I purchased the kantele kit as a relaxing project to start a woodworking hobby. It is lovely. The boards are gorgeous and high quality. The directions are clear, and the videos give a person the extra confidence to go forward. I appreciate the supportive attitude of the staff, and the encouraging emails that they have sent. I suspect that I will be purchasing again, as time goes on.

The Kantele kit is terrific. The wood pieces are beautiful and very accurately cut, making assembly easier than expected. The instructions are clear and complete. I have had a couple of minor questions that I sent in and I got very helpful responses in just a few hours, even on the weekend. I am looking forward to playing the kantele after putting the finish on in the next couple of days.

I've been wanting a traditional instrument to learn for awhile, and when the pandemic lockdown was starting decided that this fit my budget and skill level nicely. The basic construction was fairly simple but involved enough to be satisfying. I really stretched the time out by hand sanding and learning to wood burn to decorate the sides. Quality of parts is very nice, the mahogany is beautiful. Had a very nice sound and I'm enjoying learning to play traditional music and fantasy songs! Overall I'd say this kit is very much worth the money! Great quality, not too difficult with basic skills, but lots of room for creativity!

Easy to put together and it was a great learning experience. I will be purchasing another kit.

The wood and parts are really high quality. I feel like my kit was rushed through a little, as the parts weren't really cut to fit with a great deal of precision, but regardless if you have just a little bit of woodworking knowledge it's very easy to glue up in a day. The sanding did turn into a bit more shaping, but it's worth noting that walnut does sand quite easily. A drum sanding bit with a hand drill works very well for the inside curve of the snail to get it shaped down quickly. I opted for a Tried & True Danish oil finish, and I honestly couldn't be happier. I've had it assembled for about two weeks now and I don't think I've gone a day without playing it. A great piece for any folk instrument collection.

All parts were there and well packaged. Very good quality wood and hardware. I glued it all together the afternoon it arrived and was playing it at lunchtime the next day. The product is as described, easy to assemble with few tools required. However, I would not have completed mine nearly as quickly if I did not own a bench disk/belt sander, orbital sander, rotary tool, and drill press. I really like this instrument that has a beautiful sound. This is the third music makers kit I have completed and they are consistent in their quality. The instructions were very clear.

This kit is made of fine materials, very easy to build and yields a lovely haunting sound. You'll have some significant sanding to do and I recommend getting access to a power sander. The wood is beautiful and the rosette is a nice touch to make this a lovely instrument all the way around.

I wanted to make my wife a special gift but as a recovering stroke victim not to mention never having done wood working it can be a challenge. I found the instructions first rate! The videos are also a big help! The "Snell" was cut very over sized, but nothing that some sanding couldn't fix. Building this kit has been great continued therapy for my hands and it feels so good to build a something special for my wife who is a gifted multi instrumentalist. It restores a sense of pride and accomplishment. Now I am saving a little money because I want to do the Mt Dulcimer kit next!

Excellent! I now have one awesome Kantele. My Finnish friends love it. The kit was easy to build and finish. Called with a question , the guys were great at technical advice. I totally recommend this kit and company!

Thanks your support, advice and expertise in helping punch up my kantele kit from Music Makers. This is my first woodworking project since Jr. High and your great instruction and videos made it a great project. Looking forward to a couple others.

It's been a pleasure dealing with your company.

Last month I did purchase your Kantele kit and that went together very nicely. I'm 100% Finnish and I've been trying to plunk out old Finnish folk songs my mother used to sing. It sounds beautiful. I plan to build a few of these for Christmas gifts this year and order all my supplies from you. Everybody in my family has a masters degree in music except me. These musical gifts have really been a hit. I built cajons for them three years ago.

We've watched your little video of you demonstrating how to play the Kantele many times. My wife is trying to teach me how to play that little song that you do. (I'm a much better woodworker than a musician!)

Thanks for the great service.

Sanded up a lot of wood dust. Rubbed on some oil and bees wax. Plays like a dream.

Just wanted to let you know I finished my Kantele Kit assembly this past Sunday and am very happy with the way it turned out. We had 2 warm, sunny days in a row and I was able to get outside and work on instruments. I had the Kantele inside with finish drying on it and I was outside cutting out parts for your Teardrop Mandolin. I am really excited about the Mandolin. I decided I needed something to really challenge me and the mandolin is doing that. The plans are well drawn and easy to understand. I received a fret board from you and got some wood in today for the ft & bk. Spruce and cedar. I laid out and cut out the neck from Maple and was amazed at how well it turned out. i have some salvaged mahogany I am using for the sides. So far everything is turning out very well and I am really enjoying myself. I am very grateful for Musicmaker's helping me to find a new hobby.

I have successfully completed the kantele and the hognosed psaltery-- REALLY happy with your kits! Lovely quality of wood, already fitted really well, and a dream to assemble, with MUCH info provided to assure proper assembly. I couldn't be happier, and hoping to order very soon again. The woodworking bug has bitten, after a few years of dormancy, and you guys have the very best antidote. I'm attaching a picture of the kantele, just before getting it ready to string up. You'll be hearing from me SOOOOON!

I love the kantele. It's Finnished (sorry), and It's such a beautiful instrument. I love the woods you chose for it. It looks so nice with a simple polyurethane Finnish (sorry! I can't help the puns). This was such a fun kit to build. I'd recommend this one for a new builder any day. It not only looks beautiful when finnished (ahem....), but the sound of a kantele is so haunting. It puzzles me, too, because the soundboard is relatively thick, and it has no backboard, and yet it has this lovely timber. I just added one small piece of oak from a very ancient tree, as a decoration. It really needs nothing more than the rosette. I love that touch, too. I'm quite happy with this instrument.

It's like all of your kits that I've built. (The Strumbly was my first, and I still love it). I also appreciate the books you offer for playing these unusual instruments. I try to purchase a book when I make one of your unusual instruments! I make it a point to play them all and learn to play a few tunes on them. It's fun, and my family gets a kick out of it. With the kantele, my brother said, "Should I ask you what THAT one is?" Then I can tell the story from the Kalevala, about the origin of the kantele. Here's a few pictures. It's very nice, like all of your kits I've made so far. Thanks again. I love your products, not to mention the always supurb customer service. I'm eyeballing that chord harp, too. That is very interesting. It sounds like an autoharp to me. Nice idea!

Dear Matt, It was pleasure corresponding with you. You were very helpful kind patient and generous and the Kantele is just beautiful both to look at and to play.

I have been looking for an instrument for quite a while and this one fit the bill perfectly. I was so drawn to the sound and then to the simplicity of plucking and strumming in my lap. Harps were too awkward for me with size and my deteriorating depth perception. Autoharps required learning and made too big a sound. This simple zither plays my favorite singing range and will support me in "Threshold Singers" - our local hospice bedside music ministry. Only 2 or 3 of us go to a bedside and only simple meditative melodies and harmonies are used. With practice I think I will be able to attend a bedside solo, supported by the Kantele. It is lovely and I look forward to engaging more with it.

Thank you again for making this beautiful instrument such a pleasure to buy and enjoy!

Beautiful sound, and very nice-looking instrument. Download the chord sheet from harpkit.