Hluru Kalimbas: Our Honest Review

Are you thinking of buying a kalimba, a percussion instrument from Africa? Are you new to this instrument and wondering whether the Hluru brand makes quality thumb pianos? Are you looking for reviews to see if it’s a good buy and what alternatives are out there?

After more than 10 years immersed in the world of kalimbas, I’ve had the chance to try over twenty different brands, including, of course, several Hluru models. So I can confidently advise you by sharing my opinion of this brand, along with a comparison to help you choose your next thumb piano.

Hluru is a Chinese mid-range kalimba brand. In terms of quality, it sits just above unbranded instruments, but it’s still far from the refinement of more prestigious names such as Gecko, Lingting, or April Yang.

Once you’ve read this detailed review, you’ll finally learn:

• Who the Hluru brand really is
• Our take on the quality of Hluru kalimbas
• Which other brands are more worth considering for your thumb piano

This information will help you choose the best possible kalimba based on what you expect from the instrument and how you plan to use it.

Now it’s time to dive into our take on Hluru kalimbas.

Who is really behind the Hluru musical instrument brand?

Hluru is a musical-instrument brand founded in 2017 in the People’s Republic of China, and it’s currently headquartered in the Panyu district of Guangzhou province. Its official name is “Shenzhen Hluru Musical Instrument Co. LTD.” This company manufactures kalimbas in Asia, as well as tongue drums and handpans, two other percussion instruments that are played with the hands or mallets. All of their instruments bear the same logo: a semicircle shaped like a smile with four vertical lines above and below the arc.

Hluru also partners with several talented musicians to promote their sanzas and other instruments. These are mostly Chinese artists who are little known in the West, such as Jade Butterfly, Lin Xiao, and YangZi. According to its official website, Hluru aims to be the perfect combination of craftsmanship and technology to offer quality instruments.

Hluru employs around 200 people who work on the production lines for its various instrument models, and the company maintains a website simply called www.hluru.com. This is Hluru’s only official website, and we’re pointing it out because some unscrupulous sellers use its images and logo without authorization, fraudulently posing as the brand’s owners. However, as proven by the certificates below, where you can clearly see their logo, the intellectual property rights for the Hluru brand have been registered since 2020, particularly in the European Union and the United States of America.

What is our opinion of the Hluru kalimba brand?

Although Hluru positions itself as a high-end brand in the kalimba market, it still falls short of leading competitors, placing it more squarely in the mid-range category. After testing several of their 17- and 21-tine models on numerous occasions, it’s clear that these aren’t bad kalimbas, but they definitely have room for improvement. So let’s get more specific by looking at the pros and cons of these instruments.

The positive points of Hluru thumb pianos

There are, of course, advantages to Hluru kalimbas, and here they are:

• A decent finish : Hluru kalimbas are, overall, quite attractive if you like the brand’s look. Hluru has clearly put work into this, and it’s always nice to own an instrument with beautiful wood grain (especially black walnut) and ergonomic curves that feel good in the hands.
• A wide range of models : With just under ten different kalimbas, you’re very likely to find one that interests you. The lineup includes thumb pianos with 7 to 34 tines, which will satisfy the vast majority of musicians.
• Multiple wood types : Hluru often offers several wood options for the same kalimba model. So you can choose an instrument made of beech, mahogany, walnut, or acacia, depending on your preferences. Check out our article to help you choose the right wood type for your kalimba if you’re not sure how it will affect the instrument.
• Decent packaging : At least it exists. The packaging includes a box stamped with the Hluru logo and a fairly basic set of accessories, such as stickers, a soft fabric pouch, a cloth, a tuning hammer, and a small English-language booklet with instructions and sheet music.

Choose quality with this Hluru kalimba

4.6/5 — 500+ Reviews

View the Hluru kalimba

The downsides of Hluru kalimbas

Now let’s look at the disadvantages of the mbiras sold by the Hluru brand:

• Accessories that stop at the basics : It’s hard to call yourself a premium brand when the included accessories are stripped to the essentials. For instruments priced over $80, you might still not get a hard case to protect your kalimba from moisture, dust, and travel. On top of that, the included booklet is only a few pages long, even though you can find kalimbas in the same price range that come with a more complete guide, silicone thumb protectors, a protective case, a tremolo chain, and sometimes even a decorative pompom.
• Rather stiff tines : the flexibility of the instrument’s tines is a key part of good design. Too stiff, and they can make your thumbs sore. Too flexible, and they can warp. Unfortunately, Hluru tines tend to be on the stiff side, which may have you gritting your teeth after a few minutes—or buying thumb protectors, which, as a reminder, aren’t included.
• Muted tines : Kalimba players know you can often recognize a good instrument by how well the short tines resonate. When they don’t, it can come down to the tine metal as well as the overall build of the thumb piano, particularly the bridges and pressure bar. With Hluru, the short tines do vibrate, but noticeably less than on some other models, which is a drawback—especially for a brand that claims to be high-end.

• Frequent retuning : I’ve personally noticed that Hluru kalimbas tend to go out of tune more often than those from other well-known brands. It’s worth considering, because you’ll need to spend extra time readjusting the tines.
• Fraudulent resellers selling counterfeit instruments : As mentioned above, Hluru has only one genuine, official website, yet scams are common online, especially around this brand. Please shop carefully. Before making any purchase, it’s strongly recommended to confirm that the store where you plan to enter your credit card details is a real company with a physical address, a phone number, and, above all, a valid SIRET number (a French business registration ID). Under French law, those details must appear on the store’s website. Otherwise, you’ll have little recourse if you never receive your kalimba, and you may also end up with a counterfeit instrument.
• Unpleasant smell : Some kalimba models have a slight, odd, unnatural smell that likely comes from the wax applied to the instrument’s wood.

What are the alternatives for buying a thumb piano?

Hluru is far from an uninteresting brand. At one point, it brought new ideas that were appreciated by kalimba players. However, in our opinion, Hluru has stagnated and hasn’t refreshed its current approach to thumb pianos, while other brands have made major progress. So, even though Hluru can still offer decent value for money, it’s now easy to find a more compelling alternative.

Based on our article on the best kalimbas currently available, we strongly recommend checking out the kalimba from the April Yang brand. April Yang is a professional musician who specializes, among other instruments, in the thumb piano and has a YouTube channel with hundreds of millions of views thanks to her kalimba performance videos. She used to play Hluru instruments before becoming disappointed and creating her own brand so she could perform on an improved kalimba. Her model comes with more accessories and flexible tines, none of which sound muted, delivering crystal-clear, enchanting tones. Today, it’s a high-end kalimba that easily outperforms Hluru while staying in the same price range.

Discover this kalimba now by clicking on the image below:

Unlock exceptional tone with April Yang’s kalimba

4.6/5 — 500+ Reviews

View April Yang’s kalimba

If you’re planning to give a kalimba to a young child, it’s important to choose the right instrument. Read our article to find out which kalimba to buy for a child. If, on the other hand, the mbira is intended for an adult, learn everything there is to know about this instrument by reading this comprehensive guide to the kalimba.