Gollihur bows...

[hdiddy]

Originally Posted by MST2K

I looked for another thread about issues with the Bob G bow. What issues are there with the older bows?

Buh, Sorry I haven't been reading TB as much as I used to. THe issues I was referring to was my own, but similar to the other guys bad experiences, but I am still playing with my bow. THis is what I wrote previously:

Funny, I've been having similar problems with a german bow I picked up used from another TB'er. The leather and metal wrap can slide around but I end up pushing it up against the frog and it stays there unless I pull it away from the frog accidentally. Last night the frog ferrule decides to pop out and slide down the hair.

What can I do the keep it put? Use whatever this "Duco" glue is on it? Upgrade? I just switched from french to german I was just getting to like the bow since my technique is just started to get better. I never had any problems with Bob's french bow.

So far I've managed to keep the ferrule on without needing any glue. I just pushed the ferrule back to where it's also sandwiching itself against an old and broken hair against the frog. It hasn't come loose since. I figure I can keep playing this way til the hair gets old and I can get the whole thing fixed when it gets rehaired anyway.

The leather/wire wrap don't bother me too much either. They're actually kinda hard to push around so I leave them alone and they don't give me any problems.

So if I were to seriously complain at this point, it's cuz I want to upgrade to an even better bow. And let me tell you it's extremely tempting since Ifshin Violins is just a bridge away...

I don't expect Bob to replace mine since I bought it used... unless Bob is being overly generous. *wink wink nudge nudge*

[sejarus]

"It is the only negative posted among dozens of postives."

Absolutely. When I first read that whole thread I was wondering "how many bass playing relatives can Bob have?" I'm renting now, but if and when I buy, my first bow is going to be a Bob bow.

[Lame Thrower]

On the recommendation of this forum, I went ahead and got a German from Bob.

I can't really speak to the quality, as this is the first bass bow I've ever owned, but it seems well constructed to me.

Bob was a pleasure to deal with and it arrived on time.

Thanks to everyone who lent their opinions to this thread.

[Silversorcerer]

My first bow (from Bob) is a year old this week and due for a rehair and some minor repair (careless handling, no fault of the bow). My second bow (from Bob) came earlier this week and is very similar to the one I bought last year, with good balance and weight and overall, very nice materials and construction. I was impressed and surprised with the consistency of the two sticks from last year to this. Other bow parts one would expect to vary less. These seem to be pretty close in character of the stick, which is the most important part of the whole thing. I was expecting that I would be "substituting" the new bow until the old one is redone, but it now appears that these are interchangeable.

I also notice that my year-old bow has lost a little camber, compared to the new bow, but not much. I've patterned the camber of the new and old bows so I can see how much this changes over time.

Even the best bows need R&R pretty regularly, and it is good to have a spare. I may have the rehair done in black or S&P to see how that compares. It should be a good comparison because both will have new hair, and be about as close as two sticks can get in balance and weight.

[hdiddy]

Just dropped my German Bow off at Ifshin Violins for a rehair and to address the issues that it had. I guess you can call it one of Bob's 1st generation bows. Similar to the one complaintant, the guy behind the counter said that the wedge had also broken on my bow, causing the hair to bunch up. Apparently, the broken wedge also allowed the ferrule to slip off the frog. Thankfully, the hair never fell out.

The leather wrap is also being replaced while the metal wire wrap thing will be fixed as well. I opted for salt 'n peppa hair. Bill came out to $85 for everything - almost as much as I paid for the bow itself. Now that I should be rid of such problems, this bow should play like a champ.

Oh in case anyone was wondering, the guy at Ifshin said that the bow is of Chinese make. The tape over the wire wrap gave it away.

[Mudfuzz]

Originally Posted by hdiddy

The tape over the wire wrap gave it away.

Does your bow look like the one on Bob's site, with silver wire?
I got one [french] in july and the wire has black and gold spiral colored coating.

[Bob Gollihur]

I requested they change over to that wrap instead, I need to update the site photo. My french bow from the 70's has the same sort of wrap and it's held up for over thirty years.

[hdiddy]

Originally Posted by Aaron Noguer

Does your bow look like the one on Bob's site, with silver wire?
I got one [french] in july and the wire has black and gold spiral colored coating.

Yes, and to add... I once had a French bow exactly like yours Aaron and never had a problem with it. I'm glad that Bob switched to the newer wrap too. I wish my German had it. The Clear tape over the metal wire looks kinda cheap.

But I guess I shoudl add one more comment: while my bow had a broken wedge and all, it still played really well. My teach was very pleased with it, even with the lack of hair (the amount of hair was getting thin) and he was pulling out a really nice sound with it. He wanted me to sell it to him. I get my bow back from Ifshin today. I'm excited!

[Silversorcerer]

OK! I finally had a minor issue with my most recent Gollihur bow. The leather wrap came loose and slipped around. Being the DYI guy I am, I took the matter into my own capable hands. I found the edge of the wrap, carefully unwrapped it, identified the glue residue as water soluble (most likely a hide formula), wet it with warm tap water from a sponge and wrapped it back around the the plastic whalebone wrap. Total time consumed: less than 5 minutes. Cost of repair: Zero. Performance of bow: totally unchanged. Satisfaction with product: very satisfied. I like things that are easy to fix when they give in to normal wear and tear. I should mention that I play with the bow very tight and most likely this twisted loose because that is where I hold onto the bow when I tighten up the hair. I also used this bow in very humid outdoor (July) conditions and that could easily have weakened the glue.

I really can't see why this would be an important quality issue because anything you get is going to eventually need a little maintenance. What speaks well of these bows really is that they are worth rehairing/maintaining when needed. I still think it's a great stick for the price.

Putting in a ferrule wedge is the last step of hairing the bow and certainly something a DYI'er can do as well. I did the rehair on my original Gollihur bow and wedging the ferrule is something you can do, redo, etc. to get the ribbon of hair spread correctly. It's not the end of the world if your wedge pops out, nor, would I think, an indication of an inferior bow. Most likely that is just due to the bow getting used to the local weather. Push the wedge back in with the bow just a little taught then push it in tight while you tighten up the bow to your usual playing tension.

[hdiddy]

Originally Posted by Silversorcerer

Putting in a ferrule wedge is the last step of hairing the bow and certainly something a DYI'er can do as well. I did the rehair on my original Gollihur bow and wedging the ferrule is something you can do, redo, etc. to get the ribbon of hair spread correctly. It's not the end of the world if your wedge pops out, nor, would I think, an indication of an inferior bow. Most likely that is just due to the bow getting used to the local weather. Push the wedge back in with the bow just a little taught then push it in tight while you tighten up the bow to your usual playing tension.

Thanks for the tip SILVERSURFERER... this is one that should probably go into some list of tips on a stick or something.

BTW: Got my bow back from Ifshin. They screwed up and gave me white hair instead of salt 'n pepa. I kept it anyway with thoughts of conservation and not wanting to waste good horsehair. I took a discount on a bow case instead. The bow was good before, now it's fabulous! I think the new hair is of better quality as well.