A 21-string machine head Budget Kora in kit form that you can assemble at one of our group workshops. We do not ship this kora and it is only currently available to workshop participants.
Included:
This kora is aimed at anyone who is keen to start learning but really can’t afford one of our normal range. The quality is very high but it will not have the fine finish and tone of the more expensive models.
It is a 21 string kora made with hardwood neck, handles, crossbar and bridge. The wood chosen will be based on availability at the time of manufacture. We use chrome Gotoh enclosed machine heads on all of our koras. There are no options on this kora.
It has a strong European goat skin, stretched over a small, reinforced calabash (generally around 36cm wide but this will vary). It is now produced in partnership with Jali craftsmen in West Africa and occasionally we will use local cow skin instead of the European goat skin. We supply all the materials and parts including the neck and bridge; the local craftsmen make the body and assemble the kora, then they are packaged and posted from The Gambia.
See About Our Koras for more details on the materials we use and the processes.
A 21 (or optionally 22) string kora made with a Bubinga neck, handles, cross piece, bridge and pad. We use chrome Gotoh enclosed machine heads on all of our koras.
Bubinga is a particularly beautiful hardwood that has a reddish hue and a lovely grain. Its beauty lies in the cross-graining as well as the colour, but it is much harder to work and blades are blunted easily by it, hence it is more expensive. It is heavier than Sapele and Walnut.
Ebonisation: Bubinga is one of the few woods that can be successfully ‘ebonised’. This is a natural process that can be used to turn the timber black, to look like ebony. Combined with a real ebony bridge it makes a remarkably beautiful kora and is available as a wood treatment option.
See About Our Koras for more details on the materials we use and the processes.
A 21 (or optionally 22) string kora that is made using Keno wood. We use chrome Gotoh enclosed machine heads on all of our koras.
Keno is traditionally used for koras and is really brought to life as Adam works and finishes it to a subtle sheen, with beautiful figuring.
We reserve the best-shaped and largest calabashes for these koras and take even more time than usual over their selection and building. We are confident that these koras are the very best that Adam makes. It is the culmination of years of experience, of care and attention that makes them special.
All koras play back to the player, it is in the nature of the instrument’s fundamental design and we struggle to find the words to describe why these do more than that. Apart from their physical beauty they also seem to connect with the player in a subtle way, making it easier to play and for long periods of time. They are always the kora of choice for any experienced player who has had the opportunity to play many different koras – and it has been said it it is a little like coming home.
More information about how we make our koras and the timber.
