Well, the MONss (Martin O'Neill signature series) is by now truly a well established standard for bodhráns. Often copied - never reached.

@@HinnerkRue yes, I know, l was talking about the sound of the whistle

As I stated about the first prototype (links in description) the idea never really caught on. The second prototype presented here was created in spite of that.

@@HinnerkRue well it was s good idea....if a little complex......and structurally rigid in attatchment ...how about a paint roller idea ....only smaller, a free wheeling wooden roller held in the hand to the backt of the skin,still a little complex but not fixed rigidly to the bodhran....I think you can buy such a small roller from printing crafts it's used to supply Ink to blocks.....just shorten the handle to make it fit in the palm of thr hand , ?

@@lightningspirit2166 Personally, I don't use any tools for the skin hand. I should point out that I'm just an amateur who plays the bodhrán for fun. I prefer just to use my hand, as it is - in my opinion - far more flexible. The tone changes depending on where you put your hand, what part of the hand you use, the shape you create with your hand, the amount of pressure you use - and so on. Long sticks on the inside of the drum, like the roller of the "Melody Mate", seem to create some "strange" overtones wich I personally am not fond of. I added a remark about the first prototype to the description.

@@HinnerkRue hello ....yes ....there are some tools that the hand can't mimic eg snare effects ...which a brush to the rear of thd skin can effect.....but pressure on the rear skin by hand does offer more pressure variety....there are many supportive percussion techniques that can be effected by tools....whilst beating the skin...eg ...shaker bodhran tippers ...beaters ......etc..I personally like to experiment....some of my techniques are unique and must for now remain secret....Needless to say I can effect 2 or 3 separate supportive percussive sounds to the main bodhran sound,at the same time not inclufing the voice ...!

Normally you sit down to play the bodhrán. For this video I rested my left foot on a stone (or something) to get the drum in the normal playing position. The mechanism is not heavy, but even though I'm just an amateur, if find it limiting. You can achieve more differences in tone just with your hand on the inside of the drum head. The roller that touches the drum head is pretty wide and I assume that this causes unsusual overtones while playing and makes the drum sound so "unusual".