Idea and intention

I felt the need for a compact and light African harp while traveling the world. Regular flights with a full-size traditional African Kora were associated with a lot of stress and potential damage or additional costs each time. Later, having presented my development to the general public, I realized that I was not the only one who faced similar problems and wanted to find a solution.

Travel Kora was conceived as a modular musical instrument with high strength and reliability, fully reproducing the possibilities of the scale of the traditional African harp.

The main goal was to accurately reproduce the ergonomics and fingering of the traditional African harp so that the transition between portable and full-sized harp was seamless.

It took me more than four years to develop and improve the design, I am very pleased with the result and proudly present it to the world.

Materials and technologies

Birch plywood was chosen as the material for Travel Kora, as it has very high strength regardless of the grain direction, availability and ease of processing.

Acquaintance with the CNC milling machine made it possible to look at the process from a new angle and pushed to the successful solution of many production problems.

The high degree of accuracy and speed of processing plywood on a CNC milling machine made it possible to achieve amazing results.

Birch plywood is a very pleasant and homogeneous material, which lends itself well to processing, sanding, staining and varnishing.

Bright Italian pigments and a matte polyurethane varnish were chosen for the finish.

Components and Parts

Guided by the ideas of practicality and minimalism, I tried to reduce the number of components used in Travel Kora as much as possible. Thereby reducing the cost and production time.

Piano tuning studs were chosen as the most affordable and reliable way to tension the strings on the Travel Kora as this is a technology proven by time and practice. They are easy to use, maintain and replace.

Nylon fishing line of various diameters used as strings for the Travel Kora. The diameters of each string are calculated in detail using formulas based on the length, note frequency and traction load that is optimal for a bright sound. The total tension of the strings is 206 kg (454 lb).

White ash is used in the manufacture of the bridge and base of the bridge and was chosen as the most suitable wood in terms of acoustic and strength parameters.

Functionality and usage

A handy bag for storage and carrying, a tuning key and a set of spare strings are supplied with the Travel Kora.

Removable crossbar can be mounted on the bottom of the body for more comfortable practice or stored on the neck for transportation and storage

Piezo pickup and a mono jack output (6.35 mm, 1/4") are built-in to Travel Kora, which allows it to be connect it to an amplifier in the same way as an electric guitar or semi-acoustic guitar.