Tight bow syndrome

[gprigge]

How long would a bow have to be under tension to make a real difference in the curvature of the stick? A week? A month? A decade? Anybody forget to loosen their bow for a couple years and have real life experience with this. (Obviously I'm tweaking.)

[sjd007]

I can't say I have ever left mine "done up", but recently I did unbend a bow that came with my bass, stuffed down the side. It was bent in the normal fashion, but had a lateral bend almost half the normal flex. I thought it was toast, and being a cheapo didn't really give a damn, but had a go at straightening it by clamping a reverse bend on my desk. It took about a month to return to shape, and it was quite a significant "reverse" camber I had it under to do this. I needed a number of clapms to hold it in position as it had a tendency to twist and I didnt want a twisted bow into the bargain.

Dunno if that helps.

[sjd007]

I would like to emphasise this was a cheap bow, and not my nice german stick that I tied to the desk. It is my "spare" if any of my other two give out at the same time. Unlikely I know.

I shudder at the thought of leaving a nice bow under tension or bent in any way.