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Double Bass I couldn't tell a $30 bow from a $3000 bow
- Thread starter skychief
- Start date
No one is saying that the more you spend, the more you get. But there are different tools for different jobs, and you need to find the bow that fits with your instrument the best.
a good bow is priceless - if it wins you a job with health insurance.
That said, the best bassist in the world (IMhO) plays on a 50$ stick - but he's an alien. For the last notes of a ballad - write a tune called "Glasser" and call it a day.
That said, the best bassist in the world (IMhO) plays on a 50$ stick - but he's an alien. For the last notes of a ballad - write a tune called "Glasser" and call it a day.
From what I've been told recently by someone who knows Edgar Meyer personally, the Glasser bow was his fathers and just used it because he grew up with it. and never bothered to change. He now plays an expensive Boyd Poulsen bow made especially for him. Something like that.
I've owned cheapos and now play a far more expensive one. I can tell the diff - it's far easier to play and sounds alot less dead. But if you have a ****** bass, no amount of polishing a turd is gonna make it sound good.
I've owned cheapos and now play a far more expensive one. I can tell the diff - it's far easier to play and sounds alot less dead. But if you have a ****** bass, no amount of polishing a turd is gonna make it sound good.
You don't even have to be that experienced with arco playing to know the difference between a $30 and the $3000 bow. While $2000 is a lot to spend on a bow, I can understand that a bass maestro would do that. If I can keep it in the $300-800 range, I'd be happy. But $30--no way. That's just a waste of $30.
TB and especially the DB side of things always delivers.
I came here tonight to start a thread called What's the Difference in a Good Bow or something like that and this thread was right on top so it saved me the effort.
The question is particularly timely in that I have played pizz jazz for 4 decades and in the last 6 months have started studying classical arco more seriously because of the damage I've done to my plucking right hand.
So, I've got 3 nice DBs and a drawer full of tangled old bows that I've accumulated over the years - just thrown in with different basses. All I did was pull out the one with the best looking hair several years ago and started carrying it around (for that last note of a jazz ballad).
Now, my arco chops are getting respectable so I bought what I thought was a little 'better' bow and was disappointed so I'm back with the old no-name.
My question really was, if I invest in a 'good' bow - maybe $1000 -1500 area, will I see an improvement in my technique? I've always thought I wanted to play German (and what I have are German) but I am much more comfortable with the French grip evem on a German bow.
Will a nice French bow help me make strides?
I came here tonight to start a thread called What's the Difference in a Good Bow or something like that and this thread was right on top so it saved me the effort.
The question is particularly timely in that I have played pizz jazz for 4 decades and in the last 6 months have started studying classical arco more seriously because of the damage I've done to my plucking right hand.
So, I've got 3 nice DBs and a drawer full of tangled old bows that I've accumulated over the years - just thrown in with different basses. All I did was pull out the one with the best looking hair several years ago and started carrying it around (for that last note of a jazz ballad).
Now, my arco chops are getting respectable so I bought what I thought was a little 'better' bow and was disappointed so I'm back with the old no-name.
My question really was, if I invest in a 'good' bow - maybe $1000 -1500 area, will I see an improvement in my technique? I've always thought I wanted to play German (and what I have are German) but I am much more comfortable with the French grip evem on a German bow.
Will a nice French bow help me make strides?
I think it's all personal, of course take my opinion with a grain of salt as I've only started taking arco seriously recently. Obviously from other threads and such, everybody says that the choice of grip is a personal thing. For me, from the outset as a rank beginner, German was easily but French is easier to get a nice articulation out of the bow. But French takes longer to figure out the bow hold. It's still easier to pound out the notes with more speed with the German at this point, but I like how it sounds much more with the French.
My advice is to actually own both and keep switching back and forth. I dont' think it hurts your technique and probably does you good. More than anything, a nicer bow is simply easier to play and gets you quicker of just getting down to the business of making music. Working with arco is simply more enjoyable and that's enough to make me glad I did it.
My advice is to actually own both and keep switching back and forth. I dont' think it hurts your technique and probably does you good. More than anything, a nicer bow is simply easier to play and gets you quicker of just getting down to the business of making music. Working with arco is simply more enjoyable and that's enough to make me glad I did it.
I don't think it will help you make strides forward, but it won't get in your way - it won't impede your progress like a cheap bow might.
It is your technique that has to improve, so in answer to your question "will I see an improvement in my technique" I would say no - but a good bow will make it easier for you to develop your technique.
It is your technique that has to improve, so in answer to your question "will I see an improvement in my technique" I would say no - but a good bow will make it easier for you to develop your technique.
With all respect, I first suggest that you get a teacher. Yeah, I know- it's the "broken record of TBDB advice", but arco playing is not particularly intuitive. There is a LOT of nuance to either hold and to the body mechanics of the stroke- things that are really difficult to "get" without help from another living, breathing person standing next to you.
A teacher will help you save a ridiculous amount of time and trouble vs learning on your own or via the interwebs. My first three lessons with a classical bassist probably saved me at LEAST three years of toil- if not more- ymmv and all that good stuff.
The second thing I would suggest is taking the contents of the bow drawer to a qualified bass luthier or bow maker/technician, have them evaluated and get one or two re-haired. Hopefully at least one of them will stand out- but nice, fresh hair and rosin will work WONDERS for your ability to get a clean start and draw a nice even sound- I promise!
Best wishes!
Joe
I had a fiberglass bow w/ fake hair until this summer when I got my first pernambuco bow. At first it was like it was putting my playing under a microscope. It wasn't easier to get the sound I had gotten used to. But the sound did seem more direct, even though it requires stronger intent to get what I want... These are really general impressions.
I am another here, without much experience in bows, but I have always been one to only have cheap instruments (I played on a 30 or so year old alesis keyboard, classical, for 12 years, i wouldn't trade my $300 guitar for any guitar in this world, etcetc). I have always found that being on the cheaper side of things makes you REALLY work for good tone and technique. A good example of this for me, was my $50 mandolin that I bought from MusiciansFriend. It was, by a long shot, the worst mandolin I had ever played, but because of that, I had to play one note for every 30 seconds and really concentrate on how I was striking the string with my pick, the angle of my picking wrist, how I was holding the pick, where the string touched my left-hand finger, how much pressure I was using to stop the string (too much? not enough?)... every little detail I would pay attention to each note. Needless to say I developed good tone and technique fairly quickly, and was able to make that crappy mandolin sound pretty good.
But then I quit and bought a bass.
Edit: On a sidenote, I just bought a glasser carbon-graphite bow. Anyone here played one before? And your thoughts on it?
But then I quit and bought a bass.
Edit: On a sidenote, I just bought a glasser carbon-graphite bow. Anyone here played one before? And your thoughts on it?
One of my friends (who plays mainly in orchestras) used to go to Paris every time he needed a new bow and find a luthier there that he knew. He would spend the weekend in Paris, with the luthier and come back thousands of pounds worse off, but they really were worth it. Lovely grain in the pernambuco and they just worked for everything.
I guess you get out what you put in, and if this is thousands of pounds and the effort of going to Paris...
Sam.
I guess you get out what you put in, and if this is thousands of pounds and the effort of going to Paris...
Sam.
The sound isn't brilliant but more muted and not very lively. With a good bow, there's a more depth to the sound. It's likely that the wood in the bow vibrates more when the carbon graphite acts more like a dampener. It makes it easy to play but the sound comes out kinda flat and compressed (for lack of a better term).
I think so, esp if the better bow is significantly better (like $3000 better). I think its similar to comparing a ply vs carved bass. I will daresay that a better tool will help you learn faster, as it exposes all your faults and sometimes teaches you thing in the act of practicing. My belief is that anything cheaper will hide all your faults and generate a mediocre sound. You get what you pay far, in a sense.
I have a Codabow that I compare to my expensive pernambuco - the differences are less prompt but with careful listening the difference is there. I feel like the codabow will squawk more often while the expensive bow responds better with a lighter touch, and isn't that what we're all after?
I have a Codabow that I compare to my expensive pernambuco - the differences are less prompt but with careful listening the difference is there. I feel like the codabow will squawk more often while the expensive bow responds better with a lighter touch, and isn't that what we're all after?
But if you played with the codabow all the time, could you tame that squawk? If yes, wouldn't that be better to learn on because you're having to do all of the work rather than the bow doing it for you? That way, when you do play with a nice bow, a great sound is easy to achieve, not because the bow is so awesome, but because you've developed your technique very meticulously.
Also, I was asking about the carbon graphite bow because I have just bought one (it's not in my possession yet because I ordered it through a friend), and was simply curious. I didn't mean to ask how it compared to a $3,000 bow.
Okay, which would you rather drive in a car race? A SmartCar or a Corvette? But seriously, both cars could be kinda fun to race and both will require different techniques to get the most out of them. But learning to drive the SmartCar fast means that you'll be an expert at that. Switching to the Corvette will require a lot of retraining. And, you ain't never going to win a race driving the SmartCar! I think you should get the best equipment you can afford and given your current level of commitment. New students spend less; pros spend more.
