Brunette or Blond bow?

Silversorcerer · #1 10-07-2006, 11:33 PM

I've just gotten my bow back with a brunette do this time. While it is just barely getting broken in with the new hair-do, I think I'm preferring the brunette already. It's different in ways that I could not have anticipated.

So I'm just wondering what some other folks use and prefer and what the thoughts are about the differences and even though I've set this up, let's spare the "blonde" bow jokes unless you've got a really good one.

**Adrian Cho** · #2 10-07-2006, 11:44 PM

Black for me. I've also tried the "salt and pepper" thing and still prefer black. I'm playing on gut and using Oak rosin.

Silversorcerer · #3 10-07-2006, 11:55 PM

Without describing my own experience, I'd like your best description of what you find more appealing about the black hair. I'd find it hard to describe what I'm experiencing;- ?

Stingrayz · #4 10-08-2006, 07:06 AM

is there a difference between the two hairs, other than color of-course. ?

Tonal quality ? or the texture of the hair ?

Thank you

**Adrian Cho** · #5 10-08-2006, 07:11 AM

Most people use black hair because it grips better. However the downside is that the sound is coarser. I've found all of this to be true. "Salt and pepper" is obviously a balance between the two. White hair sounds nicer but I found I can't get it to work very well with guts.

Eric Rene Roy · #6 10-08-2006, 10:17 AM

I'm almost ready to order a new hank of Black and will prob order some Chestnut as well when I do as I am curious about the playing properties and of course the color would look fantastic with Brazilwood or Pernambuco!

Cory Palmer · #7 10-08-2006, 10:52 AM

I like butterscotch hair. It's in between black and white as far as coarseness goes. Great for orchestral playing. Black is too coarse for my taste.

Silversorcerer · #8 10-08-2006, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Stingrayz

is there a difference between the two hairs, other than color of-course. ?

Tonal quality ? or the texture of the hair ?

Thank you

Yes, for sure there is a tonal difference, but I'm at a loss as to how to describe it exactly. Maybe it is somewhat more clear on the fundamental and almost no "buzzy" or "fuzzy" in the sound. Richer maybe? Like I say, it's tough for me to describe. Also there seems to be somewhat of a finer degree of dynamic control. I'm using steel strings so I would think that may be somewhat different from what is going on with the guts. I'm glad I tried it out. In total it makes me curious about the other choices also. I have two inexpensive bows so I can mess around with it every time one needs a rehair.

Jake · #9 10-08-2006, 11:50 PM

Aside from the good descriptions, I've found that black hair has a warmer sound. I like it more than white. I have white on my bow right now, the hair that came on the bow

Mudfuzz · #10 10-10-2006, 12:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cory Palmer

I like butterscotch hair. It's in between black and white as far as coarseness goes. Great for orchestral playing. Black is too coarse for my taste.

How does this compare to salt and pepper?

Cory Palmer · #11 10-10-2006, 01:18 PM

I've never used salt and pepper. I'll have to try it out sometime. I imagine that it is similar. The only thing about salt and pepper is that you have two types of hair with different coarsenesses on the same bow. Butterscotch would probably pull more evenly. Since I have never had salt and pepper on my bows I'm not positive about this.

Mudfuzz · #12 10-10-2006, 02:59 PM

One more thing; could this butterscotch hair be the same thing that is called Gray hair or is this something different, I can't find anyone that lists butterscotch. here is a picture [the "gray is in the middle]

Cory Palmer · #13 10-10-2006, 03:03 PM

That looks like what I know as butterscotch.

JoeyNaeger · #14 10-10-2006, 09:43 PM

Perhaps I have an unrefined ear, but I really can't notice a real difference between types of hairs. I think other aspects of the setup will affect tone much more than the hair. Now what will have a big effect is if the bow was haired well with a nice flat ribbon. FWIW, I use Salt and Pepper because I think it looks nice.

Jake · #15 10-11-2006, 02:42 AM

I heard one of my old teachers play one night with white hair then the next day he was playing a different bow with black hair. Both times it was in a big room. To my ears, there was a big difference in the sound. Like I said earlier, I like the warmer sound of black hair better. I do think white hair looks better though, I guess partly because it's what all the other string players use.

Jake · #16 10-11-2006, 02:43 AM

I am going to have to try the butterscotch/gray stuff though.

KSB - Ken Smith · #17 10-11-2006, 04:54 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Jake

I heard one of my old teachers play one night with white hair then the next day he was playing a different bow with black hair. Both times it was in a big room. To my ears, there was a big difference in the sound. Like I said earlier, I like the warmer sound of black hair better. I do think white hair looks better though, I guess partly because it's what all the other string players use.

Unless it was the exact same Bow re-haired my money is on the Bow. Different Bows sound different more so than the hair. It's like Basses and strings. Strings change the sound of a Bass somewhat but the sound quality comes from the wood.

On the color of hair please be aware thet the Violin-cellos bows use ONLY white hair. There is no market at all for black, yellow or grey except Bass Bows and paint brushes. Good white hair is $3-400/lb and good black hair is under $100/lb. Any white hair in the $100/lb range is of much lower quality.

JimGullen · #18 10-11-2006, 06:25 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cory Palmer

The only thing about salt and pepper is that you have two types of hair with different coarsenesses on the same bow. Butterscotch would probably pull more evenly. Since I have never had salt and pepper on my bows I'm not positive about this.

Greetings!

I, too, would be a little concerned about the two different types of hair due to the effect of humidity. Stallion hair, in particular, is VERY sensitive to humidity. If you had salt-and-pepper hair consisting of black and stallion, I have no doubt that one color would be looser than the other with a relatively large humidity change...even if you had a perfectly even ribbon at the time the hair was installed.

Personally, I've really come to like silver/grey ( aka butterscotch). I never knew it was an option until this summer.

Best regards!
Jim

billyfalconer · #19 10-13-2006, 12:03 PM

I'm another convert to what my bow-rehairer calls "silver." I've only used it for about a year now, but it seems to have a more consistent pull than white, without the grabbiness of black.

Bob Branstetter · #20 10-13-2006, 01:25 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by KSB - Ken Smith

On the color of hair please be aware thet the Violin-cellos bows use ONLY white hair. There is no market at all for black, yellow or grey except Bass Bows and paint brushes. Good white hair is $3-400/lb and good black hair is under $100/lb. Any white hair in the $100/lb range is of much lower quality.

What makes good white hair expensive is the hand processing that is involved and the length. Good hair perveyers sell their best white by the Kilo and in various lengths from about 28" to 36" or longer. The shorter hair is less expensive and is usually used for bass bows and less than full size bows for the other instruments. The bow rehairer normally likes to buy the bulk hair 5-6" longer than the playing length in order to be able to work with it and keep even tension. The diameter of the best white hair is very consistant and it is not bleached. The great majority of cheaper white bow hair is bleached which weakens the hair resulting in more hair breakage. Very few rehairers will admit that are using bleached hair (and most will outright deny it). However, if you get white hair on your bow and it is perfectly even color at both ends, the odds are quite high that the hair has been bleached. Good unbleached white bow hair will always be slightly more yellow at one end (somebody else can tell you why). The exception to this rule is if the rehairer uses expensive 36" or longer hair and cuts off the yellow part for a bass bow. This seldom happens!

Black hair and multicolored hair is the cheapest in bulk. The diameter of the individual hairs is very inconsistant, but one thing you can be absolutely sure of with black hair is that it has not been bleached and will be stronger than cheap, bleached white hair. I've bought black hair in bulk in the past for as little as $35 a pound, so there is a financial incentive for many rehairers to push black hair and other non-white hair for bass bows. I charge my customer who prefer black hair $5 less than I do for white hair. Many others charge the same for black or white.

I personally prefer using white hair in my bows, but I have many customers who prefer black.