Student-level Bows, Looking for suggestions

[contrabajisimo]

Hi, I am considering the following bows as an upgrade to my current bow of unknown origin, did anybody have any experience with the following makers or have something to say about the selections? I've read some good reviews of Tom Owen's bows here on the board, but nothing about the Seifert, Ary, or Durrschmidt bows.

I'm using Thomastik-Infeld Spirocore Stark strings on a plywood bass. Thank you.

Tom Owen AB300F - 750$

W. SEIFERT AB266F - 700$

W. SEIFERT AB255F - 700$

Otto Durrschmidt AB600F - 695$

ARY 500 AB210F - 580$

[Monte]

As you know, I and quite a few people here in Oklahoma have Tom Owen bows. When my friend bought my Juzek he tried a bunch of German bows with it, and I helped him decide.

I can only speak to a few, but the Seifert workshop (W) bows are not as good as any of the Tom Owen bows I've played. He has raised his prices the last few years, but he is still way underpriced.

FWIW, I've liked Tom's octagonal sticks better than round, but that is a fairly small sample.

Monte

[godoze]

look no further than Bob Gollihur.....will be a good as those bows.

[jgbass]

I have an ARY 500 German bow. I tested it against a Carbow and another fairly good bow (name unknown) from a dealer. I tested them all for about a week, and I found the ARY superior in these comparisons. Nice, full sound, don't know how else to describe it. I am very happy with this bow. I've been playing about 3 years and I upgraded to this from a Brazilwood bow.

[Monte]

Originally Posted by jgbass

I have an ARY 500 German bow. I tested it against a Carbow and another fairly good bow (name unknown) from a dealer. I tested them all for about a week, and I found the ARY superior in these comparisons. Nice, full sound, don't know how else to describe it. I am very happy with this bow. I've been playing about 3 years and I upgraded to this from a Brazilwood bow.

KPO who often posts here recommends Ary to students. They are supposed to be very consistent.

Monte

[contrabajisimo]

Thanks for the replies guys, I already talked to Tom and he does seem like a customer-service oriented craftsman.

What do the model numbers and letters stand for? Is that Lemur's (the source) way of keeping inventory or some other thing specific to the bows quality?