French or German?

[Eli_Upright12]

Originally Posted by hdiddy

Yeah. Golden Gate Bass Camp. Barry Green (organizer), David Murray, David Young, and a bunch of others I can't remember right now. John Clayton did the Jazz Workshop along with Kristen Korb and a few others. It was mostly teens for the camp and a handful of older farts for the Ray Brown workshop.

Wow sounds like a great crowd, David Murray was also at the Richard Davis conference.

[Steve Boisen]

Originally Posted by damonsmith

Mingus played French because he came from 'cello

Actually, Mingus started with German bow and switched to French. Seems Rufus Reid has done the same thing.

- Steve

[Eli_Upright12]

Originally Posted by Steve Boisen

Actually, Mingus started with German bow and switched to French. Seems Rufus Reid has done the same thing.

- Steve

Indeed Rufus Reid has, I think this is in connection with his studies with Francois Rabbath.

[Steve Boisen]

Originally Posted by Eli_Upright12

Indeed Rufus Reid has, I think this is in connection with his studies with Francois Rabbath.

That makes sense. I noticed the bent endpin as well.

- Steve

[damonsmith]

I use both grips, I can play both equally well, I love both of them. This thread isn't about which one is better, it is about which one is better for this situation. Unless the OP has some violin, viola or 'cello in their background, the German will more than likely serve their purposes better.

[clarkdbro]

Go with what your teacher uses

if that isn't of concern, go with what your friend who has really good bowing technique uses.

if you don't have friends w/ good bow technique/ you live in a remote area where u can't see them often, go with french bc the rabbath DVD is very helpful, especially if your a yazzer who won't be doing orchestral strokes.

If that isn't an issue, go with the cheaper one that makes your bass sound good and thwack away!

Cheers!

[TroyK]

You could look for a bow from Alsace.

[hdiddy]

Switzerland would work too. :P

[jnsloan]

I agree. Some of the previous jazz pieces I've done, I have tossed between a french and german bow. Over-all, I prefur a german bow.

Originally Posted by Hemispheres85

Yeah, It's quite a bit different than your explanation. Great links links, though!

You can play anything on either bows, jazz or classical, fast or slow just as well. Some say French bows give you more agility, while Germans are much easier to begin on. I personally find it much easier to do an arco-pizz transition using a German bow.

At least with a French bow, you need to have a very particular bow hold which is difficult for many but in the end rewarding.

If you're just looking to use a bow once in a while for jazz, I would say get a German. Take a lesson or two with a teacher who plays a German bow and they can get you on the right foot.

[dbudd]

I kind of gave up on bowing, because I always got a scratchy, inconsistent tone, no matter how hard I worked on my technique with the german bow. I thought the culprit was either my crappy old plywood bass, or simply me. Then, one day I picked up a fiddle player's french bow and took a couple of passes on my bass, and I was amazed at the sweet sound I got. ... Does this make any sense? I do have short arms, which I learned from this thread may contribute to my difficulty with the german bow. I love the hold on the german bow, but what's the use if the sound is terrible. I'm curious if anyone else has ever had this experience.

[mattfong]

I actually just made the switch from French to German. I find German much more comfortable and powerful, and I was having some wrist problems playing French. I kept my French bow though, so I can still use it on occasion.

On top of that, I'm now studying with Dave Young at U of T, and he is primarily a German player, so it sorta makes sense.

[emilio g]

I'm a german player because my high school had lots of german bows laying around when I started playing, and my first teacher was a german player.

I've learned some french just for when I have to teach french playing students..I'd like to know what I'm talking about on both grips.

That being said, I play lots of classical and jazz music and prefer german. Why?

It seems to fit my body type best and my French bowing and German have a different vibe to them. I like the sound I get playing german a little more so that's what I stick with.

Ultimately you'll probably try both at some point, and its perfectly possible to sound killer on either bow with enough practice. Just go with the grip your teacher/classical buddys/favorite bassist plays.

One piece of advice: cheap bows are fine to learn on, but try to get one with real, unbleached, white or black horse hair. I played a glasser bow with synthetic hair and HATED the scratchy sound. Simandl made me want to throw up. Once I got on a bow with real hair, I couldnt play enough arco!

[EggyToast]

Originally Posted by dbudd

I kind of gave up on bowing, because I always got a scratchy, inconsistent tone, no matter how hard I worked on my technique with the german bow. I thought the culprit was either my crappy old plywood bass, or simply me. Then, one day I picked up a fiddle player's french bow and took a couple of passes on my bass, and I was amazed at the sweet sound I got. ... Does this make any sense? I do have short arms, which I learned from this thread may contribute to my difficulty with the german bow. I love the hold on the german bow, but what's the use if the sound is terrible. I'm curious if anyone else has ever had this experience.

Probably either better bow, better rosin, or simply more rosin. Many fiddle players really cake on the rosin. I, of course, discovered that I got a much more even tone with less scratchyness when I followed my teachers advice and put a lot of rosin on my [german] bass bow.

Because of how you hold the bows, it *might* be easier to keep a french bow even across the strings if you're experimenting, simply because it requires less finger manipulation to hold the bow straight -- you just, you know, hold it, et voila, ze french bow ees straight. German bow requires you to control the tip with your fingers, and the problem my teacher beat into me was my tip dropping, especially on the G.