The Settles / Metloef Egg Drum. Thoughts on a MkI prototype

Paul Marshall (c) 2006

Background

As a collector of professional quality instruments and unique bodhrans, I think that this one has to be one of the most unusual that I have ever owned or with which I been involved. The drum is a first generation prototype like my gemini bodhran, and there will definitely be further generations to come as this is probably the most exciting bodhran I have played to date, bar none. Anyway, on with the story...

He and Rob Forkner of Metloef drums had exchanged instruments as drum makers so often do, and following that exchange they decided to see if there was any mileage in working on a collaborative project. Davey would make the shells and Rob would do his skin magic, seems simple enough. It also co-incidentially fell at the same time as Davey making a currach drum for myself, and it quickly became clear that I would be more likely to use one of the prototypical egg drums that the original currach with the traditional heavier skin which would likely be a collectors piece for me.

At the same time as Rob and Davy had been discussing collaborating, I had been thinking about the top end style of play and how drums could be designed to perhaps enhance the pops and pips that are a defining characteristic. I had arrived at a theoretical teardrop shape with an elongated thin upper region that would stretch the palette of the upper register of the drum, in addition I was conceiving that at a certain point on the way down, the left hand would pass a critical point where the vibrating area of the drum would open out quickly and provide access to a significant low frequency response for a small economical movement - theoretically of course.

As it turned out within a few weeks of my working on this, Rob told me of his plans to collaborate with Davey and I was like "Wow, I've just been thinking of that". The egg wasn't exactly what I had in mind but it was a pretty close approximation. Although I cannot claim ownership directly in this drum design and obviously I give all due credit to Rob and Davey, I can claim parallel development of sorts based on Davey's original currach stimulating that process. I have maintained an input in some of the fine Tuning elements and my personal egg drum is different from the others because of that.

There ended up being only 5 of the Mark I prototype being made. Rob and Davey each have one, I have one, I think JJK has one with the other half of my skin and I'm unsure where the other one went for now.

Construction

Davey's shell is of a stout, no-nonsense construction, 10mm in thickness and it looks like 4 layers of ply. It is very sturdy and IMO over-engineered for stresses provided by the thin Lambeg skin. It has a 5mm thick and 40mm deep tack ring (oval?) and a 14mm thick tuning ring that is 20mm deep. The tack ring is stained the same colour as the shell and the tuning ring is a natural blond wood. The tuning ring is a rounded-off triangular shape that has been bent to match the exact internal eggy profile of the drum. This ring has a bearing edge that is cut way out toward the outer shell of the drum which gives the skin the maximum size. The distance from the outer shell of the instrument to the top of the bearing edge is 21mm, just slightly more that Seamus O'Kane's sleek 17mm profile. Were the shell to be reduced in thickness to 6mm then this would be an equivalent however there is just so much that's different about this drum that it is difficult to predict the effect of any changes. It's very exciting.

The tuning mechanism is the standard Metloef thumb tuning. Small flat headed screws turned with the thumb pass through hand tapped brass blocks and press upon long thin brass plates that are affixed to the top of the tuning ring. There are 8 tuners that are placed in two 'zones', five at the botton and three at the top with one each being at the very top and bottom of the drum. Again the prototypical nature of this drum precludes too much science beyond guesstimates behind this initial placement but I am investigating the effect of variable tuning regions within the drum and maybe we can be more strategic on future versions

Skin

The skin on this drum is one that I know personally as it was originally mounted on a lambeg that was played by Different Drums. I was there at the workshop in Queens University Belfast when Roy broke the skin by sticking a drumstick through it. "Oh S**t!" said Roy, "Oh goody" I said and immediately placed first dibs on the skin. Because the skin had been played as a lambeg, unlike like any of the normal lambeg skins on bodhrans which are prepared for the drum but never played, it was already played in. This made Rob Forkner's preparation job that little bit easier when I finally sent it over to him. I particularly liked the metaphor of the skin having been on the drum representing one community here in N Ireland and then being placed on the drum which is seen as representing the other. It's a different drum!

The other half of this skin went on a drum that Rob Forkner made for JohnJoe Kelly, I'm not 100% sure if it is on an egg drum.

The skin is very supple due to Rob's processing methodology but also due to the skin's history. I would be better placed to tell you about the effect of that if the drum was circular but it's not and I'm unsure of exactly what is causing which effect so it would be pure speculation for now.

My design experiment

My main experiment in the design of the drum was to apply a crescent of lambeg skin to the thinnest part of the drum. My thinking on that was that I had observed the tremendous bite and clarity that Paul Phillips' Eckermann tabla bodhran delivered on the top end. By placing this piece of skin I was hoping to recreate that. In effect the skin crescent in conjunction with the taped applique has proven somewhat disappointing, the tape masks the stick clarity that I sought up there. I am going to remove the tape from the upper part of the drum and hear it with just the applique but I wanted to write this initial part of the review based on the drum as presented. I will write more when I have taken the tape off. Paul Phillips also reckons that the skin on the inside might be too thick so the move after that will be to delaminate that piece of skin and take off that top layer unless the drum kicks butt when the tape is removed.

The sound

What is clear is that the drum has more punchy bass presence that I have heard from *any* bodhran, ever. I have heard lots of bass, that's easy to achieve, but I was surprised at the purity of it and the presence it generates. It sounds to my ear to be more tuneful and melodic as if it's generating actual musical frequencies rather than the usual drum mix of frequencies, perhaps it's emphasising specific frequencies, I'll not know until I do a little more investigating. Paul Phillips had the drum with him at Tubbercurry, Drumshanbo and at the McPeake summer schools this year ('06) and the feedback from he and others who played it backs up the inordinate presence of the drum.

I had the drum with me on tour and at Milwaukee Irishfest this year (2006) and played it pretty much all week. It is such fun. Rob generously presented me with a Ralf Siepmann set of hotrods made from 5mm oak dowels. For bottom end, these two were made for each other and I spent the entire festival holding down the bottom end of the sessions and performances in which I was engaged. You can read my festival blog here.

So what's going on ? the truthful answer is that I don't know precisely, but I can only speculate and try to theorise for now. This increased bass effect has been observed, not just from my drum but also from the other prototypical egg drums that were made. There also seems to be a number of playing orientations that can be used with varying effect. I have a series of tests that I'd like to undertake using a circular drum as a control, be sure that I will feedback both here on the website and also to Rob so that we can continue to develop the instrument. Heck, so many tests, so little time

Next steps

I want to undertake some tests to evaluate the patterns of vibration of the drum. Instead of having a circular antinode as we have on a regular drum, I expect that I'll find a slightly ovaled antinode. I already find that I can get the octave harmonic over a range of the skin not just dead centre as is the case with a regular drum. I'm playing with that for shifting pitches.

As I indicate above I want to remove the tape and ascertain if my crescent has the desired effect. I may or may not split the applique to make it thinner depending on how satisfied I am with the results or taking the tape off. I would definitely like at least one more of these drums with a range of modifications

• a thinner shell to bring more of that shell sound into the equation,
• a smaller drum based on 12" across the small dimension to tighten up the bottom end even more, hopefully to purify the note even further
• A 15" height on the long dimension to reduce the real estate I need to cover
• To remove all the tape and to line the inside extremities with a thin layer of delaminated skin
• To be more strategic regarding the numbers and positioning of the tuning blocks
• Who knows?

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