Double Bass Possible bow upgrade opportunity, next logical step up?

[AGCurry]

I greatly appreciate that sentiment, but I'm often reminded of golf (my other avocation), in which it is EXTREMELY common for people to try to BUY themselves a better game...

I wonder if music is similar to golf in the respect that there is equipment which is more "forgiving" and appropriate for most amateurs, as opposed to the precision tools which are best for pros, but can result in many "mis-hits."

"Buying oneself a better game" is often a fool's errand, but ... if I were looking just for "easy," I would try to find a plywood bass like my teacher's. VERY forgiving, but not the right tool for the job I'm attempting. When I say "easy," I mean easy to draw a desired sound from the bass. I don't see how the drawbacks ... but of course I could be wrong.

 

[Ed S]

You know, of course, that I'm not 2d guessing any choices you are making. Just appreciating that discussing such things helps me refine my path.

And it remains for me with lessons and more practice in a dead heat for first place, with different gear a distant 100th place or so!

 

[damonsmith]

I greatly appreciate that sentiment, but I'm often reminded of golf (my other avocation), in which it is EXTREMELY common for people to try to BUY themselves a better game...

There is truth in this, for sure.
You can spend any amount of money you want on basses and bows. What I advocate is understanding what materials will and won't do. A person forcing their body to overcome material limitations may work for a while for a young person, but may actually cause physical damage to a middle age or older person.
It is very easy to spend 3-5k for a bow, but, a $3-500 carbon bow could be a huge upgrade if it is well balanced. Once your materials are functioning properly, then it is fine to question yourself about upgrades.

 

[AGCurry]

Hey AG, I got the Dorfler, based on what I felt/heard, which was also agreed upon/verified by my teacher. In your scenario your Gollihur bow may in fact be close to the same feel/quality right off the bat, but in my case my vingo or my Krutz CF are not even in the same league with it!

I took my new Dorfler bow and my Gollihur pernambuco bow to my bass lesson this afternoon. Our evaluation was performed on his easy-playing and surprisingly good-sounding plywood bass, with both of us taking turns playing.

Findings:
The Dorfler is louder and draws a broader timbre (more highs). It's heavier. It's the bow my teacher would choose, of the two, for orchestral work.
The Gollihur bow "plucks" the string better - that little "click" on attack. Warmer sound. This bow is "stronger at the tip" than the Dorfler. Again, we might credit these findings to different/better hair and/or more rosin.

Both bows are absolutely worth using. Both can accomplish spiccato. His suggestion was basically to apply more (soft) rosin to the Dorfler bow. So I'll take it to orchestra rehearsal tonight and do just that.

I also have my shorter "pit" bow and a Krutz CW (carbon fiber with pernambuco wrap)... they're both decent, but I have a feeling they'll languish for a while.

 

[Aragorn35016]

I took my new Dorfler bow and my Gollihur pernambuco bow to my bass lesson this afternoon. Our evaluation was performed on his easy-playing and surprisingly good-sounding plywood bass, with both of us taking turns playing.

Findings:
The Dorfler is louder and draws a broader timbre (more highs). It's heavier. It's the bow my teacher would choose, of the two, for orchestral work.
The Gollihur bow "plucks" the string better - that little "click" on attack. Warmer sound. This bow is "stronger at the tip" than the Dorfler. Again, we might credit these findings to different/better hair and/or more rosin.

Both bows are absolutely worth using. Both can accomplish spiccato. His suggestion was basically to apply more (soft) rosin to the Dorfler bow. So I'll take it to orchestra rehearsal tonight and do just that.

I also have my shorter "pit" bow and a Krutz CW (carbon fiber with pernambuco wrap)... they're both decent, but I have a feeling they'll languish for a while.

AG just curious did yours come with salt and pepper hair? Mine did as shown, and grabs really well compared to my Krutz that I had rehaired (with all white) in December. One of the things I liked about the bow was how rigid it was, it absorbs almost nothing in Spiccato. It doesn’t seem to loose any of its camber under tension as show in the pic.

Now if it could only magically flip the coordination switch in my mind for hook bowing that would be something!

 

[AGCurry]

AG just curious did yours come with salt and pepper hair? Mine did as shown, and grabs really well compared to my Krutz that I had rehaired (with all white) in December. One of the things I liked about the bow was how rigid it was, it absorbs almost nothing in Spiccato. It doesn’t seem to loose any of its camber under tension as show in the pic.

Now if it could only magically flip the coordination switch in my mind for hook bowing that would be something!

Yes, salt-and-pepper hair. In my experience, I prefer black.

Hooked bowing: After struggling for some time with it, an mental switch seemed to flip for me. Now I find myself hooking sometimes when I shouldn't.

 

[Aragorn35016]

Yes, salt-and-pepper hair. In my experience, I prefer black.

Hooked bowing: After struggling for some time with it, an mental switch seemed to flip for me. Now I find myself hooking sometimes when I shouldn't.

After years of alternate picking when playing EB with a pick, it’s real real hard to break that programming motion.