Modern Bows and Bowmakers?

August 24, 2004 at 10:09 PM · There are many good bow makers around. Some that I would reccommend are:

(in no particular order)

Chris English

Stephnen Marvin

Charles Espey

Jose DaCunha

I've also heard good things about David Samuels.

I think their bows are in the 2,000-5,000 range (?) depending on the maker and the model--silver or gold mounted, tortoise shell, etc.

There are some very good modern bows I've played on but in general, I've heard its getting harder to find really good pieces of Pernambuco (it's a protected tree now) and no matter how good the maker, the quality depends a lot on the characteristics of the wood. I guess you just have to be prepared to shop around.

2 sites to check out with lots of contact info and links are:

http://www.afvbm.com

http://www.vanzandtviolins.com/homepages.htm

August 25, 2004 at 12:03 AM · You make a good point about wood selection, Peter. (By the way, hi!)

Some of the best wood never leaves Brazil. It gets used at the large shops there that are producing bows in fairly large numbers.

Fortunately, pernambuco is not on the international banned list yet, unlike ivory and tortoiseshell (which some people have found to their chagrin when trying to get through customs with an ivory frog bow). But there are environmental groups trying to get it on the list, and the AFVBM, L'Entente and other makers' groups are vigorously fighting it. Even so, it's getting harder to get good wood outside of Brazil. Many makers will go down there personally to get it.

There was an excellent article on this situation in the Smithsonian magazine a few months ago.

August 25, 2004 at 03:02 AM · Matt Wehling is awesome.

August 25, 2004 at 04:08 AM · So will the prices of pernambuco bows increase a lot if they put a ban on it? And why are materials such as ivory and tortoise popular? Is it just for looks or does it have any practical purposes in playing?

August 25, 2004 at 05:19 AM · Tortoiseshell was used partially because it's somewhat lighter than ebony and partially for its look. Ivory, as far as I know, is purely decorative.

Those materials aren't used in new bows, of course, but several times cutomers of ours with ivory or tortoiseshell frogs on their bows have had the frogs confiscated at customs. This is because the international ban prohibits import of _anything_ made from the material, even if it's an antique.

There was one extreme case where a woman had a Bosendorfer piano going through US Customs, and they took the ivory off the keys. I know the law is there to prevent new ivory from being imported, but sometimes it gets a little ridiculous.

August 25, 2004 at 05:48 AM · The Pacific Northwest has a bunch of bowmakers. Chris English makes mostly Baroque bows, and Charles Espey stays busy with commissions. Paul Siefried and Ole Kanestrom both usually have a selection available for trial, as do 3 or 4 of the younger guys that have studied with them who also live in Port Townsend, WA. (Chris Dickson, Robert Morrow, Joe Halligan). Also in the greater Seattle area are Morgan Anderson and Peg Baumgartel (Lopez Island, WA), and Ann Larson (Vashon Island, WA). I was very impressed with Paul Siefried and Ole Kanestrom. I own one of Paul's bows.

August 25, 2004 at 02:09 PM · I think Robert Shallock is living out there, too.

There's a whole generation of American makers who trained in Paris under Millant and Vatelot. Most of them are members of the AFVBM, and any one of them would be an excellent choice for a modern bow.

August 25, 2004 at 07:06 PM · Ok, I went today to go get a new bow for myself! What a co-incidence! Well, one of the bows I really like was made of some or other "horn" (they didn't know what). It was rather transparent and you could see the inside of the frog quite easily. It was also very light-coloured (a sort of off white)..any idea what type of horn it is, and whether that would cause problems in Customs?

What do people do with ivory and tortoise-shell (another of the nice bows was tortoise-shell!!) bows and customs?? If it gets confiscated, then what?? Is it something to bear in mind when buying a bow?

Thanks in advance

August 25, 2004 at 07:59 PM · The generic label of "horn" is usually cattle horn. It is readily available, and has no limitations on its use. Many makers are using it today as an alternative to tortoiseshell.

For our customers who own ivory or tortoiseshell bows (and those with whalebone wraps), we have written letters identifying the bows as "ivory-type" or "whalebone-type" that they can show to customs. That usually does the trick.

Another alternative is to have a replacement frog made in ebony or another accepted material and keep the original frog separate from the bow. Of course, the new frog has to be weighted and balanced the same way, so it's best to have it done by a qualified bowmaker.

September 1, 2004 at 07:06 AM · I bought my modern bow about 2 years ago. It by a Dutch maker Kees van Hemert. It is a much better bow than what i could have got if i bought an older bow. It beautifully balanced, fast and powerful. My teacher owns a bow from the same maker but made maybe 10 years ago now. We both think the makers skills have improved and that i have a much better bow than he does! Also I wouldnt bother too much about the decorations. They dont make it sound any better, and i'm not sure gold fittings are worth the extra money. They are less hard wearing anyway. I tried a gold bow at the same time i was trying my silver one. I went with the silver, because not only was it cheaper, the actual bow played better. Thats what you need in the end.

September 1, 2004 at 03:53 PM · Save your pernambuco folks.

September 19, 2004 at 12:38 AM · does anyone know what the stamp and the value of a bow from William Tubbs?

September 19, 2004 at 01:27 AM · Karin, Nice to see you mentioning Pacific NW bowmakers. I bought an Ann Larson bow this year, and I think it's wonderful.

September 19, 2004 at 02:25 PM · And what do you think about quickly getting popular fiber-glass bows? I think they're trying to create a new bow-material because of the pernambuco cost and problems, but I don't know how it sounds.

And a simple question - I'm a begginer of fiddle, and... what's the difference between bows? I've got a very cheap bow with synthetic hair (it costed 60zl, so perhaps about 10$) and I don't know how more expensive bows are better. I thought that bow is only a piece of wood with hair, and nothing more... but now I'm sure I was wrong.

And one question more - does the way of holding bow affects playing? I don't hold the bow correctly, but with some modificatiions, because it makes my tone more clear, and my hands and arms more relaxed. Is that OK?

M.

September 19, 2004 at 08:33 PM · Emily -

My teacher and I had a fabulous time on a "field trip" last summer to Port Townsend to test bows. We visited 4 makers, and were treated like royalty. Seems that bowmakers really like to talk to the people who use their bows! The one interesting tidbit was that they were sensitive about us only paying attention to the sound - they wanted the beauty of their craftmanship to be noticed! I have a modern violin (Marilyn Wallin) and now a modern bow, and I couldn't be happier.

Karin

September 20, 2004 at 05:45 AM · Just to let you guys know about one great bow maker in Paris. One Japanese bow maker called Masaaki Sasano makes great bows. It's not like usual modern bows but there is feeling of old master bows like Pajeot, Simon, Tourte (in this case I don't want to include D. Peccatte because they are not like those other old masters but more to modern actioned bows). He took a great prize this year and first guy as a Japanese called Meilleurs Ouvriers de France (best crafts worker of France) from french government. This prize is not given every year but only to great masters like Sartory, Victor Fetique and so on but not many.