Comments

"Raspy" Bow

"Raspy" Bow

I've found that, sometimes, I'll go to play a tune on my fiddle, and the bow makes what I'd describe as a 'raspy' sort of sound. Then other times it's just fine. Does anyone know what causes this?
Cheers.

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by Shmorgan

Re: "Raspy" Bow

about a million different things?

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by polkageist

Re: "Raspy" Bow

-lack of rosin
-bow not perpendicualr to strings
-bow hairs extremely loose
-too much (or too little) pressure applied to bow
-bow not contacting strings in the "sweet spot" (probably the most likely cause. when you hear the rasp, try moving the bow forward slightly towards the bridge, or else slightly away from it toward the fingerboard.).

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by polkageist

Re: "Raspy" Bow

Too much rosin? (Experiment and see)
Temperature/humidity - even a great fiddle can sound like a bucket sometimes
Bowing too near the bridge - again, experiment - try watching yourself in a mirror, or videoing yourself.

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by c.g.

Re: "Raspy" Bow

1. You
2. Old Rosin ( less likely )
3. Your ears. They get fussy sometimes. You may have to play through them.
4. Crappy hair. Get your bow redone.
5. Global warming ( seems to work for everything else ).

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by Farr

Re: "Raspy" Bow

are you sure it's the bow? I had a buzz a while back that sounded like it was coming from the bow but was really my fine tuners that had gotten too loose.

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by BE

Re: "Raspy" Bow

I'm thinking it's the humidity, I wanted to see if anyone else would suggest it. It's a relatively new bow, so I'm tipping it's not the hair.
I play exactly the same way as I normally do, so less likely "me" or playing near the bridge. Thanks for the suggestions.

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by Shmorgan

Re: "Raspy" Bow

I get a raspy sound with Dominant strings when they need the rosin cleaned off. I use a little dab of meths for this (don't get it on the fiddle varnish). Other strings (such as Evahs) don't seem to get this rosin build-up problem.

# Posted on January 7th 2007 by RichardB

Re: "Raspy" Bow

When you apply rosin to the bow,never touch the hair with your fingers and don't let anyone else touch it with their greasy digits.

# Posted on January 8th 2007 by dafydd

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