellent sound properties, elasticity and stability, but can react to moisture. We therefore recommend that you always keep the spring steel reeds dry and wipe them with a soft cloth after playing.
Get more background information in our blog
In Germany kalimbas are produced at the workshop of Peter Hokema. Within this family business he has been making these instruments with excellent quality since 1985. Kalimbas by Hokema are made in a pentatonic tuning. One can play very well on these instruments without any musical educational background.
Anyone who plays a Kalimba regularly will certainly have noticed that the instrument begins to sound "inharmonic" or "weird" over time. Then the moment has come when you ask yourself, "What's going on here and how can I bring it back to its original condition?"
After reading this blog post, you'll have the know-how you need to make your Kalimba sound clean again.
Looking at the European museum catalogue for musical instruments MIMO, one can find almost 170 musical instruments under the keyword “lamellaphones in Africa”. Thereby one is often very different from another one. All instruments belong to one category for which we (Non-Africans) commonly use the generic term “kalimba”.
