ReBELLion Series

standard synthetic drum heads

The ReBELLion

Bodhrán player and percussionist Matthew Bell brought an idea to Christian Hedwitschak for a bodhrán that used interchangeable synthetic skins.

After multiple conversations and many prototypes, Christian and Matt finalized a new, unique skin holding and tuning system, and new frame construction for a bodhrán utilizing standard aluminum- collared synthetic drumheads. Matt and Christian enlisted the help of Dave Loyal and Stevie Moises, and in the spring of 2016, the Rebellion began…

Rebellion Drums Bodhráns are designed to meet the needs and standards of contemporary percussionists. Our flexible design can use any 14″ synthetic drumhead, allowing you to tailor your own individual sound.

The unique bayonet ring skin holding system allows incredibly fast tool-less head changes.

Vegan HighEnd

The Rebellion 20

ReBELLion means: a vegan high-end bodhrán equipped with an exchange system for standard synthetic drumheads. So far, there have been two product lines: the TOUCHSTONE (straight frame, 14cm deep) in three surface variants and the WAVE (concave frame, 15cm deep) in two colour shades. These models will not be built in 2022, because there is only the Jubilee Model ReBELLion20!

Industry standard

The Skin

By using the worldwide industry standard for mounting, any 14 inch drumhead available in music stores can be used on the ReBELLion Drum Bodhrán. The possibilities are therefore endless. Do you want a deep, attack-heavy sound with short sustain, like a compressed heavy metal bass drum? How about a sound that is tonally close to goatskin? Do you want to try timpani-style calfskin sound? How about a virtually Silent practice head? These are all possibilities with Rebellion Drums bodhráns!

Every ReBELLion drums bodhrán comes with a Rebellion Drums Universal Skyntone® Drumhead. These were taped by Christian Hedwitschak with a special technique and produce an individual, balanced sound.

Synthetic heads are characterised by high tuning stability even under extreme climatic conditions.

Innovation across the board

The Design

The ReBELLion 20 is characterised by a unique design: It has a 14 cm deep concave frame. Concave frames are very popular because of their pleasant feel and refined look. Solid curly maple on the outside, which has been stained walnut and then given the perfect finish with oil and wax, ideally enhances this noble look. As a contrast, the inner frame comes in natural beech, oiled and waxed.

The tool-free tuning system and the tool-free bayonet skin change system are integral parts of the design.

Quick change

bayonet skin change system

Zoom in

Zoom in

See the bayonet skin change system in action:

“I’ve worked with Christian giving feedback on the different drums and carried out studio tests comparing the different sounds. Most importantly for me is the ‘road test’, putting the drums through their paces night after nig. When it came to designing this signature line, I knew exactly what I was looking for in one drum particularly after having had the opportunity to test out and give feedback on all of these drums.But achieving what I wanted was no small feat.”

Matthew Bell