This kantele was handmade in the United States by the two-generation team of Folkcraft luthiers.
The body of this instrument is black walnut, which provides you with both stunning good looks and a rich warm sound. The western red cedar soundboard mellows out the (already smooth) walnut tone quality. This walnut/red cedar instrument is the most mellow sounding kantele that we build. It is a nice "sit it in your lap and play for your own enjoyment" instrument, but it might not have the volume you want for concert performance.
With fifteen strings, you get a full two octave D major scale. You could easily tune your kantele to play a two octave C major scale if you preferred.
To play the instrument, you can hold it upright against your body, with the strings facing away from you, or you can lay the instrument across your lap with the strings facing upwards. While the vertical position may be more traditional, we enjoy performing with the instrument on the lap, as this allows easy use of both hands while creating music.
Features:
- Body Style: unibody
- Body finish: lacquer
- Tone hole: modern Celtic shield
- Key: D
- Range: 2 octaves
- Height: 25"
- Width: 17"
- Body depth: 2"
- Total depth: 3"
- Top: western red cedar
- Body: black walnut
- Pins: nickel plated
- Bracing: integrated internal bracing
- Number of strings: 15
- Bridge: maple with brass rod