I maintain a "Spoons, Bones and Washboard" percussion site at

http://www.homestead.com/oldmusic/MusicalSpoons.html

so there are those of us who don't play the bodhran. The old brass jobs are the Holy Grail of washboards, but hard to find. Be sure to steer clear od aluminum because studies have suggested that exposure may be a factor in Altzheimers disease.

The Columbus Washboard Company http://www.columbuswashboard.com/index.html

is planning to release a model designed to be a primarily a musical instrument