I got my Renegade Rhythms bodhran after winning an auction on Ebay for about $200. If the previous owner ever played it, I couldn't tell.

The Renegade Rhythms' Bodhrán is now made exclusively from the best quality Birch-ply. In the early days, veneers, steam bent solid lengths of wood, and ply methods were all tried. We now believe that the ply-rim produces the strongest and most stable construction for a frame drum. The edge of the rim touching the skin is carefully rounded off for three important reasons: (1) to avoid the skin passing over a sharp edge (a characteristic of most cheap drums) (2) to enable rim shots to be played without damage to skin (3) so that there is one point only where the skin loses contact with the frame, allowing the skin to vibrate freely, thus eliminating unwanted buzzing noises.

The Renegade Rhythms Website will tell you, without an ounce of pretense, or humility for that matter that if you "Walk into any folk festival around England and the chances are you will see a Renegade Rhythms bodhran being played on the main stage, in the session or being carried by somebody in its smart black carrying case sporting the Renegade Rhythms logo.

The sound of the Renegade Rhythm can be heard as far afield as Canada, Australia, USA, Japan and all over Europe.

We have supplied drums to: Four Men and A Dog, Celtica, Steafan Hannigan (Band of Hope, Sin É, Lammas), Mat Fox (Barely Works), Clann McPeake, Celtarabia, La Musgana, Porterhouse, Junction, Dave Pegg (Fairport Convention), Aimée Leonard (Anam), Waulk Electrik, John Joe Kelly (Flook) and Mike Harding.

Even one of the amazing African percussionists who plays with BAKA Beyond is learning Irish Rhythms on a Renegade Rhythms bodhran."

These are all VERY good endorsements, and now they can add mine!

The choice to bid on this auctioned bodhran was not a hard one for me. I'd been listening to Four Men And A Dog recordings for a couple of years, and loved the sound of Gino Luparis' drum. A quick look at the "Long Roads" liner notes told me it was a Renegade Rhythms drum. After some searching around online I found the old Renegade Rhythms website and was mulling over what to buy exactly. During these deliberations was when a post went out on the bodhranii mailing list that a 15" Renegade Rhythms bodhran was out on Ebay. It was in "like New" condition and came in their 'smart black' plain finish. A couple of days of tense bidding and it was on it's way to me.

As I personally have had no contact with "Mog", I can't tell you anything about the buying process. But as I'm told by a few folks who HAVE bought from him, and/or taken workshop classes with him, he's a nice guy to do business with. They tell me that ordering is easy, and delivery is prompt. In fact, the closest thing to a complaint I've ever heard is that it's tough to decide between the vast array of finishes offered by Renegade Rhythms. Indeed they offer Natural wood finish, Smart black finish, Marbled designs and Airbrushed designs. Mind you these are the four 'catagories' available. To truly appreciate the unique look of some of these drums one must see the Renegade Rhythms website.

The tuner set in the Renegade rhythms design is made from a very strong, high density plastic. The drum has an internal metal tuning ring and six Allen key operated tuners. It's light, durable and because the tuners themselves are not made from metal will not make those unwanted metallic clangs and buzzes characteristic of other tuneable bodhrans.

My drum came with a single cross peice, which was easily removed by pulling a couple of tack nails. I found, as I suspected, that my new Renegade Rhythm drum's frame was sturdy enough not to need the bar at all. A cross peice IS provided for the use of a player who may want it. The dowel is inset in the frame so that neither screws nor glue are needed. It can be removed without tools in a few moments. A 1/2 inch groove is routed in the outside of the frame to receive the skin and hardwood retainer strap. The skin and strap are stapled and tacked. The tacks are decorative round head upholstery tacks with an antiqued appearance.

The sound produced by Renegade Rhythms bodhrans is what I would describe as having great depth. By this I don't necassarily mean that it's tone is deep (though it can be). What I mean is that the sound is VERY full, and dimensional. Round, warm, full and very mellow. The skin is simply THE thickest I have ever seen anywhere! It is a brilliant uniform white with no thin or transparent spots whatsoever. I have only seen hides this thick on calfskinned drums. The skins flexibility and range are remarkable as well. I use my Renegade Rhythms drum only when I want my playing to sound subtle, mellow, understated. I refer to it as my 'singin drum' because it is the one I use to accompany myself or someone else singing. It's rich mellow tones are the perfect compliment to voices, whether the desired effect is gentle, or dramatic and rich.

All in all, Renegade Rhythms bodhrans are (in my opinion) damn fine drums. Mine has stood me well for a couple of years now, and it remains one of my three "full time" bodhrans, meaning that I take it to ALL my gigs, because if I didn't, I'd surely miss having it!

Renegade Rhythms prices for their 15" to 17" drums range from £130 to £160 ($207.65 to $287.52) for non-tunables, and £155 to £185 ($247.59 to $295.51) for tunables. Prices depend on finishes and are + S/H. Prices ALSO include a tipper, allen wrench, and carrying case for your new drum. An 18" frame will run you another £15 ($23.96), and double-skinned drums can be had for a mere £25 ($39.93) more.

THE RENEGADE RHYTHMS WEBSITE






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