Double Bass Ebay Bows? Vingo? Yita?

[Mikey3]

So are all ebay bows created equal? I have tried the yita braided carbon fiber, but are all of these bows essentially the same? I was looking at maybe getting one of the bows that sell by Vingo. Seller gets good reviews but wasnt sure if they would be a waste of time, or if they are the same. I not sure how many factories make these bows or if they become rebranded and are sold by other names. I have read through the FAQ's and done a search, but no real definitive answer. Basically was thinking of picking up one of these things for about $100 thinking it would probably be better then a similarly priced bow like a Glasser fiberglass or entry level brazil wood found in some USA/Canada online retailers.
Any thoughts?

 

[bass81800]

I have a Yita brazilwood bow as my second bow. I think it would certainly be better than a Glasser bow and seems to be almost as good as my carbon fiber bow.

 

[geoffbassist]

I have played a friends Yita bow. It was great value and the one I played was decent.

 

[Mikey3]

I have played a friends Yita bow. It was great value and the one I played was decent.

Thanks...BTW thanks for your lessons. They have been very helpful!! I had a french yita and liked it, but gonna try the Vingo. and i'll report back.

 

[robobass]

I bought a Yita Snakewood a few years back. I had tried a German SN Yita and liked the spring, but it was huge and heavy. I looked at the french versions they listed on their site, and saw that they seemed not to really understand what modern players prefer as far as weight and dimensions. So, I carefully measured and photographed my favorite bow, and asked them if they could do a custom bow based on this. They did, and the bow plays well, although it is warped a bit to the right, the hair sucked, and my re-hairer tells me that the mortise is poor, making re-hairing difficult. So, for what I paid I am happy, but IMO when you ask a Chinese factory to make a bow, it's sort of like asking them to copy an ancient handwritten European manuscript from photos and written descriptions. They've never held the original in their hands, and can't read the text, let alone understand the historical context. So, whatever copy they produce is going to have obvious limitations. Still, you might get lucky. I did!

 

[LowA]

I got some years ago two German Yitamusic bows. One is a Top Model A carbon bow - and I can't recommend this bow, the stick is too soft. Other bass players told me the same.

The other bow is a snakewood bow, quiet heavy with 161g - but I like heavy bows for my orchestral 5-string DB. The manufacture was a little frouzy so I took it to my luthier and he overhauled the bow for about 150,-- € (+ 200,-- $). But now it's a really very fine bow and I never would sell this bow again.

 

[geoffbassist]

Thanks...BTW thanks for your lessons. They have been very helpful!! I had a french yita and liked it, but gonna try the Vingo. and i'll report back.

Glad you found them useful. I would love to find somewhere selling great value bows as I think there is a real need for them. I hear such mixed reports that it's hard to know what to go for/recommend.

 

[Matt Ides]

I had a vingo basically fall apart on a gig. I have had Yitas before and they held up just fine.

 

[Mikey3]

Well I will not be able to give any insight into these bows, I found a used Glasser Braided Carbon Fiber bow on craigslist for a good price and decided to jump on it instead. Reviews from what I have seen look pretty positive on these so i will not be able to give any feedback on the ebay bows at this time.

 

[vinnycolletti]

I have played a friends Yita bow. It was great value and the one I played was decent.

Hi Geoff, I just got one of these:
Tourte Model Master Pernambuco 4/4 Size German Bass Bow! | eBay

Vingo Music stamped AQ Shen. Some of the description is misleading of course but it seems quite nice. Seems well made, nice balance and lively. A nice bump up from my cheapie carbon bow. Worth a try at $265