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Bodhran

Roosebeck 14" Deep Tunable Bodhran, Black Plywood T-Bar with Tipper

$99
$99
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14" Diameter Deep Shell Black Plywood Comfort Cut-Out Removable T-Bar

Ideal for: Beginners, younger players, and anyone who wants deep tone from a light, compact drum

The 14-inch bodhran with a deep shell and a light frame.

Deep shells usually mean heavy drums. This one gets around that: plywood is strong enough to hold a shell well over five inches deep while the whole instrument still weighs about three pounds. What you get is a compact 14-inch drum with a low end that belongs on something larger. The T-bar is removable, the bolt tuning is hidden inside the frame, and a comfort cut-out keeps your fretting hand in easy reach of the head.

Small Head, Deep Voice

A 14-inch head gives you crisp attack and fast response, which is why it is the usual starting size. The deep shell adds back the low end that a shallow 14 gives up, so this drum has body underneath the crack instead of sounding thin. It is a useful combination if you want something portable that still holds its own in a session.

About goatskin heads: Traditional bodhran heads are natural goatskin rather than synthetic. Goatskin responds more dynamically and produces a warmer, more organic tone, though it is sensitive to humidity and temperature.

Plywood, Finished in Black

The shell is plywood finished in black. Plywood is doing real work here rather than standing in for something better: its strength-to-weight ratio is what makes a deep shell possible at around three pounds. A solid hardwood shell of the same depth would be considerably heavier.

Bolt tuning is mounted on the interior of the frame and hidden from view, so the exterior stays clean with no external lugs. The T-bar is removable, and the comfort cut-out is a scooped section of the shell that lets your fretting hand sit deeper against the skin without reaching over the rim.

T-bar vs. cross-bar: A T-bar is short and removable, giving you the option of playing with or without it. A fixed cross-bar runs straight across the frame and cannot be taken out. If you expect your technique to develop toward free-hand back pressure, the removable bar gives you somewhere to go.

Tuning and Playing the 14-Inch

Use the included tuning wrench to adjust the bolts inside the frame. Turn each bolt a small amount and work around the head in a star pattern. The smaller 14-inch head reaches playing tension with less overall adjustment than a larger drum, so go gently. New goatskin stretches in over the first few weeks of regular play, so retune often early on.

Hold the drum against your chest, reach through the cut-out to fret the back of the head, and strike with the tipper held loosely between thumb and fingers. Tighten the head for a crisp, high-pitched crack, or loosen it for deeper tones.

New to bodhran? Most players start with the tipper, the double-ended beater, working on basic doubles and triples. The light weight and compact size make this an easy drum to practice with for long stretches.

Technical Specifications

Diameter 14 inches
Shell Depth Deep shell, with comfort cut-out
Frame Material Plywood, painted black
Head Natural goatskin
Tuning System Inside bolt tuning
Internal Bar Removable T-bar
Weight 2.9 lbs

What's in the Box

Every 14-inch deep plywood bodhran ships set up, ready to be tuned and played.

Tipper Tuning Wrench Owner's Guide (PDF)

Have questions about this instrument? Contact us or browse all Bodhrans.

Questions about this instrument?
Talk to our team or browse all bodhrans.
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Roosebeck 14" Deep Tunable Bodhran, Black Plywood T-Bar with Tipper

$99
$99
Tradition you can feel, craftsmanship you can hear.
Solid tonewoods
Cured, cut, and chosen for sound.
Voiced by hand
Fretboards dressed, action set, bridges fit by our luthiers.
Made to be played
Built for working musicians, designed to sound better the more you play it.
Since 1973
Five decades of building instruments that last generations.