Noob Question

[kjpollo]

Hi everyone,
I'm a regular on the Bass Guitar portion of this forum but I have a question that I need answered in THIS area.

Last night, my 10 year old daughter and I were discussing various guitars and basses and what they are made of. Somehow, our conversation turned to orchestral instruments and my daughter asked what bows are made of.

I know they have a frame and some sort of other material that is drawn across the strings but that's about it.

So there you have it-what are the bow frames made of and what is the material that actually contacts the strings?

Thanks in advance and...
Happy New Year!!!

[Zombbg4]

Horse tail hair, believe it or not. Not sure what wood is used though.

[reedo35]

Originally Posted by kjpollo

Hi everyone,

So there you have it-what are the bow frames made of and what is the material that actually contacts the strings?

Thanks in advance and...
Happy New Year!!!

I was going to say "check the noob links in the forum", but I noticed there's nothing on this subject there.
The "Frame" (known as the stick, usually) can be made of different materials, the most popular being pernambuco or brazilwood. There are also sticks made of carbon fiber, snakewood, and various other experimental materials. They vary wideley in weight and price (price has nothing to do with weight-balance is everything) from 127g to up to 250g and from $99 to 5k and up. And yes the hair is horsehair, and no, tell your daughter they don't kill the horse to get it.

[reedo35]

Here's a documentary on the making of a bow- It's a violin bow, but the priciple is the same:
http://www.drbows.com/vnbow.html

[kjpollo]

Originally Posted by reedo35

I was going to say "check the noob links in the forum", but I noticed there's nothing on this subject there.
The "Frame" (known as the stick, usually) can be made of different materials, the most popular being pernambuco or brazilwood. There are also sticks made of carbon fiber, snakewood, and various other experimental materials. They vary wideley in weight and price (price has nothing to do with weight-balance is everything) from 127g to up to 250g and from $99 to 5k and up. And yes the hair is horsehair, and no, tell your daughter they don't kill the horse to get it.

Thanks VERY much. My girl likes music though she hasn't yet settled on a particular instrument or genre yet. I suppose there's plenty of time.

Thanks again,