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Double Bass Snap!

GriffithLea

GriffithLea

Aug 29, 2006
192
4
Cypress, TX
#1
It happened last night. I had warmed up, then stepped over to get my music folder for the upcoming program (the librarian had just showed up with the music). I left my bow on the stand.

No one saw what happened, but apparently someone squeezed between my stand and the next, and unknowingly dragged the bow off of the stand via a hem of clothing or suchlike.

Philip Gold says that it may be repairable (he hasn't actually seen it yet), so we'll see how that goes.

I really liked that bow! :bawl:

BrokenBowSmall2.jpg
 
#2
I'm always paranoid about by bow in orchestra rehearsals. During breaks, I always put my bow under the E and A strings of my bass. Too many people seem to be careless when they're walking around the stage, so I'm afraid to leave my bow on my stand during breaks. I would be really pissed of if someone broke my bow.

As for your bow, it looks like a mostly longitudinal, so I'm guessing that it can be repaired.
 
#4
Initially, I'd say it could be repaired. My main concern is that it may not feel like the same bow any more, at least with the approach I was taught. It would basically be aligned, secured, glued, and then reinforced with a type of wrap. It's actually pretty nice looking once it's all done. This does add a bit of weight in the wrapped area: in your case, towards the tip. This can be countered by adding weight near the frog, but of course this will make the bow heavier overall. Elasticity could also be effected.

Is it a bow that you wouldn't want to replace?
 
#5
im sorry to hear about your bow, I know how you feel( broke a neck to a bass once), actually if my bow broke I would jump for joy because id get a new one, anyway as far as breaks go it is very clean and will probably be quite repairable, as paul said it will however be different, if it costs alot to repair, i will buy it from you if youd like, my boss is a luthier who would teach me how to repair it and id have a nice bow, otherwise im very sorry to hear and i hope everything turns out good
 
#6
dchan said:
I'm always paranoid about by bow in orchestra rehearsals. During breaks, I always put my bow under the E and A strings of my bass. Too many people seem to be careless when they're walking around the stage, so I'm afraid to leave my bow on my stand during breaks. I would be really pissed of if someone broke my bow.
Click to expand...

Yeah, I always slip my bow under my strings when I lay my bass down, now matter how long I'll be away from it. I've had too many close calls after leaving my bow on the stand in the past. Pit orchestras aren't a terribly safe bow environment either...
 
#7
OK, I took the bow to Philip a couple of nights ago, and after one look he said that it isn't repairable. There's plenty of gluing surface, but said surface is in the wrong plane. The bow would come apart on me.

He lent me a bow to use in the meantime, a Doerfler. It's almost as good as my old one. So I'm back in the saddle. Also, Mom went out without telling me and ordered me a Metropolitan. That's Mom for you. :D

I take all your cautionary comments to heart, but I must point out that hindsight is 20/20 . It simply did not make any sense for someone to be coming through there at that time (or at all). Of course, that was where I erred - assuming people would use good sense.

I actually can't put my bow under the A or E string - the frog is really wide (maybe thick would be a better word) and it would require the string to come out uncomfortably far. By comparison, I was able to slip the loaner Doerfler bow under the E during a break last night with no problems.
 
#9
Yes, I don't think it makes sense to ask for an expert opinion, only to ignore it. :D

It's just disappointing, because the bow, besides being a good bow, was a gift in 1987 or so from a close friend of the family. So it has some sentimental value.
 
#10
Personally, I find it hard at this moment to believe that you can take this so well.

My bow doesn't have quite the same sentimental value as your bow. And I doubt it is as expensive. Nevertheless, it is still somewhat irreplaceable to me at this moment not because it's expensive (it's not) but because it has been the first bow that I have been happy with. It also has a neat story to go with it.

But it's really not much compared with your bow, which you said was a gift from a close friend 20 years ago, and what I imagine it meant to you.
 
#12
dchan said:
...it has been the first bow that I have been happy with. It also has a neat story to go with it.
Click to expand...

Bingo. It's like a favorite pair of shoes - worth more to their owner than anyone else.

Let's hear the neat story - assuming, of course, it's not too private. :D

Taking it well? Would it make you feel better if I told you I was actually nauseous for about an hour afterward?

On the one hand, it's just a thing, a tool. On the other hand, it's not so easy to dismiss when you consider what it represents - the people who conceived of and made it, the people who have used it, listened to it, etc.

So, I can let it go, but I'll be upset for awhile first!
 
#13
Basschair said:
Yeah, yeah, everyone's a comedian, right? :D

It's difficult to tell from a pic, and admittedly I've only done the repair twice, so I'd be curious to know his explanation. Definitely not because I doubt it, but because I'd like to learn from it.
Click to expand...

Sorry if that sounded like a smart remark. I was just thinking of human nature in general.

I think that the break being in the same plane as the hair, and being very flat, is the problem - nothing for the glue to dig into. Also, he noted that the stick is very stiff. I'm guessing that that means that the joint would be more likely to pull apart, since the two pieces of wood could not flex as a unit easily.
 
#14
GriffithLea said:
Bingo. It's like a favorite pair of shoes - worth more to their owner than anyone else.

Let's hear the neat story - assuming, of course, it's not too private. :D

Taking it well? Would it make you feel better if I told you I was actually nauseous for about an hour afterward?

On the one hand, it's just a thing, a tool. On the other hand, it's not so easy to dismiss when you consider what it represents - the people who conceived of and made it, the people who have used it, listened to it, etc.

So, I can let it go, but I'll be upset for awhile first!
Click to expand...

Yep, I would definitely expect that you felt nauseated for an hour afterwards. If that had happened to me, I wouldn't just go into a shell, I would snap at anybody around me. In other words, I would be acting like someone who usually acts normally, but has been subjected to layovers and delays at an airport. I would snap at someone like that poor sap stuck in the airport would snap at the airport's Burger King employee for screwing up his Whopper. :D

Anyway, back to topic. My story isn't private at all. In fact, much of it isn't even my story. I can tell it if you would like. Of course, I would have to find it first because it's somewhere on this forum.

And true, the bow is a tool like the bass is a tool. You use both to create a sound. But it isn't just a tool: it's a work of art. When someone posts a picture of a bass, they want people to say "Beautiful!" and "Gorgeous!" when the people first see it. Same thing with a bow. But that trivializes things such as someone's favorite wrench or something else decidedly not art-like. When something is of sentimental value, it goes beyond being a piece of artwork if it can be seen as such. It is something that someone holds dearly. Try as he might, he can't completely explain its significance in words.
 
#15
GriffithLea said:
Sorry if that sounded like a smart remark. I was just thinking of human nature in general.
Click to expand...

Not at all! I'm just messing with you: I think you were absolutely right to listen to him :)


GriffithLea said:
I think that the break being in the same plane as the hair, and being very flat, is the problem - nothing for the glue to dig into. Also, he noted that the stick is very stiff. I'm guessing that that means that the joint would be more likely to pull apart, since the two pieces of wood could not flex as a unit easily.
Click to expand...

I think I see now: I was thinking early on that a proper join could be created, but that it may have a very negative effect on the flexibility of that segment of the stick...especially with a join that long.
 
#17
jimmyduded said:
im no expert but structurally, couldnt you wrap it or something? ive seen it on a few bows where they have a slight wrap towards the end
Click to expand...

There is a process to it, and the wrap is part of it, but considering the length of this break it could/would lessen the flexibility of a significant portion of the stick. Of course, you never know until you try, but it sounds like the right call has been made.
 
#19
Sorry I've been AWOL on this thread for so long, but it's only recently that there's been anything else to tell.

I finally got a settlement from the insurance company. It took forever, but they finally gave me the full value of the bow (minus $500 deductible) 2-3 weeks ago. I'm really glad that I had the bow appraised last year, and a copy sent to the insurance company. I encourage everyone to do this, obviously for all your gear. I just wish they'd moved a little more quickly.

In the meantime, I've been playing on the Codabow Metropolitan (I returned the Doerfler that Mr. Gold had loaned me some time ago). My opinion of the Codabow is that it's a good spare bow. I was glad to have it, but I'm glad to be heading back to pernambuco (see next).

I was at TMEA in San Antonio last week, and I got some bows from Robertson's on approval to take home - a couple of Reid Hudsons and a Fuchs. I took one of the Hudsons to a concert yesterday. The program was Beethoven #7 and a Mozart piano concerto. I realized afterward that my right wrist wasn't a little sore, as it had been after playing with the Codabow (from too much trying to compensate for the Codabow's lightness, I expect). Also, it was a lot easier playing the quiet passages with the wood bow. It must have sounded better, too - I got some complements on the sound from people who didn't know I was playing a different bow.

I'm not saying Codabows are bad bows - they're just not for me, my bass, my strings, etc. on a constant basis.

Interestingly, these three bows all seem to have the wide frog that my old bow had. I figured out how to get a wide frog bow under the E string - just pop the C-extension wide open! From now on, my bow goes under the string during breaks, etc.

Anyway, now I have to decide between three really good bows. :D
 
#20
Oh, one thing I forgot to mention - the gent who we subsequently figured out was the one who had knocked my old bow off of the stand in the first place made me completely whole by giving me a check for $500 to cover the deductible. It's rare to find such decency these days.
 

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