At what point does one decide to re-hair the old bow?

I am beginning to notice some inconsistency with tone production.

I re-hair every 12-15 months. When you get the new hair you hear and feel a big difference

I rehair every 4 months! I suppose it depends how much you use your bow, but as a working orchestral bass player, I find I have to rehair that often.

The biggest clue should be you feel the grip isn't what it should be and you find yourself apply rosin more often than normally.

Certainly someone who uses the bow that much is also very alert to the status of the bow hair.
When the bow is used less often, it's easier to be oblivious to the very gradual wear of the hair. I compare it to when you discover you need eyeglasses; as soon as you get them, you see how little attention you gave to deteriorating focus on a daily basis, because it was so gradual.
My bowmaker makes the case that bow hair came from a living thing and will deteriorate even if not used. She's the one who recommended rehairing every year, 15 months, regardless of use.
I wish I were good enough to be playing enough to rehair every 4 months!

Thanks for the advice. I am actually applying rosin more often than I believe I should, and certainly not getting response. I notice I will get a "grab" closer to the frog, which is probably indicative of wear in the center portion of the bow.

You might want to specify Mongolian horsehair. And don't buy the dyed stuff; looks hip, but definitely inferior, from my personal experience. Siberian is also good.

You might want to specify Mongolian horsehair. And don't buy the dyed stuff; looks hip, but definitely inferior, from my personal experience. Siberian is also good. I get mine done by one of the finest bowmakers in the USA; $42, the very best hair, 48 hour max turn-around using FedEx. Major league clientele. e-mail me if you want the name.

(Don't know how this happened. I'm dangerous near computers)

Don:

Please e-mail the name of that person to me. Actually, being somewhat compulsive, my bow is being re-haired as I type (with mongolian hair), by a guy in town. He is supposedly pretty good, but he does not have a 48 hour turnaround. I will have it back on Tuesday.

Thanks

Just got my pernambuco bow rehaired, last time was two years ago. François Bonnier did , as usual, a good job with what looks like salt&peppa to me. Now I prefer this bow - unsigned but from the Augagneur & Bergeron shop - over the ALG (carbon fiber one). I whish I had done this sooner.