The CHangeHED System

• CHangeHED players can swap skins with other CHangeHED players. “Spine line in the center of the skin, at 2/3, at the edge, or rather no spine in the skin at all? How does DRAGONSkin®classic sound compared to DRAGONSkin®spicy? Should I try a TwinSkin? How does a deer DRAGONSkin® sound? How different does my favourite skin sound when I use a compressor tuning frame instead of the standard comfort rim?” Try it out and take your time in finding out what works best for you! :)
• The nail / ribbon design is not attached to the main frame any longer, but to the drum skin!
• So you can get, for example, a DRAGONSkin®spicy with a red ribbon and silver nails for a RWE main frame, an additional spare deer skin without decorative nails, another EdlauerSelect spare skin just taped without decorative nails, another spare TwinSkin skin with a black nylon ribbon, and another transparent synthetic spare skin with a black nylon ribbon. These are only a few ideas, there are a lot more possibilities.
• You can now use a synthetic skin for playing open-air gigs in bad weather and change back to your favourite natural skin afterwards.
• Bodhrán teachers can choose a transparent synthetic skin for a better demonstration of left/right hand coordination, and go back to the natural skin after class.
• You can now get a new main frame for your favourite skin – we offer custom-made frames in practically all variants, even concave frames!
• You now have the option to take a spare skin with you when going on tour.
• Customers around the world can now save money for shipping fees and customs clearance by being able to mount the skin themselves without having to send in the entire drum for repair.

"During the Craiceann bodhrán summer school on Inis Oírr in June 2013 I presented the ChangeHED skin holding system. 

For me, this skin holding system that offers the possibility to replace both the drum skin and the tuning frame, is the result of all of my developments and all my experience of the past 12 years.
For its standard fixed diameter of 37 cm, the ChangeHED certainly can’t meet all customer demands, and to a certain extent, the sound possibilities are limited. That’s why it goes without saying that I’ll continue making custom-made drums and, of course, Signature Lines.

However, the ChangeHED system offers great advantages for beginners and advanced players, and it helps them with their individual progress. The drum can be adjusted to your way of playing, your sound preferences and playing situations.
Like a chameleon, the drum changes and adapts to its environment.

Another huge advantage of the ChangeHED system is that you can use it as a developer tool. For example, tuning frames can be reworked and retested with the same skin as often as required. Different skins can be tested on the same tuning frame, offering unique and new possibilities to instrument makers.

ChangeHED is more than just a drum.
ChangeHED is a drum system – a system with components that can be flexibly combined and replaced, at any place and with parts from any manufacturer."

You can order the following options directly in our shop:

• The compressor tuning system. It perfectly fits with the Lambeg skin and comes close to my ideal sound, as it makes the sound drier and more defined.
• The RWE Genuine lambeg skin for the CHangeHED system, which is also used on my signature line bodhrán.

In addition, Christian Hedwitschak's website offers the following options:

Tuning frame profiles
Different tuning frame profiles with individual bearing edge designs influence the sound of each and every individual drum skin.

• For synthetic skins, there is a special tuning frame with cotton-covered bearing edge that makes the skin a bit more “natural” without making it lax or imprecise.
• The “Bassmonster” tuning rim with a thick chamois leather-covered bearing edge and a large rounded profile interior gets the maximum of long vibrating, warm and rich base sounds out of every drum skin.
• Tuning rims with chamois leather-covered bearing edge prevent squeaking when using soft, flexible skins and increase tuning stability.
• The Comfort frame without chamois leather-covered bearing edge helps to reach the highest possible brilliance when using harder skins (softer skins may start to produce squeaking sounds).

Drum skins
Different drum skins not only have different sound characteristics. They also feel differently when playing, and they react differently to climatic conditions. The following skins are currently available for the ChangeHED system:

• Our popular EdlauerSelect in different thicknesses, with our without spine line, goat skin. Other skins, e.g. deer, calf or horse available upon request..
• DRAGONSkin® in the design variants velvet, classic, spicy.
• Synthetic skins. These skins are almost immune to climatic changes. Sound-wise, we’ve had the best results using REMO Skyntone®; and Fiberskin3. We offer transparent variants for teaching purposes.
• TwinSkin is available in all possible and impossible combinations ;). Skin rings, stripes and patches between both skins are no problem.
• We also offer just the uncovered holding frames, giving you the option to mount the skin yourself or have another drum maker mount it.

Transport and storage frame
This is a simple wooden ring with the same diameter as the tuning rim. The transport frame is used for additional drumheads that are not mounted on a drum. The frame is clamped into the drumskin using 6 screws (same allen key as for ChangeHED) and their angle supports. We recommend using this frame for transporting and storing the drumskin to protect it from deformation and damage. Some drumskins tend to deform after a while when they’re not regularly tightened. Using the angles, the transport and storage frame is mounted approximately midway between the fixing holes (low skin tension!). This prevents the deformation of the drumskin. The transport frames are deliberately designed for simplicity and cost effectiveness and are not suited for high skin tension. Their sole purpose is to keep the drumskin in shape.