Bodhran(s) on Ebay

Whistle
1

Hey Everyone:

I dont know anything about bodhran. My mom wants one. I saw on the Mustnt Whistle thread a mention of good deals on bodhran (what is the plural for bodhran anyway?), but many of the $35.00 initial bid items that are listed have no brand name or maker listed. There are a bunch of nontunables listed for about $35.00 Here is a sample link of a tunable one opening at about $60:


http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=863155658

Then there are some Waltons and others that start at around $80. But at this price why not just to to some place like http://www.bangadrum.com ?

Is Ebay a good way to go? If so, are these cheap, generic bodhran really worth it? Has anyone bought one of these? Or should I just go with Bangadrum and buy one at full (online) retail?

Thanks all,

Kevin

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Kevin,
Just for the record, the plural of bodhrán is bodhráin.
Seanduine

3

I have a fyberskyn Howard design bodrhan. I don’t think it is worth the 90.00 I paid for it, but it’s a great practice knockabout bodrhan that I don’t have to keep in a case. And I don’t worry about abusing it when I play a rhythm that calls for rimshots. I recommend it with some reservations because it doesn’t really sound like a trad bodrhan.
My friend Scott has a finely crafted goatskin head bodrhan from a maker in Dallas. This drum has a great heavy brass ring inside as part of its tuneable feature. It has a hearty sound despite its relatively small diameter. The fur is still on the goatskin around the sides. It smells like a goat. I have to air out the house after it has been played here. I have to shut my cats up in the other room while we are practicing because otherwise, even while Scott is beating it, my cats will jump in his lap and try to rub against it. We’ve had quite a laugh at this.
I also have one of those Pakistani models. It has a nice cross bar, but the skin is too thin. It has a tuning mechanism, but it is still too tight no matter how much I back off the tuning ring. I have to rub it with an oily wet sponge before playing; otherwise, it sounds like a garbage can lid. It was already a bit warped when I first got it.
I bought both mine off the net without trying them out first. Scott bought his at the North Texas Irish Festival. He says he paid close to 300.00 for his!
Get some positive recs from players for brands if you live too far out in the middle of nowhere to buy a bodrhan in person.

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Fred Halpin - Halpin Tuneable Drums
Malachy Kerns - Roundstone Instruments
Cooperman

All three top names in the world of the bodhrán. While the ones posted to eBay might seem tempting because of their low price, you must remember that like anything, you get what you pay for.

Three features to look for when purchasing a drum:

  1. Skin thickness.
    As a general rule, the thicker the better.

  2. Frame construction.
    Again, heavier is better and TUNEABLE!!!

  3. Warranty.
    IF something should ever go wrong, can you get it fixed easily?

The most expensive drum I’ve ever seen is the Halpin which with shipping come to something like $350. You can’t buy three ultra-cheapo Walton’s out here for less than that, and since you’d be replacing the cheaper drums about every year or two, in the not too distant future, you’ll probably spend a lot more on the cheapos.

Final note. If the drum SOUNDS bad, such as flat and loud with no life to the tone, you won’t want to play it anyway, nor will others wish to hear it played. And then regardless of what you spent, it would have been a waste.

Good luck!

Bri~

5

Heya,

I disagree with much said above. I have a Brendan White bodhran purchased in Cork, Ireland, and a modified Waltons (I’ve been playing for several years mind you). A good bodhran really is determined by the way you want to play it. If you’re looking to get a really large octave range out of your drum, a thick skin is NOT what you want. Thick skins generally give a heartier sound, but kills the resonance. You won’t see JohnJoe Kelly playing any thick skinned drums; he wouldn’t be able to get any high notes of them. Tunable is generally good, but those outer rim tuners like the ebay ones are absolute crap. Save your money, and spend some time researching different makers. Find someone with the sound you want to produce and ask them for advice.

6

Thanks everyone…no easy answers, are there?

I’ll look around…seems that this is not the sort of thing you really want to buy on Ebay, though it seems tempting.

Brian: The three makers you mention…do you deal withthem directly…how do you getinfo from?

Shucks…My mom really wants a harp, but I’ve been putting her off by getting her a few strings for Christmas, a few for her birthday, (this gave Sylvia Woods a good laugh) and I was hoping to satisfy her with a bodhran, but even this seems more complicated than I thought.

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On 2002-04-29 23:11, Bevoi wrote:
Heya,

I disagree with much said above. I have a Brendan White bodhran purchased in Cork, Ireland, and a modified Waltons (I’ve been playing for several years mind you). A good bodhran really is determined by the way you want to play it. If you’re looking to get a really large octave range out of your drum, a thick skin is NOT what you want. Thick skins generally give a heartier sound, but kills the resonance. You won’t see JohnJoe Kelly playing any thick skinned drums; he wouldn’t be able to get any high notes of them…

I’ll agree that the deep resonant sound a thicker skin offers is different than that of a thinner one, for most of us here in the US we also have to consider what climate will do to the drum. If in the summer time, I ever play session at a friends home with a swamp cooler, I can tell in about three minutes of starting to play due to the pitch drop. The opposite happens in winter with central heat.

You also may wish to think about two other points: 1. How long do I plan to keep this drum, and 2. If I ever decided to sell it (Heaven forbid!) will it be worth what I payed to someone else. I’ve played quite a few (read about 30 or so) Walton’s bodhráns, and while they are pretty to look at, I stopped buying after my first one. It now occupies a comfy niche at the city landfill where it belongs - nothing but problems.

As for ‘not being able to hit the high notes’, I’ve NEVER had troubles with this, unless I drop the skin tension so low it’s almost hanging off the rim. A big part of playing the bodhrán, is using your hand on the back of the skin to alter the pitch as you play. This SHOULD give you just about all the tonal range you’d ever need.

Keep in mind, that while the bodhrán can be dynamic as an instrument, it is NOT a primary melody instrument such as a whistle, and as such is not capable of playing things such as the Kesh jig! :slight_smile:

You also must consider the tipper or cipin(sp?) can have as much to do with the tone as the skin does. It’s important to find one that you find to be well balanced, and not too light or heavy in the hand. The length of the tipper will also affect speed, so whenever possible, try some out first, before you buy.

Anyway, I’d be happy to fire off some recordings of the Halpin drum I’ve got and I bet there are some others who have other makes that might be willing to share.

Oh yeah, one last thing to bear in mind: Service. If in fact you DO have anything go wrong with your drum, while it’s not the world’s most flexible instrument, it is still an instrument, and needs to be treated as such.

When the rim on my Walton’s warped and split the skin, I tried to contact Walton’s by email and phone numerous times, and was not ONCE granted the simple courtesy of a response! I tried going back to the store I purchased it from and they said “Call the manufacturer.” No help. Think I’ll EVER buy a Walton’s drum again? Hmpf! :wink:

So just be sure your tail is covered before spending ANY money on a drum. Private makers are much more likely to stand behind their product than a big company.

Here’s the web addresses I could find:

Fred Halpin
http://www3.sympatico.ca//halpin/home.htm

Roundstone Mucical Instruments
http://www.bodhran.com/

Cooperman Drums
http://www.cooperman.com/bodhrans.htm

Good luck, and let me know if you’d like a sound file.

Bri~

http://www.mp3.com/blee
uilleann_craic@yahoo.com

8

ysgwd

Hey there, the drum that you speak of with the brass tuning ring and the hairy skin is a Albert Alfonso bodhran. Some say it is one of the best. I am a beliver of that claim do to the fact that the tonal qualities of the drum are excelent. It carries a price tag of $425.00 new. It is a serious drum for the serious player. I have never heard of anyone not satisfied with their Albert.