Bow shopping, part 3

January 2, 2006 at 6:31 AM

I haven't even looked at my violin in the last two days because the whole bow shopping experience has stressed me out so much. I'm definitely one of those people who's happier after a decision than before it. And after three consecutive days of endless bow trials, I felt I needed to give both my ears and hands a rest. Here's a rundown of what I've been up to since my last blog entry:

Thursday night: Asked my non-musical friend and her mother to do a blind comparison on the Spiccato Arpege CF bow I have on loan from Kamimoto Strings against the Guy Jeandel wooden bow from Ifshin. Both of them liked the Arpege, even in the upper register where I find the sound too dull.

Friday afternoon: Returned to Ifshin to try out their Coda Classic and a few other wooden bows. They also gave me the Jon Paul Bravo, which is a significantly cheaper CF bow. Surprisingly, I had a hard time telling the difference between the Coda and the Jon Paul, and decided I actually liked the tone of the Jon Paul very slightly better. I decided to return the Arcus Veloce and take the Jon Paul on trial instead. Despite being barely half the cost of the Arcus, the Jon Paul is easier for me to handle, and isn't nearly as ugly.

Friday evening: Spent most of my violin lesson evaluating bows with my teacher. She pretty much agreed with me on which ones produced the best tone and which ones seemed easiest for me to handle, which was encouraging but not really that helpful. Ultimately, I have to decide for myself which factors are most important for me.

So, here are the three finalists:

Jon Paul Bravo (CF), $260
Spiccato Arpege (CF), $590
Guy Jeandel (wooden), $795

I like the handling of the Arpege probably the best of the three, and it sounds gorgeous on the G string, but I just don't care that much for the tone in the upper register; it's dull and doesn't sing at all. I'm still quite fond of the Guy Jeandel; it's the one bow I still have from the first of my three shopping trips. If I decide to go with wood, this will definitely be the one. The Bravo is just average all around; it's better than the Arpege in the high range and not as good in the low range, and doesn't handle quite as well, but it's quite a bargain for its price and might serve me well for a few years until I do decide to upgrade my violin. Surprisingly, though, I find its low price a bit of a turn-off; it's almost as if I don't trust myself to know what I need so I want to use price as an external, though invalid, gauge of quality.

I promise tomorrow I'll try them out again and hopefully come to a decision soon. Blegh.

In the meantime, here's a funny story my friend told me. She and her boyfriend were shopping for my Christmas present and thought they might get me one of the Joshua Bell CDs on my Amazon.com wish list, but they didn't have Internet access so they called her boyfriend's brother and asked him to look it up. He apparently couldn't pronounce the name of the composer, but he spelled it, and said it was with the London Philharmonic, and that Josh was wearing a brown coat over a blue shirt.

Anyway, they couldn't find it (I got "The Village" on DVD instead, which made me quite happy) but I was quite curious as to which CD they'd been looking for that had a name that was difficult to pronounce. I was thinking, "Prokofiev? Wieniawski?" not remembering exactly what I'd put on my list, so I went back to check for the album in question, and it was the Sibelius/Goldmark! What's so hard about pronouncing "Sibelius"??? And the orchestra was the Los Angeles Philharmonic, not the London Philharmonic.

I'd make a snide remark about people who don't know anything about classical music, but Sydney seems to have that area covered. ;)

From Jim W. Miller
Posted on January 2, 2006 at 6:43 AM

I like you, so I'm going to make things difficult. If you're looking at bows in the $200 range, do you have pawn shops there? 95% of the bows there would be dogs, but you might luck onto a 100 year old German bow that would do it for you. Plus it's fun looking at the other stuff there. About a year ago I got one in a pawn shop for $50 that's very old and pernambuco, though full of knots. Other than that, I don't know what it is. It may have always been cheap. At the same time, I purchased a couple other bows through normal channels, much more expensive, but the three are all in the same class. If you like one that needs to be re-cambered or straightened, that's inexpensive.

From Karin Lin
Posted on January 2, 2006 at 7:42 AM

Hi Jim, with friends like you ;)...yes, we do have pawn shops, and no, I'm not going to check them out. I'm far too insecure in my ability to judge quality, and far too limited in my amount of free time, to expend that kind of effort even with the possibility of landing a great deal. And my price range, as you see, is actually more in the $800 range; although I can afford much more, I don't feel I deserve to spend more when my ear and playing ability cast doubt on the rewards of doing so. But if I happen to find a $260 bow that I like as much as my favorite $800 bow, then, well, I'd be silly not to buy that instead.

From Emily Grossman
Posted on January 2, 2006 at 8:01 AM

Karin, I agree with Jim's perspective. Also, if you can spend more on a bow, and you find one you like that costs a little more, certainly don't limit yourself just because of your opinion of your ability. You can grow into it. What happens is, if your ability really isn't up to it, you won't be able to tell why a nicer bow is what it is, and you won't end up buying it, anyway. But if you find one that you really like, be it cheap or expensive, trust your own judgement about what draws you to it. It can't be any different than buying a dress. If it fits you and makes you look/sound good, it doesn't matter if it's $20 or $2000. Get what suits you. You seem to have discriminating enough taste. Just trust yourself and your opinion.

..of course I always feel best when I know I got a killer deal. I found this gorgeous little black dress for $20--had to buy it just out of principle. Yeah, you could pay ten times more for the same thing, but why?

From Pauline Lerner
Posted on January 3, 2006 at 7:17 AM

First, I agree completely with Emily. Take the idea that you don't deserve a good bow and throw it in the trash can (the idea, not the bow). People often advise "Buy the best you can afford." You like the wood bow the best and you can afford it, so buy it! Don't be pennywise and pound foolish.

From Karin Lin
Posted on January 3, 2006 at 8:06 AM

I appreciate all the advice, but I'm still going to do what feels right to me, which means not considering a bow that costs more than what I believe is reasonable for a player of my level with an instrument of my quality. Yes, I can afford to spend $5000 on a bow right now, and yes, that bow would definitely be much better than the ones I'm currently auditioning. However, I would feel it was an unnecessary extravagance, particularly since I don't have the playing ability to do it justice. I'll upgrade my instrument as my ability improves, and not sooner.

(BTW, Pauline, I haven't said I liked the wooden bow the best. I'm still figuring out which I like best, hence the dilemma. However, I have tried wooden bows of up to $1600, and determined that they're not any better---at least that I can tell---or that they aren't enough better to justify doubling the price.)

From Clare Chu
Posted on January 3, 2006 at 6:36 PM

Hi Karin, having tried bows with you, and been in your shoes (well, not exactly yours), but similar. I would say that you're doing the right thing to look for a sub-$1000 bow, while you learn to sort out the subtleties of the higher end bows. I have tried $4000 modern French bows and there is definitely an aliveness and finesse to them. One of the first bows I absolutely loved turned out to be a Pajeot! And this was when I was only 1 month back to the violin. The guy at Stevens said, "Oh boy, you have expensive tastes and only told me that the bow was much more than $5000", while I was playing on my $500 Stringworks Virtuoso. SO... spend what you're comfortable with and won't regret, but know that there will always be something out there better and more expensive.

From Karin Lin
Posted on January 3, 2006 at 10:34 PM

Thanks, Clare, it's nice to have someone who's not pushing me to spend all I can. And yes, I will always be aware that there are better, more expensive options out there. When I'm ready to explore them, I'm taking you with me. :)

From Terez Mertes
Posted on January 4, 2006 at 7:16 PM

Well, can't make too many comments about the bow issue, but I have to ask if you ever got the Sibelius/Goldmark CD (funny story, that!). I love that CD! Want me to make and send you a copy? You won't get those cute pics of Joshua and Esa-Pekka Salonen, but hey, you'd hear them (Joshua, that is). Send me a msg and your address if you're interested. And good luck on the bow decision!

From Karin Lin
Posted on January 4, 2006 at 9:20 PM

Hi Terez,

I haven't gotten it yet, but it's next on my "reward list" of CDs, from which I buy whenever I lose 5 pounds. :) I'm a big opponent of software and music piracy, so please don't make me (or anyone else!) a copy, although I do recognize and appreciate the sentiment behind it. I'm hoping to hear Josh perform the Sibelius live at Tanglewood next July, so I definitely want to hear the recording before then.

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Bow shopping, part 3

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