I am a beginner bodhran player and am looking for some advice on purchasing a bodhran. The one I currently play has a processed skin and I was wondering if there is a difference between the sound of a processed head and a raw skin head. Also, is it possible to get a relatively inexpensive (less that $100-150) bodhran with a raw skin? I am basically looking to get a softer richer tone out of the drum.
Well, yes, it is relatively inexpensive to get yourself an introduction to traditional Irish music. However, if what you really want is a richer view of the music, expense is really irrelevant.
I suggest you look for the raw sound of what the essence of the music is. Look for the beauty of the melody and eschew the process of merely reproducing those melodies without the notes.
On the subject of raw (i.e. untanned) heads, look no further than maybe the greatest bodhran craftsman in the US, Albert Alfonso. You'll pay for it (US$400), but I guarantee you'll hear the difference. He uses only untanned goat skin. Albert is also, it must be said, a nut. A nicer guy you'll never meet, but he is very singular about his drums and doesn't horse around too much.
Is untanned skin safe? Or even sanitary? Remember when that guy in Scotland died this year from anthrax from using that badger skin (I think it was badger)...I'd be worried about germs and other nasties hiding out in the skin of an untanned bodhran. But maybe I'm just paranoid.
llig is right. I quote Alfonso's website bio:
"Personally, I would not play a tune on the drum if I did not know the melody, and I think that respect for the tunes really carries over in my selection of the skins." Would that all drummers adhered to this credo!
Whisky with ice, tell me it isn’t so! What’s this world coming to? The Dems effectively take back power over here and all of a sudden there’s talk around the world about folks putting ice in their whisky. Liberals, jeeesh!
There is a difference in the sound that a bodhrán with a tanned skin makes compared to one with a raw skin. A warm sound can be produced by either, especially after the raw skin has been beaten in a bit. I would suggest that you listen to examples of the different players on recordings, keeping in mind that some of the sound may indeed be enhanced by the mixing process, and then find out if the player uses a drum with a raw skin or one that is tanned, partial or otherwise. To me more of the warm sound comes from a raw, thicker skin that has been beaten in. Albert offers a model with just such a skin, saves time and wear and tear on ones shoulder, arm, and wrist, and to that end I second the recommendation of Albert’s bodhráns but there are other makers that do not used tanned skins, and yes they are safe.
Unfortunately as far as I know the only hope you have in the price range stated is a drum from the Middle East. To my way of thinking you will be wasting your money if you buy one. You may find a used bodhrán in this range by posting your query at http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Bodhrandojo/. You’ll need to join the group but this is a good thing as it is a part of the most comprehensive bodhrán resource I know of on the Internet.
Just as a safety note; I understand that the raw skin that caused the death of the guy in Scotland was imported; Anthrax amongst workers in the fur and skin trade used to be a low-level hazard ( that is, the chances were low, the disease was fatal before antibiotics ).
I thought you had to de-hair the goatskin traditionally by leaving it in a peat bog, which would be fairly effective at disinfecting, being acidic.
"I understand that the raw skin that caused the death of the guy in Scotland was imported" I'm not so sure about that GP, he was known to use local roadkill as well as imported skins.
meaghanek, I think all drum skins are processed to some degree, even using softening agents is in itself a process.
To be on the safe side though meaghanek, best take up an instrument eh.
I recently replaced a non-tunable Buck bohdran (~$200) with a tunable Mid East Mfg Pakastani drum. (OK, stay with me here.) I really needed a tunable drum, but couldn't justify spending a lot of money on a new one. I saw this one in a Celtic shop in Estes Park, CO and decide that, for the price, it sounded good enough for my needs. Then came the transformation. When I got it home, I sanded the back and front of the skin to smooth out some rough spots. This GREATLY reduced noise from hand movement on the back. Then I put some conditioning cream on both the front and back of the skin, which I think softened up the sound a bit. Finally, I wrapped electrical tape around the outer edge, starting right above the tacks and going in about an inch from the edge. This eliminated the upper harmonics and gave the drum a richer, deeper sound.
This drum sounds fantastic now. My best friend plays a Seamus O'Kane drum and he can't believe how good this drum sounds after I finished with it. If you can live with the lack of status that owning a Pakistani drum carries with it, they are great drums for the price as long as they are properly set up. You can find them all over the web, but here are a couple of links I sent to a friend. One is for a single skin drum, the other for a double skin.
Someone correct me if I am wrong here, but aren't most bohdrans made with untanned heads?
Bodhran makers, I think, tend to point out, and charge more for, the heads when they are tanned. I've also heard of semi-tanned heads. My only experience with a tanned head was that it was softer than an untanned head and gave a softer sound.
Thanks BB, I couldn’t think of yer man there. I don’t know about the best bit but Eamon makes a fine drum for the money I’m told by folks whose opinion I trust.
Craymcla, wait two years (or perhaps even less) and when the frame warps and the skin flops to the point of un-playability tell me again about the “status” thing.
Ejsant,
It sounds like you have a bit of an anger thing going there. My very first bodhran was a Pakistani drum, bought 12 years ago at a Celtic festival in Washington DC. It's still round. lo and behold, and still sounds good, very responsive, with the head in fine shape. Perhaps you had a bad experience with one, or perhaps you are just prejudiced against Mid-East made instruments; I don't know. From my own experience, as I said, they are great drums *for the money*. I've played other drums that I liked better, but they also cost 2 to 4 times as much.
A very naive question, but, since goat meat isn't an Irish delicacy, isn't it time that the animals stopped being slaughtered to provide material for percussionists?
Why the attempt at psycho-analysis? The last thing in my being is anger, especially that which would be directed at a group of people or an area of our planet. It seems to me that you brought up the separation with your statement “If you can live with the lack of status…”.
Now I grant you I may not have the years playing a bodhrán as you do but I have seen plenty of folks wasting their money on lower cost, poor quality instruments whilst on my walk and that is what I was commenting on. I’m sure there are drum makers in the Middle-East that turn out great drums but as I see things you get what you pay for or in the case of a bodhrán for “less than $100-150” you don’t get what you don’t pay for. It really is just that simple no hidden meanings or deep seated emotional anomalies, at least not this time.
Raw Skin bodhran
Raw Skin bodhran
I am a beginner bodhran player and am looking for some advice on purchasing a bodhran. The one I currently play has a processed skin and I was wondering if there is a difference between the sound of a processed head and a raw skin head. Also, is it possible to get a relatively inexpensive (less that $100-150) bodhran with a raw skin? I am basically looking to get a softer richer tone out of the drum.
Thanks!
# Posted on November 10th 2006 by meaghanek
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
Well, yes, it is relatively inexpensive to get yourself an introduction to traditional Irish music. However, if what you really want is a richer view of the music, expense is really irrelevant.
I suggest you look for the raw sound of what the essence of the music is. Look for the beauty of the melody and eschew the process of merely reproducing those melodies without the notes.
# Posted on November 11th 2006 by llig leahcim
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
um, ooo-kayyyyy.....
On the subject of raw (i.e. untanned) heads, look no further than maybe the greatest bodhran craftsman in the US, Albert Alfonso. You'll pay for it (US$400), but I guarantee you'll hear the difference. He uses only untanned goat skin. Albert is also, it must be said, a nut. A nicer guy you'll never meet, but he is very singular about his drums and doesn't horse around too much.
http://www.celticmusic.com/alfonso_bodhrans/
DK
# Posted on November 11th 2006 by darinkelly
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
Is untanned skin safe? Or even sanitary? Remember when that guy in Scotland died this year from anthrax from using that badger skin (I think it was badger)...I'd be worried about germs and other nasties hiding out in the skin of an untanned bodhran. But maybe I'm just paranoid.
# Posted on November 11th 2006 by kennedy
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
I use untanned kangaroo, goat and deer in my bodhrans, softening agents are used to get the drum "just right".
http://www.mcknowall.com
# Posted on November 11th 2006 by mcknowall
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
I regularly bathe my bodhran in single malt whisky. Kills all the anthrax spores, no problem.
# Posted on November 11th 2006 by oldstrings
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
That's a disgraceful waste of good scotch. Next you'll be telling me you drink it with ice!
# Posted on November 11th 2006 by kennedy
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
llig is right. I quote Alfonso's website bio:
"Personally, I would not play a tune on the drum if I did not know the melody, and I think that respect for the tunes really carries over in my selection of the skins." Would that all drummers adhered to this credo!
# Posted on November 11th 2006 by jtrout
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
I regularly bathe bodhrans in derision.
# Posted on November 11th 2006 by llig leahcim
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
"I would not play a tune on the drum"
ha ha
As Mary Elizabeth Mastrantonio says to Todd Graff in The Abyss, "Do me a favour, stay off my side."
# Posted on November 11th 2006 by llig leahcim
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
Whisky with ice, tell me it isn’t so! What’s this world coming to? The Dems effectively take back power over here and all of a sudden there’s talk around the world about folks putting ice in their whisky. Liberals, jeeesh!
There is a difference in the sound that a bodhrán with a tanned skin makes compared to one with a raw skin. A warm sound can be produced by either, especially after the raw skin has been beaten in a bit. I would suggest that you listen to examples of the different players on recordings, keeping in mind that some of the sound may indeed be enhanced by the mixing process, and then find out if the player uses a drum with a raw skin or one that is tanned, partial or otherwise. To me more of the warm sound comes from a raw, thicker skin that has been beaten in. Albert offers a model with just such a skin, saves time and wear and tear on ones shoulder, arm, and wrist, and to that end I second the recommendation of Albert’s bodhráns but there are other makers that do not used tanned skins, and yes they are safe.
Unfortunately as far as I know the only hope you have in the price range stated is a drum from the Middle East. To my way of thinking you will be wasting your money if you buy one. You may find a used bodhrán in this range by posting your query at http://launch.groups.yahoo.com/group/Bodhrandojo/. You’ll need to join the group but this is a good thing as it is a part of the most comprehensive bodhrán resource I know of on the Internet.
Good luck in your search.
Peace,
Ed
# Posted on November 11th 2006 by ejsant
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
Just as a safety note; I understand that the raw skin that caused the death of the guy in Scotland was imported; Anthrax amongst workers in the fur and skin trade used to be a low-level hazard ( that is, the chances were low, the disease was fatal before antibiotics ).
I thought you had to de-hair the goatskin traditionally by leaving it in a peat bog, which would be fairly effective at disinfecting, being acidic.
# Posted on November 11th 2006 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
"I understand that the raw skin that caused the death of the guy in Scotland was imported" I'm not so sure about that GP, he was known to use local roadkill as well as imported skins.
meaghanek, I think all drum skins are processed to some degree, even using softening agents is in itself a process.
To be on the safe side though meaghanek, best take up an instrument eh.
# Posted on November 11th 2006 by curlew
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
Eamon Maguire, Belfast. Best drums in the world, cost about $150, fot the tunable version.
# Posted on November 11th 2006 by bodhran bliss
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
I recently replaced a non-tunable Buck bohdran (~$200) with a tunable Mid East Mfg Pakastani drum. (OK, stay with me here.) I really needed a tunable drum, but couldn't justify spending a lot of money on a new one. I saw this one in a Celtic shop in Estes Park, CO and decide that, for the price, it sounded good enough for my needs. Then came the transformation. When I got it home, I sanded the back and front of the skin to smooth out some rough spots. This GREATLY reduced noise from hand movement on the back. Then I put some conditioning cream on both the front and back of the skin, which I think softened up the sound a bit. Finally, I wrapped electrical tape around the outer edge, starting right above the tacks and going in about an inch from the edge. This eliminated the upper harmonics and gave the drum a richer, deeper sound.
This drum sounds fantastic now. My best friend plays a Seamus O'Kane drum and he can't believe how good this drum sounds after I finished with it. If you can live with the lack of status that owning a Pakistani drum carries with it, they are great drums for the price as long as they are properly set up. You can find them all over the web, but here are a couple of links I sent to a friend. One is for a single skin drum, the other for a double skin.
http://www.at-the-shops.com/ethnic-instruments/catalog/i1304.html
http://www.at-the-shops.com/ethnic-instruments/catalog/i1302.html
# Posted on November 11th 2006 by Craymcla
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
Someone correct me if I am wrong here, but aren't most bohdrans made with untanned heads?
Bodhran makers, I think, tend to point out, and charge more for, the heads when they are tanned. I've also heard of semi-tanned heads. My only experience with a tanned head was that it was softer than an untanned head and gave a softer sound.
# Posted on November 11th 2006 by Craymcla
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
Thanks BB, I couldn’t think of yer man there. I don’t know about the best bit but Eamon makes a fine drum for the money I’m told by folks whose opinion I trust.
Craymcla, wait two years (or perhaps even less) and when the frame warps and the skin flops to the point of un-playability tell me again about the “status” thing.
Peace,
Ed
# Posted on November 12th 2006 by ejsant
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
Ejsant,
It sounds like you have a bit of an anger thing going there. My very first bodhran was a Pakistani drum, bought 12 years ago at a Celtic festival in Washington DC. It's still round. lo and behold, and still sounds good, very responsive, with the head in fine shape. Perhaps you had a bad experience with one, or perhaps you are just prejudiced against Mid-East made instruments; I don't know. From my own experience, as I said, they are great drums *for the money*. I've played other drums that I liked better, but they also cost 2 to 4 times as much.
# Posted on November 12th 2006 by Craymcla
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
A very naive question, but, since goat meat isn't an Irish delicacy, isn't it time that the animals stopped being slaughtered to provide material for percussionists?
# Posted on November 12th 2006 by Floss the Tethers
Re: Raw Skin bodhran
Craymcla,
Why the attempt at psycho-analysis? The last thing in my being is anger, especially that which would be directed at a group of people or an area of our planet. It seems to me that you brought up the separation with your statement “If you can live with the lack of status…”.
Now I grant you I may not have the years playing a bodhrán as you do but I have seen plenty of folks wasting their money on lower cost, poor quality instruments whilst on my walk and that is what I was commenting on. I’m sure there are drum makers in the Middle-East that turn out great drums but as I see things you get what you pay for or in the case of a bodhrán for “less than $100-150” you don’t get what you don’t pay for. It really is just that simple no hidden meanings or deep seated emotional anomalies, at least not this time.
Peace,
Ed
# Posted on November 13th 2006 by ejsant