Double Bass lightening my heavy bow

[elliot_the_bassist]

So i recently purchased a Brazil wood bow from upton bass and i like almost everything about it. Except its weight. it is faaar too heavy at the tip. the stick is fairly long and dense so there is weight at both ends, but its balance point is almost half way up the sick. I was wondering if i could do any amateur wood work (i.e. drill, wood plane, dowel, sand paper)?? I don't really want to party a luthier... but if i have to, I will. I guess what i'm asking is had anyone tried this our are there any luthiers that have experience that could help me? thanks!

 

[MikeCanada]

Is it a French or German bow? What is the weight and balance point of the bow? If you have a scale and can weigh it in grams that gives us a lot more to go on. As for finding the balance point, if you loosen the hair so the frog is all the way forward and measure from the end of the wood (not the button) to where the bow balances on your finger, what is that measurement? How long is the bow (again, measuring from the wood at the tip to the wood at the frog end?) Weight, balance, and length all have an acceptable and somewhat standardized range. If your bow is just slightly off in any of those, or more likely within the acceptable range but different from your personal preference, it can feel foreign in your hands.

I really wouldn't suggest attempting any "amateur wood work" as you can ruin a bow really fast if you are new to this, but depending on how much of a change is required there are different things that can be done. A few measurements/numbers makes that guidance a little easier.

 

[Fred Emens]

Trying to balance a bow by removing wood is very risky. If the bow is tip heavy, you may be able to improve it quite a bit by adding a small amount of weight to shift the balance point toward the frog. Having a bow that is properly balanced will generally have more impact on comfort, feel and playability than the overall weight.

If your bow has imitation whalebone windings, you can shift the balance a little by changing to silver or silver plated windings. Strips of lead tape, usually used for balancing golf clubs, can be added underneath the bow grip. There may be room to pack some lead in the frog mortise when doing the next rehair and a small amount may fit inside the button. The good news is that all of these remedies are reversible if you don't get the results you were hoping for. Using the lead tape, you can experiment by temporarily adding the weight externally before spending the time and money on the above methods. As Mike said, the first step should be to get an accurate measurement of your current weight and balance point.

 

[elliot_the_bassist]

Thanks guys. i think I'll measure it properly when i get home today. I may try that lead tape idea. i think that sounds a lot safer than wood work

 

[Phil Rowan]

Another option is to take some blue painter's tape (the kind used to cover spots you don't want painted.. it's better than other tape because it'll leave much less sticky residue when removed, if any at all) and tape a nickel or two, or a few dimes, to the bottom of the frog (just experiment and see how many coins it takes the even out the balance). This is just something you can easily do to help give you an idea of how much weight needs to be added at the lower half of the bow to even things out. I'd definitely recommend eventually having lead tape added underneath the leather wrap. I've been meaning to do that for a while but in the meantime my bow's been rocking the blue tape/coins method.

 

[Jeff Bonny]

If you didn't like it you should have sent it back.

 

[Eric Hochberg]

Yes, see if Upton will exchange it.