great bow, but too little clearance between the camber of the stick and hair

[bribass]

I'm trying a bunch of German style bows in the $2-$3k range. Two Kolsteins (1 oval stamp, 1shop bow), an old Moenig, and 3 Reid Hudson bows(2 Pfrechener style,1 Vienna style) The heavier of the Hudson Pfreschners 138 gr. seems like the best of the bunch upon first impression. However the space btwn the hair & the curved stick about 1/3 of the length down from the tip is very small. Less than 10mm. Maybe 8mm at its narrowest. This causes the vibration of the string to actually rattle slightly against the stick when playing ff or even just f. The other Hudson Pfreschner has the same hair/stick proximity, but maybe slightly wider and does not have this vibration prob. But the first one is better overall. Sweet tone and very grippy even on the E string which is very important to me for my purposes. I ruled out a cheaper, but very nice playing Raposo for the same reason. Has anyone else encountered this prob? Can the bow be re-cambered to correct this w/o scrificing it's great qualities? Thanks, BG

[toman]

I could be mistaken, but I don't think recambering is a big deal, especially if it just needs a small amount. I remember reading here that straightening a bow can be a risky job though, so maybe recambering is the same thing?

[Hector Wolff]

Originally Posted by bribass

..However the space btwn the hair & the curved stick about 1/3 of the length down from the tip is very small. Less than 10mm. Maybe 8mm at its narrowest. This causes the vibration of the string to actually rattle slightly against the stick when playing ff or even just f...

I know you have a great deal more experiance than I, but knowing that the clearance between the deepest point of camber and the bow hair will always vary depending on tension, I have to ask what tension are you using on these bows?

I always tension the hair until the hair just stays clear of the stick during forte or double forte passages.

Are you saying that when you have tensioned the hair to just barely stay clear, the tension is too great for your tastes?

Hector Wolff

[kurt muroki]

i would never recommend straightening a stick. it weakens the stick and if it isn't done right it can ruin the bow. try a higher frog.

[bribass]

Originally Posted by Hector Wolff

I know you have a great deal more experiance than I, but knowing that the clearance between the deepest point of camber and the bow hair will always vary depending on tension, I have to ask what tension are you using on these bows?

I always tension the hair until the hair just stays clear of the stick during forte or double forte passages.

Are you saying that when you have tensioned the hair to just barely stay clear, the tension is too great for your tastes?

Hector Wolff

Yes, I tried tightening the hair a bit more and it helped. I really like this bow, but I'm used to more clearance than that. These are just my first impressions. I need to play on it more to see, but it seems to play pretty effortlessly even w/ Thomastic Spiros Orch. and basically a Jazz set up.

Thanks for your input.

BG