Between two bows. Please help! Thank you

[natselection]

I'm currently trying two french bows.

One, is a Hannings and Rubino bow. Now, I believe Lynn Hannings and George Rubino are split and no longer work together. This is a bow from their old partnership. It is currently strung with black hair. The bow is LOUD, and the frog is kind of large (no problem though). The stick looks undamaged and is of good thickness in my opinion. There is what looks like a small blemish, could be a chip on the stick that was repaired, I'm not sure. The tone is very open and sounds a bit more edgy (could be because of the black hair, this is the first bow I've played with black hair).

The second bow is a French "F.N. Voirin A Paris" bow. It has stamped "France" underneath the stick on the buttonside of the frog. The stick looks unblemished and kind of thin compared to the first bow. The hair length is longer than the Rubino bow. It is currently strung in brown and white hair. The frog is relatively small. This french bow has the mother of pearl dots on the frog and on the button, unlike the Rubino bow. The Voirin is also a lot lighter than the Rubino. Tonewise, the Voirin is warmer, but softer in volume. I personally think it is more comfortable to play, but the sound isn't as loud or full as the black haired Rubino. The stick of the Voirin is also a little more flexible than the Rubino.

What do you guys think? There is a $200 price diff between the two bows, the Rubino being the more expensive. Does the hair make a big difference in volume?

Thanks

[jmears]

Just an observation. I was choosing between bows a while ago - see my posts in these forums.

One thing I noticed was that the loudest bow was actually not the one that was most audible. It was the bow that produced the most focussed tone that was actually "loudest", not the one that made most noise. If that makes any sense.

John

[Silversorcerer]

In the last year I developed a distinct preference for the black hair, which to me gives a more focused sound, but can vary on two different bows. My recent and much better bow plays more easily with black hair than my lesser bows did with white hair and still has the "bite" that the black hair gives. The lesser bow sounds more nasal with the black hair than the better one. It sounded even more nasal (and fuzzy) with white hair.

Length of the hair is not always the "playable" length of the hair. Check to see how the bows perform out at the tip and up close to the frog. If you can play out at the tip easily with almost no pressure, that is better than having an inch of extra hair that does nothing but make the bow tip heavy.

My better bow is the same weight as my lesser one and the stick is thicker, but better balanced and not quite as stiff. I guess what I'm saying is how thick the stick is probably doesn't matter as much as flexibility and weight. Personally I like a relatively heavy bow, but this is just my preference.

I think a great deal of it is personal preference. There was a pretty good thread on black vs. white hair and chestnut or gray was also discussed. I started one called "blond or brunette" or something like that and there was some good discussion there. I found when I re-haired a bow from white to black that the bow felt pretty much the same but performed better to my ear in some ways.

Over on Ken Smith's forum, there is a recent thread (Do I need a new bow?), and there are some really good tips from Ken on bow selection and assessment that I found very helpful. Ken's a very knowledgeable bow freak for sure, so you might post over there and see what he says.

[shostkontrabass]

I think when it comes down to it, the right bow is the one that just feels the best in your hand when you are playing what you play. When I bought a new bow 2 years ago I tried a lot of bows over a few months and finally had it down to 2 bows, one a little longer than the other. I ended up buying the longer one after finding myself just wanting to use it instead of the other. I don't think it's the best thing you can do to compare the 2 bows side by side. I think that what's better is working with each bow separately. Maybe use one bow for an entire day, then use the other for an entire day. Chances are, while using one bow, you will find yourself missing something that you could get out of the other bow. And if you've already got it down to these two, then that one is probably the best one to buy. Best of luck!