Yes, there are lots of fragmented general comments on these questions in the Discussions section, but my queries are a bit more specific to the particular strings I like to use, and my bowing characteristics.
1. I don't have a 'heavy' hand, and rarely split bowhairs, but it's been 400-500 hours of playing time since my last bow rehair. The tone still seems fine, but any comments on whether I should be thinking of a rehair?
2. I'm really enjoying Pirastro Obligatos (G/D/A) and a Thomastic Superflexible E on my 1829 Mittenwald fiddle, but again they have been on the fiddle for 300-350 hours of playing. Some strings seem to wear out faster than others - anyone got comment (on my strings) about replacement ?
Thanks for any input.
(p.s.Trevor - what say you - I vaguely recall (one of) your fiddles is like mine, and you also have used Obligatos???)
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
1) I haven't had to rehair a bow for the last 5 years, but I also have a light touch. You can kind of feel when it won't grip anymore. Feel for a difference between the frog end and the area where you normally play, and you'll get an idea of how worn the hair is.
2) I was using Obligatos for a while, and quite liked them as well, except that they kept unwinding after 2 or 3 months (with hours a day of playing mind you), especially on the A at the D, probably from rolls. For the price, I think they should hold up better than this. These days Im using Helicores, mostly because Im a poor student, but they hold up forever and respond nice and quickly.
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
The short answer is to get new hair and strings when they wear out. The trick is knowing when they are worn out.
If the tone sounds fine to you and the bow feels right when you play, then you're probably fine.
I generally get new strings every 4-6 months and re-hair my bow about once a year. But that's not really a rule, it all depends. Just because the strings/hair have a certain number of hours on them doesn't necessarily mean they need to be replaced.
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
I've understood, as a non-fiddle-player, that it's when the hairs keep breaking they are finally worn out, because it is the inside of the hairs that the rosin sticks to, so with repeated applications and playing the softer inside is worn away, along the the harder outside surface, until the hair lacks sufficient strength to keep the tension without breaking.
I've known a fiddler friend shampoo his bow-hair from time to time, and then re-rosin once it's dry. This might be worth trying if it's just a question of losing tone. He didn't re-hair until the bow lacked sufficient hair to be playable.
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
1) I get my bow rehaired on an average of every 6-8 months. I play about 2-3 hours a day, daily, sometimes up to 8 hours a day. My general rule is that when I start getting a weak tone, and the bow seems to slip across rather than bite the strings, it's time for a rehair.
2) I restring about every 3 months, it seems. I'm switching from Obligatos over to Spirocores with an obligato gold E. I'm so sick of the Obligatos unwinding, and I like the projection of the Spirocores. I change strings when they no longer stay in tune, or start unwinding, whichever happens first. My D went false the other day, and I had to switch it out. Kind of a p*sser, too, right in the middle of a gig. Yuck.
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
I rehair about every six months (based on playing about 20 hours a week), and replace strings at least every 3 months, often sooner. Tried Obligatos, but now use Thomastik Titanium Visions (except the E). Doesn't matter what brand I play, I change them at least every three months. Longer than that and the tone declines and they don't tune true. If I have an important gig or workshop coming up, I replace the strings about two weeks beforehand, which gives them time to stretch and settle in. That way, I don't get caught with an unwrapping string in mid gig.
I've let my primary bow go too long without a rehair this winter, and it's not gripping the strings as well as it should. The barbs on the horsetail are likely caked with old rosin or worn off. Must take care of that before the mid-March marathon....
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
I tend to ring the changes between Visions, Obligatos, and Zyex (in no particular order), with occasional forays into gut, both covered and bare, on my old fiddle. I don't use metal strings much nowadays, but in this cold weather a set of Helicores on my session fiddle gives welcome stability - and the tone and playability is by no means unacceptable.
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
my experience is that old strings of any kind can eiher lose their quality (e.g. brilliance, sweetness, etc. depending on the string) and/or go false. but there is a lot of habituation and desensitization possible in perception of the sound of strings.
But.. if you've had an old set on for a while you may well have gotten used to a string that has gone false, so whatever strings you are using, if you pluck a string and the pitch rises perceptibly as it rings, replace it.
on bow hair, quality i love in a good bow is how it plays itself, i.e. the sound it produces with the least pressure or contribution from you .. so that's my anchor "sound and feel' for my bows. the problem of rosin, weather, etc, makes the grab part a bit trickier, though
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
Its not about how much hair is on the bow. Its about how many barbs are left on that hair. So it must be down to your own ears and the feel or grip of the bow. Light handed people may need to rehair less, but you know, it sort of depends on the quality of the hair in the first place. Nope , listen to your own music and feel of the bow.
Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
Yes, there are lots of fragmented general comments on these questions in the Discussions section, but my queries are a bit more specific to the particular strings I like to use, and my bowing characteristics.
1. I don't have a 'heavy' hand, and rarely split bowhairs, but it's been 400-500 hours of playing time since my last bow rehair. The tone still seems fine, but any comments on whether I should be thinking of a rehair?
2. I'm really enjoying Pirastro Obligatos (G/D/A) and a Thomastic Superflexible E on my 1829 Mittenwald fiddle, but again they have been on the fiddle for 300-350 hours of playing. Some strings seem to wear out faster than others - anyone got comment (on my strings) about replacement ?
Thanks for any input.
(p.s.Trevor - what say you - I vaguely recall (one of) your fiddles is like mine, and you also have used Obligatos???)
# Posted on February 6th 2009 by domhnall.
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
1) I haven't had to rehair a bow for the last 5 years, but I also have a light touch. You can kind of feel when it won't grip anymore. Feel for a difference between the frog end and the area where you normally play, and you'll get an idea of how worn the hair is.
2) I was using Obligatos for a while, and quite liked them as well, except that they kept unwinding after 2 or 3 months (with hours a day of playing mind you), especially on the A at the D, probably from rolls. For the price, I think they should hold up better than this. These days Im using Helicores, mostly because Im a poor student, but they hold up forever and respond nice and quickly.
# Posted on February 6th 2009 by Splendid Isolation
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
The short answer is to get new hair and strings when they wear out. The trick is knowing when they are worn out.
If the tone sounds fine to you and the bow feels right when you play, then you're probably fine.
I generally get new strings every 4-6 months and re-hair my bow about once a year. But that's not really a rule, it all depends. Just because the strings/hair have a certain number of hours on them doesn't necessarily mean they need to be replaced.
# Posted on February 6th 2009 by Marklar
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
I've understood, as a non-fiddle-player, that it's when the hairs keep breaking they are finally worn out, because it is the inside of the hairs that the rosin sticks to, so with repeated applications and playing the softer inside is worn away, along the the harder outside surface, until the hair lacks sufficient strength to keep the tension without breaking.
I've known a fiddler friend shampoo his bow-hair from time to time, and then re-rosin once it's dry. This might be worth trying if it's just a question of losing tone. He didn't re-hair until the bow lacked sufficient hair to be playable.
# Posted on February 6th 2009 by Guernsey Pete
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
"I've known a fiddler friend shampoo his bow-hair from time to time, and then re-rosin once it's dry. "
That works. It can also be helpful to comb the hair with a fine-tooth comb to get rid of some of the old rosin.
# Posted on February 6th 2009 by Marklar
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
1) I get my bow rehaired on an average of every 6-8 months. I play about 2-3 hours a day, daily, sometimes up to 8 hours a day. My general rule is that when I start getting a weak tone, and the bow seems to slip across rather than bite the strings, it's time for a rehair.
2) I restring about every 3 months, it seems. I'm switching from Obligatos over to Spirocores with an obligato gold E. I'm so sick of the Obligatos unwinding, and I like the projection of the Spirocores. I change strings when they no longer stay in tune, or start unwinding, whichever happens first. My D went false the other day, and I had to switch it out. Kind of a p*sser, too, right in the middle of a gig. Yuck.
# Posted on February 7th 2009 by meredithrachael
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
I rehair about every six months (based on playing about 20 hours a week), and replace strings at least every 3 months, often sooner. Tried Obligatos, but now use Thomastik Titanium Visions (except the E). Doesn't matter what brand I play, I change them at least every three months. Longer than that and the tone declines and they don't tune true. If I have an important gig or workshop coming up, I replace the strings about two weeks beforehand, which gives them time to stretch and settle in. That way, I don't get caught with an unwrapping string in mid gig.
I've let my primary bow go too long without a rehair this winter, and it's not gripping the strings as well as it should. The barbs on the horsetail are likely caked with old rosin or worn off. Must take care of that before the mid-March marathon....
# Posted on February 7th 2009 by Will Harmon
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
Replace the strings when they shred or break and rehair the bow when you've lost a great portion of the hair and it doesn't grab the strings.
# Posted on February 7th 2009 by Leendah
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
I tend to ring the changes between Visions, Obligatos, and Zyex (in no particular order), with occasional forays into gut, both covered and bare, on my old fiddle. I don't use metal strings much nowadays, but in this cold weather a set of Helicores on my session fiddle gives welcome stability - and the tone and playability is by no means unacceptable.
# Posted on February 7th 2009 by Trevor Jennings
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
my experience is that old strings of any kind can eiher lose their quality (e.g. brilliance, sweetness, etc. depending on the string) and/or go false. but there is a lot of habituation and desensitization possible in perception of the sound of strings.
But.. if you've had an old set on for a while you may well have gotten used to a string that has gone false, so whatever strings you are using, if you pluck a string and the pitch rises perceptibly as it rings, replace it.
on bow hair, quality i love in a good bow is how it plays itself, i.e. the sound it produces with the least pressure or contribution from you .. so that's my anchor "sound and feel' for my bows. the problem of rosin, weather, etc, makes the grab part a bit trickier, though
# Posted on February 7th 2009 by ratbiscuit
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
im no expert, but i think if your tone seems fine, check the quality. if your bow hairs seem to be in good condition, then you should be fine.
# Posted on February 8th 2009 by harpomaniac
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
Its not about how much hair is on the bow. Its about how many barbs are left on that hair. So it must be down to your own ears and the feel or grip of the bow. Light handed people may need to rehair less, but you know, it sort of depends on the quality of the hair in the first place. Nope , listen to your own music and feel of the bow.
# Posted on February 8th 2009 by jimjo
Re: Replace strings / rehair bow - how frequently?
"400-500 hours " Domnull you can apply for your licence now!
Blue skies
Ged
# Posted on February 9th 2009 by gedpipes