Need Bow and Rosin

[saxnbass]

Hi all.

I just bought an Ergo EUB. I am hopefully going to college as a bass major, probably electric bass guitar, not upright, but I know I am going to be continuing to play upright. I need a nice bow and some good rosin. I've heard Carlson is a good rosin. My current bow is a $40 plastic bow with synthetic hair, and is so hard to try and play with. Also, I am not sure if I should get a German bow or a French bow. Should I maybe get a cheap $40 French bow, since my current one is a German bow, just to see which one I like better before getting a nice bow? Once I decide which style, what are some good bows (preferably a 3 digit number )since my EUB was only like $680. I will probably be getting a King Upright when I get to the US though. The reason I don't have one yet is I can't find one here in Italy and even if I could they would 1) cost an arm and a leg to begin with and 2) shipping it to the states would be really expensive. Sorry this is so long.

[damonsmith]

There are good carbon fiber bows on Ebay for $100 or so. Wood bows for cheaper.
Germans are good at first because you can use either grip, and hamfisting a German causes less bad habits than hamfisting a French Bow.
It is a good idea to learn both grips. Most but not all jazz players use German.
A cheap wood or carbon bow and pops rosin are a good start. Depending on your playing and climate you may want to change rosins later.

[Silversorcerer]

I've been using German bows (2 of them) from Gollihur. Good price for a nice stick and frog and a very evenly tensioned hair ribbon. These are long bows also. I like to have a long bow. You can play longer notes!

I hear Upton's deal bow ($99) is a great entry wooden bow deal and now Ken Smith has some reasonably priced entry level bows. Make sure you have arco style strings on the Ergo. It'll sound like a Ninja bike with a glasspak otherwise. Oh, and did I mention the Gaston Brohan Oak rosin from Gregorian Strings? Good stuff.

Don't get a cheap French plastic or fibreglass bow. Those things have literally no vibe and you won't be able to tell anything with that, except that you need a better bow. Try using a good German bow, but hold it like a French bow. I've been trying that lately and you can get some feel for how the French ones work. Who knows, I might even get one myself one day, peut etre.

[Tritonis]

http://uptonbass.com/catalog/product...roducts_id/315

Seems like a great deal to me. I personally use a French bow, and play electric and jazz upright as well. I've never seen the point in using a German bow.

[damonsmith]

Originally Posted by Tritonis

http://uptonbass.com/catalog/product...roducts_id/315

Seems like a great deal to me. I personally use a French bow, and play electric and jazz upright as well. I've never seen the point in using a German bow.

- Debating the merits of the two bows is useless, immature and retarded. They are different and both have good qualities.
After studying both bows with different teachers and using/teaching both grips I can say that he French grip is generally harder to learn and you can't use the German grip on French bow as easily as vice versa. That is the only reason I steer adults toward German in the beginning.
The point in using a German bow for you could be that you would know what you are talking about in discussions like these.
Using the same bow as your teacher is a good general rule.