Bodhran, 16"x7", Tune, Rosewood, Single

This bodhran has an excellent grain and gloss finish and the shell is much superior to the cheaper, painted mulberry in both appearance and tone. Many Irish bodhrans are now being produced with deeper rims and thin "lambeg" heads (Seamus O'Kane style). This drum has a thin, dumbek style head. This needs to be set at the right pitch with a tuner, at either the "G" or "D" below middle "C." Make sure that you get the same pitch at around the entire circumference. Typical of thin heads, it has an overtone or over ringing sound that should be stabilized. This can be done with taping along the circumferance of the rim inside and /or outside. Electrical or plastic black tape can be used. The taping is a difficult task. Other alternatives are to use a latex paint (match to color of the goatskin head). This will give you a goatskin playing surface over the middle 9 tenths of the drum head. This will produce a deep bass sound with no over ringing. There is a notch in the shell where you place your non playing arm with the hand on this inside to alter the pitch to achieve different notes or "slides." This allows you to easily play in a seated position with the bodhran braced on a knee or lifted to add volume and deepen the pitch. The notch also allows standing and playing more easily than regular bodhran shells. Thin and light tippers are usually used with thin head bodhrans. If you have a tipper or tippers without a notch or ridge in the middle, a rubber band works well for a secure grip. This is especially needed if you play both ends of the tipper for "triplets," the typical professional style. Brushes or a thin bundle of small diameter dowels with the ends sanded smooth gives "texture" to the sound. This is one of the advantages of a thin responsive skin. Wrapping the ends of a tipper in a thin leather will also soften the sound (maintaining a "polite" volume is critical for playing with other musicians).

This is a good starter bodhran and an excellent thin skin, deep shell bodhran to have in addition to other styles of bodhrans. I bought it to complement the double goatskin bodhran I already own. Its not a $300 to $400 "top end" bodhran that comes out of the package ready to play. However, with a few easy adjustments, it is a very decent bodhran, especially for the price.