I found a German bow that fits like a glove. It pulls a sweet tone from my bass, the balance is perfect and the weight (144g) suits me. Also, the spiccato is very easy to execute on the bow. It sounds like I've found the perfect bow, but I'm having to adjust my technique with the immediate transitions from spiccato to sustained notes.
On my old, cheap bow (136g), the balance point was roughly in the same place but the spiccato wouldn't speak nearly as easily as the new bow. but- the transition from sp. to sustained wouldn't "chatter" as much.
If I start a sustained note anywhere on the string with the new bow, there is no problem, but if I'm starting above the string, I have to start the stroke closer to the frog than what I'm used to to avoid the bouncing- between the location of the winding and the frog.
Since the bow trial is over and I love what this bow can do, I will have to practice to work around this technical issue. When working on some Mozart, I was able to make it happen, but I welcome any suggestions.
So, I guess my question is: where along the length of your bows do you typically make the safe "landing"? thanks for your input
On my old, cheap bow (136g), the balance point was roughly in the same place but the spiccato wouldn't speak nearly as easily as the new bow. but- the transition from sp. to sustained wouldn't "chatter" as much.
If I start a sustained note anywhere on the string with the new bow, there is no problem, but if I'm starting above the string, I have to start the stroke closer to the frog than what I'm used to to avoid the bouncing- between the location of the winding and the frog.
Since the bow trial is over and I love what this bow can do, I will have to practice to work around this technical issue. When working on some Mozart, I was able to make it happen, but I welcome any suggestions.
So, I guess my question is: where along the length of your bows do you typically make the safe "landing"? thanks for your input
