G'day,
It may be personal preference but I find it hard to be creative with a light (i.e. traditional broomstick) lagerphone. A heavy one bounces better & is actually easier to play once you get a rhythm going. A lot depends on the rubber stop at the bottom, it needs to be good & solid.

I've also found that bottle tops nailed to a horizontal or angled surface produce sound more efficiently than those mounted on a vertical surface. (It seems that it's good for bottle tops to bounce up & down on top of each other). My lagerphone may be a deviation from the traditional but it's a bit innovative & I've had people remarking on the sound, especially compared to lighter ones.

My playing style is probably more suited to an audience used to hearing drummers than to those expecting to hear a traditional bush band, but our band is a high energy band, described by one traditionalist as "not really a bush band", I suppose the electric guitar & synthesiser have something to do with that too. Fair enough - Fairport Convention aren't really a folk band either. Our audiences always have a lot of fun & don't seem to mind.....

Cheers,
Alan