Question about the Bodhran Tipper Length

[KCJiang]

I need help from Bodhran player. I have a 14" Bodhran. What is reansonable length (7", 8" or others) of the tipper for the 14" Bodhran?

Thanks!

[narrowdog]

Hi
You could always have a look here http://www.bodojo.com/ .

Nick

[Makar]

Hi KC

Narrowdogs direction is a good one - Bodojo is the place to go. It will depend on your style, hand size, what feels comfortable and what noises you are trying to make. I have about 25 tippers now that all get used at some point. You need to buy and try - blackwood sticks, hotrods, brushes, sawn off violin bows. A whole new area of acquisition - cheaper than most mind you... Most of my tippers are over 10 of your old inches - about 26 mm or so. This gives a chance to play both single and double ended even on a 13" drum.

cheers
Stephen

[chris_coreline]

in my experience, the longer the tipper the easier it is to pull off triplets, and the harder it is to pull off triplets when you *actually want to*



that said, shorter tippers for me, require more skill to use well and thus are my wepon of choice.

[plunk111]

To find your best length, you can make a variety using dowels and little end pieces that you can glue on with wood glue. I made a bunch, ended up at 9 inches and THEN bought a bunch! You can find the supplies at almost any hobby/craft store.

Pat

[BigDavy]

Hi KCJiang

The length of your stick/tipper/whatever will depend on 2 things in my opinion :-

1) The width of your hand
2) Whether you play single or double ended.

For me I find that I need a rough minimum of 3 inches below the hand to play comfortably and between 2 and 2.5 inches above the hand if playing double ended => for me a single end stick needs to be 7 inches or more and a double end stick 9-10 inches or more.

David

[fancypiper]

My bodhran is 18" and I prefer a 9" tipper with 1" knobs on both ends and a bulge placed on the tipper that fits in the notch between the thumb and index fingers and lets me hold the knob with my thumb and 3 fingers. That gives me the best control.

[SteveShaw]

My tipper was made for me by Tony Dixon before he went and got himself all famous (I can't remember now whether that was because he felt guilty about depriving me for six months of my best A harmonica, which had fallen off the table into his pipes case and concealed itself under some of the junk in there! ). I'd read somewhere that the ideal length was the same as the distance between the pinkie tip and thumb tip of the outstretched hand. I also got him to make a notch, rather than a bulge, about two-thirds of the way along its length. I guess it's muchly a matter of taste, and you could do worse than buy two or three cheapies of different lengths and weights to see what suits you best. You don't necessarily have to get ones with bulges as you can always experiment with a rubber band in different positions along the stick to see if, or where, you need a bulge/notch.

I never use my tipper these days though. I like to define myself as a true gentleman.

[KCJiang]

Thanks for the helps from all of you. The information and knowledge from all of you are very valuable.

Thanks Again,
KC

[Liam]

I find an open pocket knife to be the perfect tipper

Sorry, I couldn't help myself... if you are going to play a Bodhran, you better have a sense of humor about it.

--
Bill

[OlivierS]

Hi KC

Narrowdogs direction is a good one - Bodojo is the place to go. It will depend on your style, hand size, what feels comfortable and what noises you are trying to make. I have about 25 tippers now that all get used at some point. You need to buy and try - blackwood sticks, hotrods, brushes, sawn off violin bows. A whole new area of acquisition - cheaper than most mind you... Most of my tippers are over 10 of your old inches - about 26 mm or so. This gives a chance to play both single and double ended even on a 13" drum.

cheers
Stephen

I think you mean 26cm or 260mm. One inch is about 25.4mm.