Beginner's bow: Bob's, Upton's, Ken's?

Michael Eisenman · #1 08-30-2006, 07:37 PM

I just got my first DB (Johannes Kohr K64B). It's all set up and ready to go. Now I'm looking for my first bow. ($$ are a concern.)

Can anyone tell me about their experiences with the following bows (edit: I added Ken's bow to the list):

Bob's Brazilwood Bass Bow ($148)
Upton Workshop Double Bass Bow ($99)
The lower-end bow that Ken Smith sells ($160)

What's your preference, and why? (Don't know yet whether German or French; teacher will discuss with me during my first lesson on Saturday.)

Thx,
Michael

bass phan · #2 08-30-2006, 08:46 PM

if you have a double jointed thumb, go for a german, the french might hurt a bit.

generally wood bows sound better then fiberglass (but they cost more)

depends on how much you are planning to spend, but first see if you are gonna be playing the german or french style.

and enjoy the arco side of bass

hdiddy · #3 08-30-2006, 10:12 PM

I've only had Bob's bows and many of us can vouch for them, but I can't see going wrong with any of those 3. The question is how much $$$ you wanna put into it and which grip? Sometimes (or in my case most of the time), I usually get what I pay for.

I would've liked to try one of Ken's bows but my next bow is likely to be much more expensive, that's if I get another in the first place.

robgrow · #4 08-30-2006, 10:38 PM

I can recommend the $99 Upton bows. They are very usable bows and a great value. I used to have a French bow from Bob Gollihur. I like the Upton bow better.

I'd also like to take a look at the bows Ken Smith is selling.

Jake · #5 08-30-2006, 10:57 PM

I would try out one of Ken Smith's pernambuco bows. I've never played one, but I have heard good things about them. Maybe you could try them all on loan.

BassZen · #6 08-30-2006, 11:03 PM

Bob's are quite good, especially for the money. It got me through two years and still works well (I upgraded a year ago), and I abused the hell out of the thing.

dchan · #7 08-31-2006, 12:07 AM

I have played both Upton's $99 bows and Ken's $160 brazilwood bow.

I bought an Upton french bow last December, and was happy with it at first. As time went on, I found the stick to be too flexible to my liking and that the bow did not play very well towards the tip. Still, it was an OK bow, certainly serviceable.

Is this necessarily the story for all of Upton's bows? Obviously not. I picked the lightest one that I was offered (I went up to Mystic) because of my preference at the time for lighter bows, and this may have contributed to the flexibility. Perhaps a heavier one may have been stiffer and may have played better throughout. But the point, I guess, is that their bows may be inconsistent in their playing.

I only tried one or two of Ken's brazilwood bows when I went down to Perkasie because I was shopping for his Pernambuco bows. I was very impressed with the bow. It played evenly throughout, and the stick was a good deal stiffer than my Upton.

Ken told me all of his Chinese-made bows were made under his design specifications, and that they were shorter in length than Upton's and other bows. He reasoned that shorter bows made for a less flexible stick. After playing the bow, I would agree.

Perhaps if I had tried more of Ken's brazilwood bows, I may have found some that played a good deal worse than the ones that I tried out. However, I did try out about five of his pernambuco bows, and found them all to play very well. I believe the same would apply to the brazilwood bows.

For my money, I would go with Ken's bow. And if you can, go for his pernambuco bows because they will give you a better sound as you progress further on in your playing.

But in any event, I would always try out bows before you buy one, or better yet, have a professional try one out for you to listen. It can't always be done, but it does give insight on the strengths and weaknesses of the bow.

TheSuzie · #8 08-31-2006, 05:03 AM

I have one of Ken's middle line. I am an arco rookie but I have had a seasoned pro play my bass with the bow while I stood back and listened. It sounded great and the player gave the bow his nod of approval after giving it a pretty good workout. I doubt that I will need anything better for quite a long time.

Peace,
S

Bruce Lindfield · #9 08-31-2006, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by robgrow

I can recommend the $99 Upton bows. They are very usable bows and a great value. I used to have a French bow from Bob Gollihur. I like the Upton bow better.

Interesting thread - I just got an Upton bow as I was looking for a cheap bow just for practice - these are so much cheaper than aything I could buy in Europe - even allowing for the £20 custom charge I got!

Amazing value for money!

Thomas Stone · #10 08-31-2006, 07:53 AM

I've just done the same Bruce.

I hope you got you bow quicker than i did (parcel force lived up to their parcel farce nickname yet again chasing a phantom package all over south england....quicker to get across america and then to uk than from customs to parcel force depot.... I digress)

My upton french is a dark sounding bow, which is precisely what i was hoping for.
I like it a lot, but I was using a P and H fibre glass (£50) bow before. If i include customs my Upton ws about £85.

I was hoping to get a whole lot more hair on it, but i can live with that untill its rehair time. I'll be sticking with black hair.

I used the fibre glass bow for about a year, I imagine I'll use the upton for about a year and then move into serious bow terriotry. I pretty much play 90% arco now so I owe it to my playing to get a keeper bow.

You can't really gripe with a $99 bow though.

Bruce Lindfield · #11 08-31-2006, 09:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Thomas Stone

I've just done the same Bruce.

I hope you got you bow quicker than i did (parcel force lived up to their parcel farce nickname yet again chasing a phantom package all over south england....quicker to get across america and then to uk than from customs to parcel force depot.... I digress).

I think it took a couple of weeks and then I got a letter from PF saying they had my parcel in their depot in Crawley and I needed to pay £20 customs fees - I did this straight away by their automated telephone system and it was delivered the next day, around lunch time!

Mudfuzz · #12 10-24-2006, 02:43 AM

I just got my new Upton bow tonight; the F-ing UPS guy left it by my garage door next to the recycling bin instead of the front door so it sat outside for three hours intill I got a e-mail saying it was delivered

so I had to go out and find the thing.

Anyway, The bow is nice, the hair job is worth the bow really. I wanted to try German for awhile plus my Bob G [french] bow really needs a rehair and I didn't want to have to use my old bow as a backup anymore, so I thought what the heck. The bow sounds really good and has nice balance, I like it.

Upton Vs. Bob G [sorry guys]
Both good sounding, playing bows.
The Bob G has a nicer finish and lighter [stick]
Upton has better setup: hair and grip.

You really can't go wrong with either though.