I started playing the bodhrán in 1997. My first drum was well made but non-tuneable, and had to be wettened to produce an acceptable sound, so I was not excited enough to play frequently.
The situation changed when I moved to northern Germany in 2001 and took part in a “Bodhrán Weekend” organized and conducted by the brilliant teachers Guido Plüschke and Rolf Wagels. Lessons and the first tuneable drum by Norbert Eckermann gave me a big push forwards.

Being a talented hobby craftsman and working meticulously, I soon started to build my own hotrods. They were soon also played by my teachers and even made their way to John Joe Kelly, famous bodhrán player of the band Flook.

In 2003 I found myself in Ireland to take lessons at the Craiceann Bodhran Summer School, where I first saw teacher Eamon Murray play with thin sticks made of cut fiddle bows. They allowed fast and sharp modern “top-end style” playing.
After reshaping quite a few fiddle bows myself, I upgraded my workshop equipment and started experimenting with stick shapes and around 15 kinds of exotic hardwoods to create the best sticks possible for modern bodhrán playing.
Now it´s time to share the results with you!