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If you're anything like me, you will have maybe hundreds of tippers that you will have bought and made, all in the search for the 'one'.

Steafan Hannigan says that we never really own tippers we only just borrow them for a while as they always seem to disappear.

It's useful therefore to look at the types of tipper that suit you and then to look at variables within types. Because they are generally made of natural materials, each tipper will have individual characteristics but there are several guidelines which can help you weed through a pile of tippers and select those which are most likely to suit your playing style(s) and your drum(s).

Generally tippers selected for playing top end are taken from violin bows or made to similar dimensions and weights. The use of violin bows as the source of tippers derives from drum maker Seamus O'Kane. These tippers are made from Pernambuco wood, the traditional bow material, selected for its density and its strength. There are a number of defining characteristics.

proportionally thin,
plain (i.e. non bulbous ends)
slight taper.
greater or lesser curvature in the wood.

Tipper Length

- Pure Drop Top or hybrid Top 'n' Kerry? -

For hybrid top end play to include traditional Kerry style triplets, lengths vary, with 9" being fairly standard on an O'Kane size drum. As a rule of thumb the appropriate length of stick for you is found by measuring the span of your hand between thumb & pinky and add 1". In my case, my hand is around an 8" span and a 9" tipper is indicated. My own personal preference runs counter to this and I prefer 7.5 - 8" although I will move to a 9" tipper if I am playing pure Kerry style.

For Bottom Only (BO) striking the tippers are shorter, thinner and lighter, lengths range from 6" to 8". The shorter, lighter stick means that by increasing the potential for hand speed, the practised player can readily compensate for not being able to do conventional triplets plus add many more rhythmical tools to the arsenal.

Tipper Weight

- Efficiency - The quest for maximum effect with minimum effort -

There is an obvious connection between the length of a tipper and its weight. The slight taper of a violin bow means that a disproportionate amount of the tipper's weight is above the thumb. Violin & Cello bows provide 9" lengths with weights between 12 and 22 grammes with an average being 15 - 18g.

Compared to a lighter stick, a heavier tipper will impart more energy into the drum's skin, this translates as increased volume and an increase in the bass response of the drum. However... A longer & heavier tipper will obviously require more inertia (read effort) to move it than a lighter one; and then even more effort to reverse direction at the top of the 'swing' in order to undertake the second part of the stroke. This means that a lot of the players' energy is invested in merely moving the stick - a heavy tipper will have a slower 'action' than a lighter one.

It is common for beginner players to use heavy sticks with large bulbous ends as this gives them a better response from the drum however this is absolutely with greater effort and at the expense of efficiency, it is occasionally a cause of wrist / arm pain after a prolonged playing session.

Given that there is a definite trade off between maximising the sound caused by the stroke and minimising the effort required by the player it is important that you take into account a number of factors when selecting your tippers.

Matching the tipper to the drum

- One size definitely does not fit all -

In my time I have come across bodhráns ranging from 24" to 10" and with skins ranging from 2mm to 0,3mm thick, from my experience, it's clear that there is no single tipper which is suitable for all drums.

A traditional heavy skinned 18" drum will clearly require more energy to move the skin efficiently than say a lambeg-skinned 12". The knock-on effect of using a larger drum and heavier tipper will be that the potential speed available is compromised by the effort of hefting a larger weight.

Below I give rules of thumb that I have found are fairly close to that which I have seen in my discussions & travels. They are given as guideline approximations and be aware that personal preferences plus an exceptionally thin or thick skin will definitely be a factor, however it is a useful guideline. These figures refer to straight tippers and to medium weight drum heads.

As a rough rule of thumb I work on 0.6 inches of tipper per inch of drum therefore a tipper for an 18" drum will be somewhere around 10-11", a tipper for a 15" drum is about 9" and 12" drum tipper will be around 7".

In terms of weight, my rule of thumb is approximately a gramme per inch of drum head, an 18" drum takes an 18g tipper, a 15" drum is a 15g tipper and a 12" drum, a 12g tipper.