TrHED Series Bodhráns

Pure Tradition

The TrHED

The TrHED is, as the name suggests, a more 'traditional' bodhrán.

The TrHED has a clear role model in the sound character and the basic design: the legendary Charlie Byrne bodhrán. Charlie Byrne, now sadly deceased, was perhaps the first famous professional bodhrán maker. He had strong influence in the development of the bodhrán and had characterized the 'typical bodhrán sound' of old recordings, for example De Danann.

The TrHED has its origins in many years of close cooperation with Johnny “Ringo” McDonagh, an institution in the world of Irish Trad, a legend and an idol in the traditional bodhrán world. Ringo prefers large diameters, relatively narrow frames, and thick skins from old, male goats.

Male Goat

The Skin

We only use thick goatskin from older, mostly male animals (ap. 7 until 20 years old) and use the dorsal line at 2/3 of the playing area. This is is used for certain sound effects. The sound when you hit the spine is considerably harder and louder, and also, the areas to the left and to the right of the spine sound different. That is why the player can use different stroke positions to create different sounds without moving the skin hand.

Experienced players know that male goat skins might smell a bit 'goaty', but this just accents the rustic overall look. ;-),

Instead of the usual black tape around the skin edge a 'Transparent tape' is used. It is a special coating used at the interior and exterior of the drum skin and works in a similar way as the black tape.

Pure Tradition

The Design

The TrHED comes in a large diameter of 45 cm and has a frame depth of approx. 14 cm. It offers a tool-less tuning system that is smooth-running and designed for low playing tension. The adjusters will not loosen on their own even at low tension. It is a 10-point tuning system for accurate tuning.

The outer frame is available in figured ash natural and figured ash brown.

Over the years, and influenced by other musicians, the TrHED was further refined, and now presents itself in a mature and contemporary, but still fully traditional design. The TrHED would just tie here and make the 'old sound' again a bit more attractive and available.

The TrHED wants to pick up exactly here and make the "old sound" a bit more attractive and available again.

A little warning

The Sound

In the right hands, the drum produces a bordun-like bass, a crisp dry attack and a powerful, earthy, almost hypnotic overall sound!

However, this is not a drum for inexperienced players. In the wrong hands, this drum is a weapon and a session killer.

The sound is rich in overtones and the drum needs a longer break-in period. This was often the case in the past, but nowadays other bodhráns work almost "out of the box". With the TrHED, a break-in period of at least one year, often longer, is to be expected.

Availability

The drum skins used here are very rare, so delivery time might be longer than usual for this model. The two models can be pre-ordered and are produced within 3-6 months after your order.