I'm very happy with my purchase. It's a comfortable size and has a nice deep sound. Now if I can only learn to play it correctly!! Lol!!

Having played an 18 inch bodhran for several years I had a bit of a tough time with this smaller deeper one .... BUT! don't give up on it if it's not what you're used to because the sound and the playability is EXELLENT. My biggest challenge was double tipping but now that I've spent several hours of playing I've been able to overcome the size difference and am back to playing like I did before except the sound with my new bodhran is so much better, it settles in and I have no problem handling it.
If you're going from a larger drum to this one don't give up as it's worth the extra time to get used to it. The sounds that can be produced are wonderful and once you get to playing you will be well pleased.

Recieved my new Bodhran quickly, ordering was easy and the drum is terrific

This is a good sounding bodhran! It"s 14" wide by 6" deep, which is a pretty standard size for modern bodhrans. The deeper shell helps with the depth and volume of the sound, and is worth the effort to get used to. The drum weighs about 4 1/2 pounds. It has a real goatskin head, nicely finished to a smooth surface. The head is pretty thin and you can easily get the pitch variation effects with your left hand (assuming you"re a right handed player). It"s got a tuning system that uses a long Allen wrench, which is supplied. The tuning lugs are simple threaded Allen head machine bolts that go through the tuning hoop that"s mounted inside the rim and then sit against the wooden tuning ring which pushes against the head to tighten it. The tuning wrench has the handle end wrapped in velcro and there"s a velcro patch inside the rim to stick the wrench to when not in use, which will hopefully help keep it from getting lost. The only design flaw might be that the tuning hoop is wood and there"s not a metal threaded insert that the Allen machine bolts go through, so the bolts just are threaded through wood which could possibly wear out over time. There are 8 Allen bolts though, so it should last a good long while. Meinl"s description says the rim is made of "rubber wood," which appears to be a laminate with a finish printed on it. It looks pretty much like real wood, the grain pattern inside the rim matches the one on the outside, pretty convincing. Meinl also offers a case for this drum, which is model MFDB-14IBO.

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