Double Bass Possible bow problem

[Necroramo]

Hi,


While playing bass a few days ago, I began to have a major problem with my tone. Suddenly, my bow would stop making noise (it was simply brushing against the string without making sound), then kick back into making sound as I moved along the hairs of the bow. The places at which this would happen along the bow varied, but it became so bad that I was not getting sound more often than I was. I stopped practicing for the night, frustrated.

After that incident, everything seemed to work fine. However, today while practicing, the same problem came up again, although it didn't get as bad as it did a few days ago.

My bass teacher confirmed that there are no breaks in the seams of the bass, so the only logical conclusion that I can think of is that the bow is at fault. Could any of you tell me what is going on, and how it could be fixed? If it helps, the problem typically is worse if I move the bow more slowly.

 

[thedbassist]

rosin?

 

[Eli_Upright12]

rosin?

Could be that or it could be in need of new hairs. Once a while back my younger brother messed up a bow because it got left in the kitchen and some kind of cooking oil or grease got on it and it would pull and it wouldnt hold any rosin. It sounds like a problem with either rosin or hairs.

 

[Eric_J]

If you got oil or grease on it, search for the post on using denatured alcohol to clean the hair. Be sure to follow the instructions carefully.
After using it on my bow, it held rosin and provided better grip on the string.

 

[jfv]

Hi,
....

My bass teacher confirmed that there are no breaks in the seams of the bass, so the only logical conclusion that I can think of is that the bow is at fault. Could any of you tell me what is going on, and how it could be fixed? If it helps, the problem typically is worse if I move the bow more slowly.

If your bass teacher went to the trouble to look at
the bass seams (which seems kinda silly to me), did
he or she try playing your bow on your bass??

Better yet, did they look at you playing to see if it
happened and then could identify what was going
wrong?

Inquiring minds...

 

[artislife1]

You should go by elimination, there's not so many possible causes.. This kind of thing hapenned to me when i wasn't distributing the rosin properly on my bow.

i had a similar problem in the past...

How i solve it:
i always put a lot rosin (sometimes too much) on my bow and distribute it on all the longer by playing an open string really loud and near the bridge.

your bow will stick on the string at the beginning but if you're using you're weight you'll get a nice big sound after a little 10-15 minutes of scales.


maybe not a good solution for everyone but it worked for me!

 

[Necroramo]

If your bass teacher went to the trouble to look at
the bass seams (which seems kinda silly to me), did
he or she try playing your bow on your bass??

Better yet, did they look at you playing to see if it
happened and then could identify what was going
wrong?

Inquiring minds...

I forgot to say, I took the bass to my lesson and said I had a sound problem to my teacher, and it worked FINE there! Then again, I did use his rosin... but I'm using normal Carlsson, what do you think could have gone wrong? It's served me fine for years

 

[Cory Palmer]

Make sure the rosin is getting on the hair evenly. After you've been practicing for a while you might need to reapply rosin and put some extra on the spots that aren't grabbing. This could also be a sign that you need a rehair. I don't usually have this problem with a recently rehaired bow.

 

[Silversorcerer]

There is also the possibility that you might have gotten something oily on the strings in a few places where the bow hair is crossing. Sometimes condensation on the strings will do that too. Are you wiping the strings down with a dry cloth to remove the rosin powder once in a while? I'm just guessing. And as asked above, how old is the bow hair? It should last a year about, depending on how often and how long you play.

 

[Roonz]

I forgot to say, I took the bass to my lesson and said I had a sound problem to my teacher, and it worked FINE there! Then again, I did use his rosin... but I'm using normal Carlsson, what do you think could have gone wrong? It's served me fine for years

If you a relatively new bass player as I am, then perhaps your problem is one of fatigue. After a while, I ocassionally have problems with maintaining tone that sounds like your problem of intermittant tone. I take a break or quit for the day.

Aside: I played the violin for a long time and then picked up the bass just a few weeks ago. I am astounded at the effort it takes to make the bass sing as compared to a violin! I actually drip sweat during practice, so fatigue is real.

 

[CT DB]

I actually drip sweat during practice.

All violinists should have to play the bass for a day.