Double Bass French bow with a German grip?

[A. Munk]

Wondering if people ever use a French bow with a German grip?

 

[bassmastan]

There is something called, I believe an "Alsatane" bow, http://www.talkbass.com/threads/french-german-hybrid-bow-pics.781194/

 

[awp]

I am just a beginner with a cheap French bow. My teacher encouraged me to work on bowing even though my preference is pizzicato. I found the French grip uncomfortable so he showed me how to use the German grip on my bow. His comment being that he was more interested in my developing of good intonation than anything. It has worked for me so far but I assumed that eventually I'd buy a good German bow.

I can take a picture of the grip he showed me if it is of interest. It would look different than the picture above as none of my fingers would pass between the frog and stick like what is shown.

Cheers
Warren

 

[A. Munk]

Love to see a photo of that grip.
Thanks

 

[awp]

Here's a picture with the caveat that I am no expert.

 

[Robert Strickland]

I've done it. Not quite as much control but it works.

 

[robobass]

Why not just get yourself a german bow?

 

[Reiska]

I`m a beginner too and have been messing around with different bowholds. I have both french and german bows but practise mostly on french bow. I had one lesson on german bow but got into french because I found it easier to maintain good posture with it. It kind of looks cool too and some killer arco players use it, Reanud Garcia-Fons, Terry Plumeri, last but not least Tony Levin It is a lot trickier to control than german bow and it definently is harder on the right hand, especially thumb.

Now I find myself switching between french, italian ( thumb in the frog sort of french ) and german holds on my french bow. I quess that`s natural to me because I come from drumset and I switched stickgrips from german ( thumbs on sides ) and french ( thumbs upwards ) matched grips to traditional marching grip depending on the kind of sound and touch I was ( and occassionally still am ) willing to get.

I will propably stick with the german bow anyway because I`m continuing my music studies, but now with DB as my main instrument, in autumn and my teacher-to-be uses german bow I quess it`s still good to have choices.

 

[awp]

Why not just get yourself a german bow?

For me the reason primarily comes down to cost. I am just starting out (9 months in). I am primarily interested in playing pizzicato. I already have a cheap French bow. My feeling is that when (not if) I decide to go to a German bow I'll invest in one of quality and not just settle for another cheap bow.

Plus at this time I haven't really developed enough experience to know what I like for when the time comes to shop.

Cheers
Warren

 

[A. Munk]

This is for a student who wants to try this.
I think a French bow came with her bass which she's used for a couple if years.
Now she's keen on trying a German
Bow. I seem to recall seeing a discussion on using a German grip on a French bow somewhere.
Thought I'd look here first.
I tried it the last couple of days and it seems to work well.

 

[korotkov]

In the middle of the bow it's ok but it's impossible at the frog. Lower frog doesn't provide as much clearance for the hand as one would be ok with, especially on the E string. I tried that when i played French bow and it didn't feel anything like a German bow to me.

 

[PCprincipalbass]

I've tried this before. Spiccato is very hard to do this way.

 

[LouisF]

see this:

http://www.talkbass.com/threads/french-german-hybrid-bow-pics.781194/#post-11065902

 

[LouisF]

Also this:
Invalid Link Removed

 

[awp]

Here's a picture with the caveat that I am no expert.

View attachment 444451

Just to follow up on my own post here. After months of using a German like underhand grip on a French bow I finally decided to just go ahead and get a proper German bow. After trying out a few different bows I ended up with a brazilwood bow for about $200. All I can say is "why did I wait?" I knew as soon as I had a German bow in my hand that I'd been making a mistake holding out for so long making due with the underhand grip on a French bow. The German frog is just much more comfortable My fingers are less crammed and I can play with both more power and more finesse.

Cheers
Warren

 

[sean_on_bass]

I will hopefully have a similar experience when i get a german bow for christmas. Been playing my french rental bow with a germanish grip. While it works, the lack of E and somewhat A string access is pretty bad...

 

[Gremson]

This is relevant to my interests. I'm a noob to the arco world. I'm leaning towards getting a German bow as my first. It seems better suited for what I intend to do, and it seems like it's built pretty comfortable for French grip too if I find that works better for me.

 

[Jon Stefaniak]

I have a colleague who owns both a Sartory and a Vigneron but who doesn't play French bow. He holds them as German bows. He also has a Gillet fitted with a German frog. Those bows are all very good, but it is wasted on him using them as German bows. Better to get a good German bow and have better balance and control. Sure some French bows are really fine, but you lose a lot of what makes them great if you hold them wrong.

 

[sean_on_bass]

Got a brazilwood bow, german, for christmas. Throwing the glasser french to the curb. Feels much better, and better access to the low strings.

 

[awp]

Got a brazilwood bow, german, for christmas. Throwing the glasser french to the curb. Feels much better, and better access to the low strings.

Congrats!

I've been using my German bow for about a month now. Great decision. I am surprised by how much I am enjoying using the bow now. Originally I picked up the bass with the idea of playing jazz walking bass lines but started using the bow a bit to work on intonation. Now I'd say I am roughly 50/50 arco to pizzicato.

I hope it works out for you.

Cheers
Warren