Martin O'Neill
Martin O'Neill has taken the Irish frame drum to unimagined heights. He toured with the legendary Stevie Wonder on his last European tour and has collaborated with musical greats such as Béla Fleck & The Flecktones. Over the past decade, he has pushed the boundaries of bodhrán playing with his unique style and spellbinding technique. Martin has recorded more than 60 albums, made countless television and radio appearances around the world, and tours constantly in the UK, Ireland, Europe and North America. The multi-instrumentalist, best known for his work with the bodhrán, has won All-Scotland, All-Britain and All-Ireland titles and is considered one of the instrument's leading exponents. In 2010, he was named "Instrumentalist of the Year" at the Scots Trad Music Awards. In 2017 Martin and I introduced the MONster Tipper series, which was developed by me according to his exact wishes and ideas.
"Hi folks, I'm absolutely delighted to announce the release of my brand new signature range of tippers, The MONster series, made by master tipper maker Stevie Moises. Stevie is a legend and I'm sure you're going to love these tippers as much as I do. This has been a while in the making. It had to be right. And I'm glad to say it is. This is a brand new concept/design in tipper making that I've been working on with Stevie to allow me to get a more comfortable grip. It’s the first hybrid serial stick series with handles that have an oval cross section! This makes it very comfortable to hold, and helps to keep the hand muscles relaxed. There's three different models in the series."
"The MONster, which was painstakingly made by Stevie to my exact specifications, is what I use at least 90% of the time, be it on stage, in the studio or playing a session. The MONster has 14 bamboo dowels, each individually sanded to avoid damage to the skin. The bamboo is not a timber, it’s a kind of grass, very hard and durable and also very flexible. It has a very long curved (rounded) tip. This shape is what gives the tipper its typical MON sound!"
"Next up we have the Jazz MONster, based on Stevie's original JazzMo stick which I loved, now featuring the MONster oval handle. The Jazz MONster has 30 dowels made of walnut, a wonderful dark brown European hardwood available from sustainable sources."
"And last but not least, the Brush MONster. The bristles give a lovely soft sound when you need subtle accompaniment. The Brush MONster is a solid wood effect stick made from plum tree with China bristles from the Chinese wild pig."
The MONster series is available at Martin O'Neill and Rolf Wagels!
