Double Bass Do bows “break in”?

[DenverBass]

I’m sure some, (most?) of you know the pleasure of “breaking-in” a DB (or acoustic instrument, e.g. flattop guitar, violin, or cello… since this is TB I’ll use “DB”). A new DB or refurbished DB can be a wild ride where it finds its voice over the course of a few hours, days or weeks of heavy playing as I’ll define as “breaking in”. Or the more common experience when a neglected DB or DB for sale finds a new player and there’s a dance of how the bass will influence the player plays and how the player will push the DB to find a new voice and “break in”…

Anyone who has experienced this, myself included, will know how magical and special that ride is, as you’re creating a bond with your DB…

…but what I’m wondering is: does a bow go though a similar transformation? or is a bow “what it is” and the player has to negotiate (or not!) the feel and voice of the bow? Or another way to ask my question: adjusting for quality, is there a difference in new bows vs. well played and maintained bows?

 

[ablumley]

Yes. A wooden bow's sound will change over time with use and age. From what I'm learning from Andreas Grütter, even a thinly applied finish will trap some moisture under the surface when it is fresh. This moisture will eventually evaporate and alter the damping characteristics of the stick slightly with age. Weight, density and amount of winding, plus the damping qualities of the specific materials used in the button and frog will also influence the sound of the bow in my experience. Experimenting with winding material is a good place to start if you want to emphasize or de-emphasize certain parts of the overtone spectrum. This will also alter the balance and playing characteristics of the bow.

 

[Paps]

Yes, what I discovered in recent years is that bows actually make sound when bowed!
Especially in the case of wooden bows, the wood will season a learn to vibrate with certain frequencies.