Hello everyone,
Where can I have some information (Internet) about buying a good bow (not too expensive). What are things that I should know when I choose a good bow. I'm playing fiddle since 1 year and I think my bow is not very good (or maybe it is my technique?). Is the width of the bow (the "hair": I dont know the english word for "le crin de cheval" in french) important, mine is not very large.
And what do you think of a graphite bow (is it expensive?)?
Thanks
Ticasse
My $.02: There's a lot of good information in this forum about choosing a bow, but at some point you just have to try lots of bows. A lot of vendors will let you borrow one or two bows for several days to try them out. As for the carbon fiber bows, there seems to be an evolving consensus that they are a good bargain.
What Bob said. I just played bow after bow after bow. In one of Pete Clark's classes at Sunshine Coast Summer School, he had us pass our bows around the circle so we each got to play with a lot of them. (Another day, we did the same things with fiddles.) That was seriously educational. I really think that every bow you pick up and play with, you get a better idea of what you do and don't want.
It just seems that so many good fiddlers I know have such varying preferences in a bow. So I think the project has to be all about learning what it is you really want, at least at first.
I lost count of how many I tried, but it was like three years that I looked. I knew I would one day just put my hand on a bow for sale and know it was the One, and that's exactly what happened (sound of cheesy, romantic music swelling up). And oddly enough, the price was right, too. Clearly meant to be.
The relationship between bow and fiddle is exceedingly complex and I really don't understand why some bows sound better than others.
The most important things about a bow is how it feels in your hand when you're using it (how easily does it perform) and what kind of sound does it draw from your fiddle.
Check out -- http://www.incredibow.com -- I've got one of these, and I love it! Yeah, it looks a little unusual, but the sound it pulls out of my fiddle is excellent.
It's exceptionally light and moves *very* well over the strings. My bowed-triplets improved dramatically the day I got it and started using it ... they were simply *easier* than with my other bows.
The artificial hair works *really* well, not at all like that crappy "artificial horse hair" that comes on cheap bows; this stuff is new!
I've also got a Glasser CF bow. I tried it against wooden bows costing up to about $800 and always preferred the CF ... now, I like the Incredibow even better!
The width of the hair band should be fairly standard, most luthiers use a standardized gauge to get the right amount of hair.
I always say, do the obvious: talk to professionals and get expert opinions. Find bowmakers, players, luthiers, and anybody else to give you their exceptionally well-polished two cents' worth of info. I'll bet, however, that they will all tell you that the final decision is yours: a good bow is one that you're comfortable and happy playing with.
Well, there we were at Towersey last year; the irishy session had got too boxed-in and english, so we went outside and had a bit of old-timey instead; and there was this fiddler, trying to work out if he'd done the right thing buying ( I guess ) a £250 carbon-fibre bow...
I have a question as a non-fiddler; do people find that they need a different bow for a different fiddle, or will their best bow work with everything ?
In my somewhat limited experience, a really good bow is a really good bow with most any fiddle, but sometimes a lesser bow is a better match for a particular fiddle. It's really amazing how they work together.
If you want a really good bow without spending a fortune, try to find someone that sells Water Violet bows. They're hand made pernambuco bows from Brazil that are very affordable. I got one (nickle mounted, fully lined frog) for $370, and it's an amazingly good bow for that amount of money.
I just got a catalog from Shar's and they are offering a bunch of bows that are seconds (scratch here and there) for about 1/2 off. If you know what you want, it might be a good deal. I believe they have a program where you can order several, figure out which one you want, and return the rest. Obviously, it will cost you a little for the shipping. If you don't have a local shop, it might make sense.
I like the idea of supporting local shops, really. Just couldn't pass up my first CF bow for $79., marked down from $159. I'll let you know if it's a good deal. I can tolerate risks, so I'm not too concerned if I have to return it.
just to make you think a little, I have a fiddle which can make good bows sound truely awful, yet with a cheap bow its ok. I also have a very good fiddle which makes any bow sing...............sometimes you need to think outside the square. When it comes down to it, all advice on this particular subject is personal preference of someone other than yourself.
i want to add something to what rzaikoski said. I have a few traditional bows and i wanted to try synthetic ones. Last year i got myself a "coda classic" wich is indeed a wonderful bow. (paid it about 700 usd) . Recently I bought an "incredibow" at 1/5 of that coast (160USD) and i must say that it is even better. Once you get confident with the slightly different shape, you will not go back to the other bows. it is much easier to play and results are very consistent. only problem is that it must be rosined more often than standard bows as it looks like that nylon hair are very hungry of rosin
Je te recommande déjà de voir si tu as besoin de faire refaire le crin de ton archet actuel - il se peut bien qu'il soit un peu usé au bout d'un an de pratique. Autrement, si c'est franchement la baguette qui te déplait et tu ne veux pas dépenser une fortune, mets tes sous plutôt dans un archet en fibre de carbone, c'est résistant, presque incassable et t'y trouveras les mêmes qualités sonores que dans des archets beaucoup plus chers en bois.
J'en utilise un en tant qu'archet supplémentaire et je joue avec si je joue dans un pub, pour éviter d'abîmer mon archet ancien.
Pour 300 euros (aucune idée ce que ça fait en $ canadiens) tu trouveras un archet en FC super. Incredibow et glasser sont des marque pas trop mauvaises pour le prix (ensuite si tu veux vraiment investir dans un bon archet en FC, tu pourras regarder codabow ou arcus).
Bon courage!
Allan
(quick translation cos it's a tad rude to write in a language that not all members speak:
Hey!
I recommend that you check out the hair on yoru current bow, you may need to have it redone after a year of practise, it might be a bit worn. On the other hand if it's the stick of your current bow that you don't like and you don't want to spend a fortune, buy a carbon fibre bow, they're resistant, almost unbreakable and you will find the same tonal qualities as with much more expensive wooden bows.
I use one as a spare bow and if I'm playing in the put I use it to protect my old wooden bow.
For 300 euros (no idea how much that is in Canadian dollars) you'll get a great CF bow. Incredibow and glasser are not too bad for the price (later, if you want to really invest in a CF bow, you could look at Codabow or Arcus).
I use an incredibow, too, and I love it. I haven't touched my other bow since the day my incredibow arrived. I only paid $80 for it. I found the same thing with my triplets...unable to do them with my other bow, but I nail them most of the time with the incredibow. I can also play for longer periods of time because my arm does not get as tired using it.
I have a beautiful antique bow my wife bought for me for a wedding present. She sat with me in Ifshin's violin shop for 3 hrs. as I tried too many bows to count. Then as I got it down to five and was completely confused, she told me that I kept returning to this particular one and visibly relaxed when I used it. So that was the one I bought. I love it. It is very light, too light for some folks, but feels like a magic wand to me. In fact pick the bow kind of reminds me of Harry Potter in the wand shop.
Anyway my fiddle is smallish and also very old the two seem a match. I have another fiddle that is larger and would like a slightly heavier bow for it.
I just recently bought a cheap $500. Chinese pernambuca baroque bow which is similar to the incredibow that folks like. I tried one and liked it too. This baroque bow is great for Irish music. The swells that one does when uses when playing a turn is very much in the baroque style as far as I can tell.
Good luck
I've been playing fiddle for over 30 yrs. and have some
rather expensive bows, and I'll tell you the "incredibow"
is a great bow, even for advanced players at 150 US !
put on in your case this week, you can't to wrong.
fiddle bow
fiddle bow
Hello everyone,
Where can I have some information (Internet) about buying a good bow (not too expensive). What are things that I should know when I choose a good bow. I'm playing fiddle since 1 year and I think my bow is not very good (or maybe it is my technique?). Is the width of the bow (the "hair": I dont know the english word for "le crin de cheval" in french) important, mine is not very large.
And what do you think of a graphite bow (is it expensive?)?
Thanks
Ticasse
# Posted on March 7th 2007 by Ticasse
Re: fiddle bow
Hi - do try http://www.fiddleforum.com/fiddleforum/ as there is some good bow advice there - as well as on this forum. Good luck with the fiddling!!
# Posted on March 7th 2007 by Mark Harmer
Re: fiddle bow
My $.02: There's a lot of good information in this forum about choosing a bow, but at some point you just have to try lots of bows. A lot of vendors will let you borrow one or two bows for several days to try them out. As for the carbon fiber bows, there seems to be an evolving consensus that they are a good bargain.
# Posted on March 7th 2007 by Bob himself
Re: fiddle bow
What Bob said. I just played bow after bow after bow. In one of Pete Clark's classes at Sunshine Coast Summer School, he had us pass our bows around the circle so we each got to play with a lot of them. (Another day, we did the same things with fiddles.) That was seriously educational. I really think that every bow you pick up and play with, you get a better idea of what you do and don't want.
It just seems that so many good fiddlers I know have such varying preferences in a bow. So I think the project has to be all about learning what it is you really want, at least at first.
I lost count of how many I tried, but it was like three years that I looked. I knew I would one day just put my hand on a bow for sale and know it was the One, and that's exactly what happened (sound of cheesy, romantic music swelling up). And oddly enough, the price was right, too. Clearly meant to be.
# Posted on March 7th 2007 by cathrynb
Re: fiddle bow
The relationship between bow and fiddle is exceedingly complex and I really don't understand why some bows sound better than others.
The most important things about a bow is how it feels in your hand when you're using it (how easily does it perform) and what kind of sound does it draw from your fiddle.
Check out -- http://www.incredibow.com -- I've got one of these, and I love it! Yeah, it looks a little unusual, but the sound it pulls out of my fiddle is excellent.
It's exceptionally light and moves *very* well over the strings. My bowed-triplets improved dramatically the day I got it and started using it ... they were simply *easier* than with my other bows.
The artificial hair works *really* well, not at all like that crappy "artificial horse hair" that comes on cheap bows; this stuff is new!
I've also got a Glasser CF bow. I tried it against wooden bows costing up to about $800 and always preferred the CF ... now, I like the Incredibow even better!
The width of the hair band should be fairly standard, most luthiers use a standardized gauge to get the right amount of hair.
# Posted on March 7th 2007 by KeepFiddlin'
Re: fiddle bow
I always say, do the obvious: talk to professionals and get expert opinions. Find bowmakers, players, luthiers, and anybody else to give you their exceptionally well-polished two cents' worth of info. I'll bet, however, that they will all tell you that the final decision is yours: a good bow is one that you're comfortable and happy playing with.
--DtM
# Posted on March 8th 2007 by Dan the Man
Re: fiddle bow
Well, there we were at Towersey last year; the irishy session had got too boxed-in and english, so we went outside and had a bit of old-timey instead; and there was this fiddler, trying to work out if he'd done the right thing buying ( I guess ) a £250 carbon-fibre bow...
I have a question as a non-fiddler; do people find that they need a different bow for a different fiddle, or will their best bow work with everything ?
# Posted on March 8th 2007 by Guernsey Pete
Re: fiddle bow
In my somewhat limited experience, a really good bow is a really good bow with most any fiddle, but sometimes a lesser bow is a better match for a particular fiddle. It's really amazing how they work together.
# Posted on March 8th 2007 by Bob himself
Re: fiddle bow
If you want a really good bow without spending a fortune, try to find someone that sells Water Violet bows. They're hand made pernambuco bows from Brazil that are very affordable. I got one (nickle mounted, fully lined frog) for $370, and it's an amazingly good bow for that amount of money.
# Posted on March 8th 2007 by Marklar
Re: fiddle bow
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/11191/
# Posted on March 8th 2007 by llig leahcim
Re: fiddle bow
I just got a catalog from Shar's and they are offering a bunch of bows that are seconds (scratch here and there) for about 1/2 off. If you know what you want, it might be a good deal. I believe they have a program where you can order several, figure out which one you want, and return the rest. Obviously, it will cost you a little for the shipping. If you don't have a local shop, it might make sense.
I like the idea of supporting local shops, really. Just couldn't pass up my first CF bow for $79., marked down from $159. I'll let you know if it's a good deal. I can tolerate risks, so I'm not too concerned if I have to return it.
# Posted on March 8th 2007 by nofrets
Re: fiddle bow
just to make you think a little, I have a fiddle which can make good bows sound truely awful, yet with a cheap bow its ok. I also have a very good fiddle which makes any bow sing...............sometimes you need to think outside the square. When it comes down to it, all advice on this particular subject is personal preference of someone other than yourself.
# Posted on March 8th 2007 by Joze
Re: fiddle bow
i want to add something to what rzaikoski said. I have a few traditional bows and i wanted to try synthetic ones. Last year i got myself a "coda classic" wich is indeed a wonderful bow. (paid it about 700 usd) . Recently I bought an "incredibow" at 1/5 of that coast (160USD) and i must say that it is even better. Once you get confident with the slightly different shape, you will not go back to the other bows. it is much easier to play and results are very consistent. only problem is that it must be rosined more often than standard bows as it looks like that nylon hair are very hungry of rosin
# Posted on March 8th 2007 by fiddlemax
Re: fiddle bow
Salut!
Je te recommande déjà de voir si tu as besoin de faire refaire le crin de ton archet actuel - il se peut bien qu'il soit un peu usé au bout d'un an de pratique. Autrement, si c'est franchement la baguette qui te déplait et tu ne veux pas dépenser une fortune, mets tes sous plutôt dans un archet en fibre de carbone, c'est résistant, presque incassable et t'y trouveras les mêmes qualités sonores que dans des archets beaucoup plus chers en bois.
J'en utilise un en tant qu'archet supplémentaire et je joue avec si je joue dans un pub, pour éviter d'abîmer mon archet ancien.
Pour 300 euros (aucune idée ce que ça fait en $ canadiens) tu trouveras un archet en FC super. Incredibow et glasser sont des marque pas trop mauvaises pour le prix (ensuite si tu veux vraiment investir dans un bon archet en FC, tu pourras regarder codabow ou arcus).
Bon courage!
Allan
(quick translation cos it's a tad rude to write in a language that not all members speak:
Hey!
I recommend that you check out the hair on yoru current bow, you may need to have it redone after a year of practise, it might be a bit worn. On the other hand if it's the stick of your current bow that you don't like and you don't want to spend a fortune, buy a carbon fibre bow, they're resistant, almost unbreakable and you will find the same tonal qualities as with much more expensive wooden bows.
I use one as a spare bow and if I'm playing in the put I use it to protect my old wooden bow.
For 300 euros (no idea how much that is in Canadian dollars) you'll get a great CF bow. Incredibow and glasser are not too bad for the price (later, if you want to really invest in a CF bow, you could look at Codabow or Arcus).
Good luck!°
# Posted on March 8th 2007 by rosfrog
Re: fiddle bow
I use an incredibow, too, and I love it. I haven't touched my other bow since the day my incredibow arrived. I only paid $80 for it. I found the same thing with my triplets...unable to do them with my other bow, but I nail them most of the time with the incredibow. I can also play for longer periods of time because my arm does not get as tired using it.
# Posted on March 8th 2007 by irishfiddler32
Re: fiddle bow
Try this discussion Ticasse....
http://www.thesession.org/discussions/display/11106
I have a very expensive Pernambuco pine bow (£450) but my £75 incredibow is far better even if it looks a bit odd.
# Posted on March 8th 2007 by Geoff Pollitt
Re: fiddle bow
I have a beautiful antique bow my wife bought for me for a wedding present. She sat with me in Ifshin's violin shop for 3 hrs. as I tried too many bows to count. Then as I got it down to five and was completely confused, she told me that I kept returning to this particular one and visibly relaxed when I used it. So that was the one I bought. I love it. It is very light, too light for some folks, but feels like a magic wand to me. In fact pick the bow kind of reminds me of Harry Potter in the wand shop.
Anyway my fiddle is smallish and also very old the two seem a match. I have another fiddle that is larger and would like a slightly heavier bow for it.
I just recently bought a cheap $500. Chinese pernambuca baroque bow which is similar to the incredibow that folks like. I tried one and liked it too. This baroque bow is great for Irish music. The swells that one does when uses when playing a turn is very much in the baroque style as far as I can tell.
Good luck
# Posted on March 9th 2007 by glitchless
Re: fiddle bow
Thanks a lot for all your advices and taking the time to answer me. I'll give you some news when I will decide wath bow i will buy.
Ti-casse
# Posted on March 10th 2007 by Ticasse
Re: fiddle bow
I've been playing fiddle for over 30 yrs. and have some
rather expensive bows, and I'll tell you the "incredibow"
is a great bow, even for advanced players at 150 US !
put on in your case this week, you can't to wrong.
# Posted on March 12th 2007 by hauke