Kumbengo Koras |
About our Koras |
| At first glance, Kumbengo Koras may appear far removed from the traditional African Jali instrument. Upon closer inspection however, it is clear that this instrument is nothing but a logical step in the evolution of koras. All the characteristic elements, the half-gourd covered with skin, the single neck running through it, the bridge resting on the skin, the traditional arrangement, number and tuning of the strings are all vital parts of Kumbengo Koras. |
|
 |
 |
However, anybody who has ever picked up a traditional kora will testify to the fact that they are quite difficult to tune. Kora builders have begun to experiment with a variety of friction pegs, such as in violins, harps, dulcimers etc.. The ultimate solution seemed to be the use of guitar tuning machines, as they are easy to use, quite reliable and can be used without a separate tuning key. We use mainly individual classical guitar tuners, gold or chrome, but others are available as a custom option |
| (Note: we are not the only builders to use machine heads, as far as we know the monks of Keur Moussa near Dakar, Senegal came up with that first.) |
||
| The body of a kora generally consists of a half calabash (gourd) covered with cow skin, sometimes goat skin. The skin is traditionally fastened to the gourd with a great number of upholstery tacks. Often, the part of the gourd covered by skin is decorated using tacks as well. We wanted to keep the number of holes in our gourds low without compromising strength, so we decided to use small screws with finish washers instead. This significantly reduces the amount of fasteners needed. There is also less stress on the gourd as we can pre-drill the holes and gently drive home the screws instead of hammering hundreds of tacks into the body. |
 |
 |
 |
We will gladly apply decorations to your instrument. We use screws and washers of varying sizes in nickel and brass finishes. Custom designs and letterings are welcome. |
On traditional koras the strings are attached to a set of secondary strings (black strings in the image on the right), which in turn are tied to an iron ring which is mounted to the end of the neck. When strings are replaced, the new strings tie to the secondary strings. This does, of course work, but we thought that a violin style tailpiece would be easier and more elegant. The string is simply threaded through the hole in the tailpiece and tied off. (We provide detailed tuning and maintenance information as well as spare strings with our instruments.) Kumbengo Koras are set up with custom nylon monofilament harp strings instead of the traditional fishing line. This allows us to put more tension on the strings which creates a more powerful tone. |
 |
 |
 |
The most comon scale for modern Koras is G2 through B5, but we have built Koras with a scale starting as low as E2 through G5 and as high as C3 through E6. We are able to vary the length of the neck to adjust the vibrating length of the strings. We may also use lighter or heavier gauges of string to change scales on existing insturments. We will gladly set up your Kora in any scale you require. |
| The bridge is a crucial part of any kora. This is where the energy of the strings is transfered to the skin. After many hours of refining the way we build our bridges and bridge bases as well as experimenting with various sound woods, we came up with a design that lets us reduce the mass of the bridge assembly by more than half while retaining all the necessary strength. We carefully compute the vibrating length of the strings between the bridge and the neck to result in a perfect harmonic curve. |
 |
 |