| Never tried a Bob G. brazilwood bow, but I hear they're okay.
I had an Upton French bow which I ditched after 6 months or so because it didn't play that well at the tip. I'm not saying that's the same for all Upton bows, but they're a little inconsistent from bow to bow; after all, it's only $99 for one, so it's expected. They're German bow users seem to be more happy from what I've seen. Still, it's not bad, but there are better choices IMO.
I've only tried one of Ken Smith's brazilwood bows, and I passed it over in favor of his pernambuco bows because I believed at the time I needed pernambuco for better sound. Though it was a bit out of my budget to buy the brazilwood and pernambuco bow at once, I'm still kicking myself to this day for not doing that. The brazilwood bow was an absolute dream to play, probably even better than the bow I ended up buying. Alas....
Haven't heard much about The String Emporium bows. From the website, they look pretty and more expensive-looking than the $130 they charge. Can't say anything about their playability or sound.
The Sting Emporium website says they copy their bows from existing models, like a Peccate bow. Ken Smith did the same thing with his Chinese bows, except he based his French bows on the Sartory bow. IMO, you can't really argue with the results you get from making a bow based on an already established bow.
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Drake Chan
"Keep me posted"
- Lt. Martin Castillo
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