Trying out a Jon Paul Carrera Bow

Edited: September 13, 2018, 6:48 PM · I'm on day 3 of trying out a JP Carrera bow. I could only do a home trial on one. I know there are variances within the model. I feel like it chokes the sound of the violin some, especially when attempting to play loud in the lower registers. Has anyone experienced this with a bow or do you think it's technique/a different bow than I'm used to? I don't know much about my current bow that I'm comparing it to. It's stamped H. Lorenz. I believe it was in the 900-1,100 range. I had heard good things about the Carrera so thought I'd try one. I like the playability/feel but the sound is odd.

Replies (7)

Lyndon Taylor

September 13, 2018, 7:09 PM · If its carbon fibre that could be the problem, carbon fibre plays great but doesn't sound very good compared to good pernambuco.

Anthony DiMambro

September 14, 2018, 7:00 AM · I agree with Lyndon, but if you're set on JonPaul or Carbon Fiber try the Corona. They are my favorite in JonPaul line, even among their most expensive. With JonPaul bows there is also a bit of variation even within the models that they make, you could try three Carreras and they'd all play and sound different. Also, at a fairly similar price point the Coda Diamond GX series is nice too.

Josh Russell

September 14, 2018, 7:19 AM · I'm not set on a carbon fiber. I just was trialing one as I had heard good things. I'm just looking to see if others have had similar experiences with them or if it's me.

DB Cooper

September 14, 2018, 7:53 AM · You might want to try other Carerra bows, or other models of Jon Paul bows, to see if you can find a good combination of handling and tone for your particular instrument. Many thing that because CF bows are manufactured there is no difference from bow to bow, but this is not the case.

Lyndon Taylor

September 14, 2018, 3:55 PM · but carbon fibre sounds like carbon fibre, not pernambuco, you're not going to find a carbon fibre that sounds like pernambuco.

Jason Broander

September 14, 2018, 4:59 PM · When I bought my Carrera 2 years ago, I tried out two along with 2 CodaBow GX and 2 JP Avanti's. There is definitely a lot of variance within the same model, as the one I bought I thought performed much better than the other. They both also beat the Avanti's although the Carrera I didn't pick was really, really close to the Avanti's, and I probably would have just bought one of those and saved some cash if the Carrera I did buy hadn't been obviously better than the rest.

All the JPs beat the Coda Bows, which while they sounded quite nice handled very poorly in comparison.

And Lyndon is right, pernambuco sounds better, but getting one that handles as well as a decent carbon fiber is going to require luck or several thousand dollars. I justified it by getting the CF bow now, which I'll keep and use as a backup and stunt double when I buy a nice wood bow in the next year or two.

Josh Russell

September 14, 2018, 7:28 PM · Yeah the handling I liked better than my current bow. Just not the sound. I think I'll have the money to invest in a better bow soon so definitely not getting this one and likely not a carbon fiber. Was fun to try though.

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Trying out a Jon Paul Carrera Bow

Replies (7)

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