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Double Bass Coda Revelation - first impressions

A

Anonymous75966

Jun 29, 2004
242
4
#1
Picked this up today from Long & McQuade for $750 CDN.

First impressions after a couple of hours playing - this is a very good little item. Quite a dark sound on my bass and very loud. Comfortable weight and well balanced all the way to the tip. Spiccato's dead easy.

That's on Spirocore Orch with Carlssen FWIW. I was playing an unbranded brazilwood stick until it met an untimely demise a couple of months ago - the Coda's just better all around. The only really good bow I've played for any length of time was a Reid Hudson loaner from my school a few years ago. The Hudson had a dark, massive sound and great response. Can't say for sure if the Coda's "that good" but it's got the 'thickness' and the volume alright.

This is the Revelation model, french stick. It's the 'standard' Coda bass bow, not the David Gage 'Metropolitan' model. Since I play a lot of contemporary and free-improv gigs I was looking for something indestructible, and I figure even a modern pedigree bow (like a new Hudson, say) might be wasted on me without something like the Coda for backup. So far looks like a decent stick and it's great value for the money. I'll keep y'all posted.
 
#4
I'm a music teacher from Minneapolis. Bought one last week from Chris Quinn of Quinn Violins. I really like the stick. I think the weak point is the stock hair that came on it. I like a salt and pepper and it comes with white. Great bounce, great spicatto, great volume, big sound.

Quinn rehaired it for free after a week's audition of the bow. I'm a happy consumer!!! :cool:

I use it mostly on an Eminence Bass through an Acoustic Image Contra R and it sounds great!!

Thoroughly happy with it. Am playing the Messiah in a couple weeks and it sounds great on a true double bass also!!

Good stuff.
 
#5
Well, this is the downside -

After getting the bow and trying it for about as week I found it a very frustrating experience - very disappointing, perhaps my expectations were too high? I don't know. I spent a lot of time with the bow on two basses -- comparing it to my own (prochownik) bow and to a Gollihur wood bow. I found the sound clean and efficient at best, but lifeless and without character. It DID make my student bass sound better - clearer but not warmer, but it made my own carved bass sound much less warm and focused. The bow fit well enough in my hand, and wasn't too tiring to play, again it felt lifeless and without resonance. Maybe it's just been hyped more than it should be, but I found it very frustrating. Sorry.

I did, because am up in the High Sierra's for a while -- continue the search for a carbon fibre bow and fent with the new Glasser braider fiber model -- warmer sound, better balance. Less hype. $150 less. Go figure.
 

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