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welcome bodhràns
lessons
pictures live links
You don't choose a bodhràn, a bodhràn finds you...There are a lot of brilliant bodhrànmakers at the moment (who don't sell to tourists...).
But the drums made by Christian Hedwitschak work the best for me and my style of playing.
He has a well-thought-out bodhràn line that varies in price, size, skin, sound, view...
here you can visit his website
It's my pleasure to help you to find your drum. Feel free to test these bodhràns at my place.
Once you've made your choice, I'll deliver as fast as I can.
First you have the light line. (good quality, tunable bodhrán with great tone at an affordable price). Then comes the basicline. The picture shows two of these models. I think these drums sound as good as the high end line (professional). They have a different tuning system and they are builded without the decoratives and extra frills
The "old" Light Line Deep 12" (LLD30cm)is a mini-surprise. It's a small drum with a powerful bass. It's very flexible to make tonal variations.
It is small and light, which makes it the ideal travel drum, especially when flying.
Not suited for people who need a lot of space to hit a drum ;)
This MHTF is the drum that I use the most on stage and in sessions. It's a little bigger then the LLD but it has the same dynamical sound thanks to the dragonskin spicy. It's loud enough for you and not too loud for other sessioneers. On stage it's easy to amplify. The drum comes with the special varnish finish "Silvershadow". It is a kind of grey metallic varnish, not glossy, but matt-finished, and comes with a very good grip.
See how they've made this drum.
The "craiceann 2007" is my very special drum.
I have won this bodhran in Inisheer. It 's a drum from the high end serie, made by Christian Hedwitschak (see below). The skin is the mysterious dragon skin...
Fantastic drum
Christian Hedwitschak is a passionate bodhranmaker. Together with Rolf Wagels (litterally and figuratively one of the greatest players) he has developed the Rolf Wagels Edition (RWE). The sizes are the same as those of Seamus O' Kane and the skin comes from the same deliverer of Lambeg. Inside there are tuning knobs with which you can tune the bodhran in no time (without a wrench or screwdriver). Both a stable singing cadence and a frivolous swinging solo come from this drum smoothly. A nicely finished, professional top instrument. On Inish Oir I was in the same B&B with Christian, and each morning his passion to build bodhrans showed. Read more about it on his website.
Christian Hedwitschack
Seamus O'kane is worldwide perhaps the bestknown and appreciated bodhranmaker. 'Everyone' knows his instruments; they have become a reference for other bodhráns. He lives in Derry and uses excellent skins from lambeg (a village south of Belfast). These lambegskins sound clear and full, and they react to the slightest change of the left hand. You can vary pitch and tone endlessly. With these bodhráns a new style has been developed from Northern Ireland: top-end.
A small disadvantage is the tuning mechanism: you need a screwdriver for this.
There is a splendid Irish builder in Veldhoven (near Eindhoven). At Brendan White's house I tested some drums and this one stuck out.
website Brendan White
Brendan makes bodhráns with rather thick skins (he also makes bodhráns with 2 or even 3 skins on top). This produces a typical sound. Certenly in the beginning you have to push hard to make the bodhran sing.
You can tune it with an inbus key. Once tuned it rarely gets out of tune. In order to play in the traditional way (with both sides of the tipper) this is a top instrument.
Jacky Moran (Comas, Gan Bua) can do fantastic things with it.
Brendan does not only make solid drums, he can talk about them in a juicy Irish/Dutch for hours...to be recommended.
Like many others I bought my first bodhrán years ago during my first trip to Ireland. As a tourist you can visit Waltons or Roundstone. Here they produce bodhráns at the conveyor belt. I played on it for a while, but for performances or sessions this instrument is not sufficient. It cannot be tuned, so the skin is often too tight or to slack. You can try to solve this by wetting the skin or by warming it up.
website waltons
The skins in this mass production are not selected carefully.
Presently it is on the wall as a decoration at my home. the design comes from the book of Kells, a magnificent Irish manuscript.
Click here and listen to my favorite tippers
