Double Bass Carbon Fiber Bow

[Topagege0]

Ok so I think I want to buy a carbon fiber bow. The Coda bow has a hefty price tag, but I have been debating going for it. I was searching the internet for other carbon fiber bows and found these bows called YItamusic. The website sucks and they are located in china with no US phone number. So I really cant find out anything about them.

I was hoping someone out there has perhaps experimented with a Yitamusic carbon fiber bows and could tell me how they perform.

Also I would appreciate opinions on the Coda Bows, if anyone has one, or any other carbon fiber bows on the market.

Also if you have expirence with both I would apreciate your take on CF Vs. Pernambuco.

 

[Phil Rowan]

Have you tried running a searches on here for "yita", "coda", and "carbon fiber"? If you click "advanced search" you can select to search only in the "bows & rosin" section of this forum. There's tons written about all of the above.

 

[tornadobass]

The website sucks and they are located in china with no US phone number. So I really cant find out anything about them.

There's quite a bit of brief feedback about Yita Music on eBay. I bought a brazilwood Yita bow recently. They shipped extremely fast and it was packed in a piece of white plastic pipe...can't get much better packing protection than that.

I'm no expert on bows, but it seems decently made, with no obvious flaws.

 

[SLivinghouse]

Got an Shen Ophelia Carbon Fiber bow recently. My teacher (Sac Symphony) was blown away that is was about $200. You might want to add to your list. Bounces well but reasonably easy to control. But like someone else said - Search the post. Lots of info. Good luck.

 

[chancletarock]

i have a finale carbon fiber that's absolutely amazing. i've played wooden bows 3x the price (~350 USD) that it easily holds up to. great balance, great weight (for me). i did research before i bought it and i think i remember the general consensus being that there's probably a difference in quality between the finale and more expensive bows, but maybe not proportionate to the difference in price.

i think the string emporium will let you check it out on loan or somethin - check them out, the guy was really helpful to me.

 

[Topagege0]

thank you very much chancle that was exactly the type of response I was hoping someone would have to offer! May I ask though what style and level of player you are. I am strictly classical. Somewhat advanced on the instrument, and my bow I have is really holding me back.

 

[marvin spangles]

The Finale is an excellent bow for the money. It draws a loud sound and bounces really well. The sound quality is good on my bass though not as good as my wood bow. However it is a quarter of the price.

 

[PRUNEFACE]

The Ophelia bow is quite good for the money (I have one) -but if you would call yourself advanced you need to be looking at wood bows over 1.3k.

 

[CPike]

Gage Coda Metropolitan - great value. Best stick under $1000 I've ever used. It's my primary spare.
Chris

 

[Bass Barrister]

I just received a Finale CF bow (french frog). My preliminary feelings are very positive. Good grab, good balance, good bounce. I've not tried other CF bows but do believe this one is a good value. It also comes with a very nice rock solid, albeit a tad heavy, bow case. It sure beats a couple of cheaper wood bows that I have. Better than my Prochownik? no . . . but i'll much more comfortably haul this bow around in the dead of winter. For the price, you can't go wrong. Apparently, a good number of pros feel the same way.

 

[chancletarock]

May I ask though what style and level of player you are. I am strictly classical. Somewhat advanced on the instrument, and my bow I have is really holding me back.

mm, you might want to find someone of similar skill level - i'm probably "somewhat advanced" in jazz pizz, but not in arco. i've been bowing for three years and have played on a handful of bows - some horrible, some really nice - enough to know that i didn't expect what the finale gives for its price tag (or one x3).

however, if you're a total rockstar with the bow, i'd imagine it depends on what you need a carbon bow for. as your main stick, you should try out the others and see if they're worth the difference. as a backup, i'd say it's well worth the money.

ALSO check out jason heath's video where he compares it to his bajillion dollar bow.

good luck!

 

[MillerOnTheBass]

I, too, am looking for a good and inexpensive bow, and am looking into the finale bow. Are there any people who've tried it with the German frog? Also, the other recommendations . . . german or french? I wouldn't necessarily expect any difference in quality, but I'm just checking.

 

[bass987654321]

I recently tried out a coda bow priced at $365 and compared it to a bow (actual wood) priced at $1500. The only major difference I was able to feel in the Coda bow was it lack in ability to "grab" the string and pop the notes.

Depending on your budget I would also try calling up Chris Brown in St. Paul. That's where I ultimately bought my bow and I am loving the quality.

 

[Topagege0]

Hey where are you finding coda bows for under $400, The codas I were seeing were much higher. Doesent really matter though, cause I ordered up a Finale today, It has such good reviews on here, and surely its better then what im playing with and fits nicely into a conservative price range. I will give some reviews when it gets here in a few weeks!

 

[MillerOnTheBass]

Just received my new Finale carbon fiber german bow. I'm very happy with it; as far as I'm concerned there's no other bow you can buy for such a great value. There are better bows out there, of course, but it seems to me that the price goes up faster than the quality, if you follow. Perfect for any intermediate-advanced player (whatever that is) . . . especially students!

 

[Phil Rowan]

I've been thinking of picking up an Ophelia French bow so I don't have to bring my $1K Marchand to jazz/other gigs (or a tour I'll be going on this summer) but still have something decent to use. Can anyone compare the Finale and Ophelia? I thought of getting a Finale, but it sounds like the Ophelia's a nice stick too (saves me some $$ too). My Reichel French beater bow is just too tip-heavy (I use an underhand German grip when playing it).

 

[Andrew McGregor]

Gage Coda Metropolitan - great value. Best stick under $1000 I've ever used. It's my primary spare.
Chris

+1 on that... it's my primary bow. Excellent bow.

 

[PsychoScout]

Coda metropolitan is really nice, it's the only CF bow i really liked when I was shopping for a bow (in the end I chose a pernambucco one, but within the CF range, I'd go for the Coda)

edit: woops, too late

 

[rslaing]

I have just had my carbon fibre bow delivered today from Yita. Came from China, well packaged and in great condition. A few swipes of Pops and it was grabbing the strings immediately. Well balanced and light, I am really impressed with it, it definitely compares with much more expensive bows I have tried or owned. If I recall, Yita sell 3 different CF bows, I didn't want to take any risks so bought the most expensive, which was still only around 100 pounds (150 dollars or so). Even though I ordered on the 23rd December, by the time you take out holidays, it actually arrived after just 6 or 7 days and they have an online tracking system.
Based on my experience, I would strongly recommend Yita. I found them on Ebay and am ordering another as a spare.

 

[endorka]

I also received the same model of carbon fibre bow from Yita a few weeks ago, and can offer similar compliments. It cost only a few pounds more than my "beginner" bow, (which is actually quite good) but is a huge improvement over it... techniques I had been struggling against with my previous bow became much easier overnight.

Definitely recommended!

Jennifer