I have some questions about bows and bow hair ?

June 16, 2012 at 12:12 AM · I have a Doerfler bow that cost just under $300. I'm pretty sure the mountings aren't silver. It's a decent bow for the money. I bought it for my cheap (but not VSO) Chinese violin but it's not bad on my more expensive 100 year old Italian violin.

Regarding Brazilwood vs Pernambuco: I understand, and people who know have agreed with me, that they're the same wood but Pernambuco is better quality.

June 16, 2012 at 02:06 AM · The hair and the way it is installed in your bow makes a big difference. I sent my bow for rehairing by Jose Da Cunha in Miami. He used about 20% black hair which a local pro suggested would give my bow a little more bite. I've had it back now for a few weeks and it plays great, and it's got a lot of bite, now I'm using a lot less rosin. The re-hair cost me $60 plus shipping, and I'm very happy with it. It's a Cadenza Master CF bow, which I like so much I bought a second one. The Master is now called Cadenza 3-star. It's silver-mounted. You can get it for around $400.

June 16, 2012 at 03:54 AM · I just reread your message and found I had misread it at the beginning. My violin was also $300 for the violin, bow, and case, about 5 years ago. The bow broke very soon--the plastic tip cracked. I replaced it with a $55 bow which did the job but didn't improve the sound. The Doerfler probably made the violin sound its best. But just like any other bow, try several, even of the same model, with your violin before buying, if you can.

June 16, 2012 at 08:38 AM · Unfortunately, I live in Cairns and there are no violin shops here so I cannot try out any bows before buying. I have to buy online which is not the best way to buy a bow.

June 16, 2012 at 04:16 PM · You can get bows on loan by mail. Violins too for that matter. Make sure if you are trying a few bows on loan that you try at least one comparably priced carbon fiber bow. In your price range they really are the best bang for the buck.

June 16, 2012 at 04:33 PM · Yesterday,I spoke to the owner of a violin shop in Brisbane who is also a professional player of almost 40 years. He said it is not so much the quality of the bow hair but the construction of the bow itself and the timber used which determines the sound. Before I had a chance to say anything to this he said 'Yes, you might think it was the hair but it is not.'

So I will be leaving it up to him to pick a bow for me when he gets the new shipment in next week.

I am amazed that the timber of the bow has so much to do with the sound when it does not even come into contact with the strings. Violins are mysterious things !

June 17, 2012 at 11:21 AM · I bought a Doerfler bow for 425GBP about two years ago. It's sound and reliable.

June 20, 2012 at 05:07 PM · I think Florida would be the US state with a climate most similar to Cairns.

June 20, 2012 at 09:04 PM · "What happens to the hair which causes the sound quality to degrade over time ?"

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Mostly, it gets contaminated. Even if you're careful not to touch the hair, look at what comes off on a white cleaning cloth when you clean your windows, just from what's floating around in the air.

June 21, 2012 at 01:39 AM · "There are obviously great differences in the quality of the bow hair being used . . ."

I agree with the owner of the shop in Brisbane that the differences you noticed in these bows would be mostly from the quality of the sticks, not the hair. They all would have most likely had hair of moderate quality. With that said, there is a world of difference between cheap, old hair and high quality, FRESH hair, carefully selected, twice drawn, taken from a stallion, rather than a mare, and taken from a live horse rather than from the slaughterhouse. Fresh, live, stallion hair is what you want, if you can find it.

Pernambucco bows in this price range vary widely from bow to bow - even form one example of a particular maker and model to another of the exact same maker and model. It's best to try as many as possible in order to find the best one available. Otherwise, you just have to hope that you get lucky. The Doerfler company makes fine bows. But, they very widely in quality.

"Is there any way to tell just by looking if a violin bow has good quality hair ?"

Fine hair is composed of individual strands that are about the same thickness and color. This is easy enough to see if you look closely. Also, fresh hair has some stretch to it. Pull off a hair and then stretch it to see how far you can pull without it breaking. If it breaks immediately, the hair is old and/or dry.

"What happens to the hair which causes the sound quality to degrade over time ?"

Hair gets old and dry over time. Light damages hair as well. The friction of the hair on the strings causes it to lose vitality. Oil from your hands and (as previously mentioned) dust from the air cause the hair to become dirty. Old hair is like old strings - it may seem fine, but when you put new on, you really hear the difference.

"What is the main difference between a Brazilwood bow and a Pernambuco bow ? Is it the feel or do they sound different as well ? "

Brazilwood is any of a variety of wood that comes from Brazil, where Pernambucco wood is grown. Pernambucco is a particular kind of Brazilwood. Brazilwood is generally considered the finest for making bows. Pernambucco is universally considered the best Brazilood for making bows. There is, of course, a wide range of qualities available in Brazilwood and Pernambucco. Cheap and knotted Pernambucco does not make a fine bow.

But, fine Pernambucco is very desireable for its strength/stiffness, relative to its weight, and for it's tonal characteristics. So, to answer your question specifically, better wood gets you a more responsive bow with 'better feel' and also better tone.

As for your bow shopping, if you're set on a wooden bow, try as many as you can until you find one that feels right to you. But, honestly, in this price range, you may be much happier with a CodaBow (best carbon fiber on the market at this price, in my opinion). Good luck!

June 21, 2012 at 09:20 AM · I am going to try washing the bow hair on the bow that used to sound good. I will use dish washing detergent.

I used to leave my bows in an open case but I will be closing the lid from now on. I have a tiled floor and I have to mop the floor every week ; the amount of dust that accumulates in this short time is amazing. Some of this dust from the air would be settling on the bow hair. It had never occurred to me that this might be causing problems.

June 23, 2012 at 04:46 AM · UPDATE : I have washed that bow and the improvement is amazing ? How often do people wash their bow hair ?

I soaked the hair in soapy water for about an hour by draping it in a cup and then carefully ran it under the tap to remove all traces of soap.(Yes, the frog was removed to do all this !) I did try to run a toothbrush through the hair but this does not work as the hair grabs the brush. Is there a correct procedure for cleaning bow hair ?

How should rosin be removed from the strings ? I always wipe the strings with a soft cloth after use but I am sure that there is a slight residue buildup between the winding of the strings. (Most wines here do not use corks anymore so please do not suggest a wine cork to clean the strings.)

June 23, 2012 at 05:15 AM · I'm not too sure about cleaning bow hair... With regard to your strings, a soft dry cloth should do. If your strings have serious build up, you've hopefully played them so much that you need new strings?

Bows... I'd rather have a good brazil wood bow than a cheap pernambuco bow any day of the week. HOWEVER: I live in the subtropics and got really unlucky with my last semi-decent wooden bows: 1) The first one was in my house when it burnt down. My viola survived and is back to herself after a few months of being dried and put back together, but the bow was not able to be resuscitated. (2) I was busking, it was 40 degrees, very humid and the bow was good to play with but it was Chinese pernambuco and split in the usual place near the tip. (3) My old teacher who sold me both bows lent me another bow like the second bow, which did the same thing. Apparently a bad supply.

Now none of this is my fault as far as I can tell: I hadn't broken a bow prior to this in over 15 years of playing, nor did I start the housefire ;) I bought a bow for $80, not fantastic but it did the bare minimum and I felt a bit cursed.

Last year I spent my tax return on a Codabow GX and I love it to pieces. If you don't want to spend a lot of money, I'd recommend trying out their cheaper carbon fibre bows. Especially if you travel a lot or live in a place where the temperature and humidity is pretty volatile as carbon fibre is a much more stable material than wood.