Is this wacky board behavior or didn’t you understand my typing?
I suggest you avoid Pakastani instruments such as furnished by Mid-East Mfg as they are of marginal quality.
Of course, if you know the instrument maker personally and know his work is good, then why ask?
Griff - if I had only 100 bucks to spend on a bodhran I would get the Walton’s or Paki cheapie, then look at getting a couple of decent tippers with what I had left over, as the ones shipped with the cheaper bodhrans aren’t very good. You won’t get a great drum, but there are some things you can do to improve the skin most of the time (sanding, lanolin, watering, gaffer tape, etc.). This will get you a drum that you can learn on and not feel like you are beating on a garbage can lid. The tippers are about as important as the drum, especially at first, and if you get a bad one it can be very discouraging.
There really isn’t such thing as a good mid-level bodhran in my experience. Either you get the cheap mass-produced stuff or you get a handmade nice one that is anywhere from 250 or so and up. There isnt that much in the middle. Tunable drums are usually 50-80 bucks more.
I have heard of a maker in England (Andrea Power I think) who makes a good drum for 95 Euros, but that doesn’t help you much in Washington. If you have any questions ask away.
Thanks again for the advice. I don’t know what happened with my messages, but I assure you that I only intended to send my last one once. 
While I would love to have a real nice drum, I have spent so much on whistles and flutes at this point, that I really can’t justify spending much. I also doubt that I will ever become a real serious player.
Fancypiper, do you have personal experience with the kits? I have kind of average skills, having done some woodworking and leatherworking, but I would hate to end up putting in a bunch of time on something that I’m embarrassed to let anyone see…
Griff
A friend gave me that kit when I first came down with Crohn’s disease and I built it.
IIRC:
You may have to drill 4 holes in the rim to attach the crossbars (which I immediately removed as it hindered my hand movements). My memory is failing, so these may have been pre-drilled and this step may not actually exist..
You need to soak the skin overnight before starting. You fold the edge of the skin and tack it to the rim using upholstry tacks (I had to buy another bag of them as I am a terrible nailer and bent many. I think they dodge me..)
Let the skin dry at room temperature (probably overnight and treat the skin side that you beat with (my favorite) cocoa butter (yummy, chocolate bodhran, who can resist?) or neatsfoot oil or some other oily skin cream or leather treatment.
Annoy the tune players. Uh, better yet, get solo CDs and figure out what sounds good with the good players.
Keep a wet sponge and a hair dryer (a campfire is ideal if you can find the right distance to play from it) to tune it (I like it to sound a G with my hand at the bottom of my comfortable playing position). Don’t overdamp or overdry as the skin will keep responding as it absorbs/releases moisture.
6.. With the money left over plus a tiny bit, it would be wise to buy the IRISH BODHRAN AND BONES video tutor by Mel Mercier. Its available at the Elderly Instruments Videos - Drums & Percussion page and I am sure, other sites as well.
Thanks again, fancy. I’ll have to check it out.
I’m still open to more advice, though.
Griff
You can make a cheap bodhran sound much better by putting bubble wrap behind the skin. The more layers you use the more it makes a “thud” sound. Cheap bodhrans tend to “ring” or “zing”, and this tweak will remove that.
This tweak also prevents you from doing the “waves of the sea” thing with your left hand on the skin. This is a good thing.
It’s my impression that just about everything from Mid-East is shoddy, but the cane whistle I got from them is surprisingly good.
Umm, this is a joke, right? You’re trying to prevent the drum hand from being used? There are other ways to help a pingy skin and still be able to use your left hand - I know “waving” with the left hand is bad but proper use of the drum hand is a necessary skill to learn.
Thanks again for all the great advice! Isn’t this a great resource?
Griff
Personally I don’t think it is a waste of money to get a nice one. You can get the hang of playing on a mid-east one for a reasonable price, buy eventually you will probably want a more versatile instrument. Yahoo has a decent group of makers you can get hold of.
Check also:
http://www.daveydrums.com/
The maker of my own fine instrument.
I got mine from Malachy Kearns in Roundstone, Connemara. I got mine at his shop and it was considerably cheaper. The prices quoted on this site are much higher than your $100 limit but they are good. I have a 16 inch with a book of Kells design on my wall above the computer.
http://www.bodhran.com/designs.html
Keep whistling and tweak your fipple.
Ron
Advice?
The banjo is the most appealing member of the drum family.
How many layers of bubble wrap? What does it allow you to do with the left hand? I do suppose it would keep you from putting too much pressure on the back of the skin or moving your hand up or down the skin. I can’t imagine attempting a decending roll. I do toss a sweatshirt over my drum when I’m trying to practice quietly. There are an awful lot of dynamics that are controlled with the hand on the skin that I would think would become pretty muddy if a person was working around a few layers of bubble wrap, but I suppose I should try it before I knock it.
I was at a clinic a few weeks ago. A player had one of those Pakastani drums and it wasn’t bad. Not flimsy. Also, not tuneable. That may be a consideration. You can put water and mink oil on them, playing side only, never on the inside. I don’t like the Kerns drums with the painted heads. If you are going to play it, the paint chips like crazy. The natural skins have a much better feel. MUCH better. The plastic heads are indestructible. Remo makes them.
I have ten bodhrans, I love them. The most expensive took almost a year to make and cost,… well, a bunch. Special wood, nordic carvings, celtic mother of pearl inlays and my initials. The perfect skin took two months to locate. But I was looking for a custom drum, on par with the fine guitars and other great instruments. I have only seen progress pictures, it is now complete and he (cleverly) hasn’t sent me a finished photo. The maker has a photo session scheduled with a professional photographer in two weeks. He’s as proud of it as I am. I’ll probably have it in a month.
Maybe the bubbles popping would provide an interesting counter rhythm? Instead of a rim shot you could just pop a bubble.
I’m totally happy with my Waltons bodhran, it cost $90 and came with a real comfortable tipper.This was perfect for me because I’m not serious about playing and getting a more expensive drum would have been a waste of a instrument.
Take care,Johnz
That’s the way to go John. You know after playing for a while whether or not you want to get a more versatile drum. I enjoyed my lower end drums for a long while before I decided to get a nicer one.
Par, I’ve been told (and I do) just the opposite. Did you mean to say NEVER on the playing side?
To topic: I agree that Waltons is a good beginner drum, but not all Waltons are the same - they have several different models and I wouldn’t recommend the cheapest one. (I haven’t had one, but I’ve tried one.) I’ve had mine for a couple years now, and it’s doing well, even through temp/humidity extreems.
I am also in the process of building my own. It’s purpleheart and maple and is just about ready to skin. (I had to kill the goat with my bare hands, but it was worth it to get the real experience - just kidding Cran, I got the skin online from a heartless wholesaler. I did want to use Carabou, but none of my friends got one this year… well there is one near milepost 100, but it’s probably frozen to the ground by now.) I have dreams of actually selling them someday, but they’re a lot of work.
Good luck in your search,
Erik
p.s. The Goat Whacker is an awesome tipper, if anyone is interested in them: http://pages.prodigy.net/marty_spencer/fiddlers-grove/tippers/
Wassup E.T, you know, I once had one of your whistles. It was gorgeous. I had to let an insistant young lady in Kansas City have it. I may need to look into a replacement. On the drum question, no, I’m pretty sure the treatments go on the hair side. But it might not matter as long as you use the right stuff. Many drums have been ruined with things like hand lotions and skin creams. Many, many items do way more harm than good. I have never used anything on any of my gear. Too much risk and that is one big advantage of getting a tuneable drum and a high quality skin made by someone who knows how to prepare one the right way. It take a whole lot of time and experience, hence the higher cost.. I agree on the Goatwackers. I have a cocabolo,… and another good maker with a lot of options and choices is David Drager.
I did not know that 
(said like Johnny Carson). Thanks for the compliment. I know what you mean about lotions… I actually don’t use anything but water on my Waltons, but a tunable drum kind of makes that not even necessary.
Regarding Goat Whackers, I can’t find my favorite - purple heart. Last I saw, one of my kiddos was whacking things around the house and now its gone. I should have confiscated it. Oh well. I’ll check out David, too.
Erik