I just finished a trial on Prochownik that did not meet my playing needs compared to the other I had tried. I am not discouraged by this. I still really felt good about his product. I am doing a trial on another Prochownik this coming week, as well as, a trial on two Tom Owens bows. One of traditional materials and one of bloodwood.
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Double Bass Prochownik bows
- Thread starter LouisF
- Start date
- Mar 1, 2002
- 4,237
- 52
- 74
- Disclosures
- Owner: Ken Smith Basses, Ltd.
I bought one of his Sartori models a few months ago. It wasn't wrapped with silver, so I was going to have a local guy wrap it for me and put a normal, fatter, leather bit on it. He said the silver wrapping often mutes the bow and it's actually better for the sound to have the simple wrapping like Prochownik had put on.
I might be buying a Bazin model soon. This bow thing could get worse than strings...
You think?..lol
If not just worse, it is definitely much more expensive.
I just got a few Prochownik and two Tom Owen bows. I received the Prochownik bows first and I was impressed, but not as excited as I hoped I would be. The Prochownik that I played a few weeks back definitely spoke more on my bass. The trial Prochownik bows did not quite have that same strength and grip. The Tom Owen bows got here yesterday. One was pernambuco. The other was bloodwood. The bloodwood was a not well suited for me. The balance seemed off, but I can't say exactly. There wasn't a lot of headfall, it just didn't feel right in my grip. The pernambuco is a little different. It really has good balance and the gripping power is there. The sound I was looking for from my bass is possible with this bow. One concern is the weight. It is pretty hefty so I am working with it a lot to make sure it isn't fatiguing. So far seems agile enough and not too taxing.
Regardless of the bows I pick, I am so impressed by the shops of Jack Hill (JD Hill Music), George Vance (Slavapub) and Tom Owen. These are some of the nicest guys. Some didn't even charge to ship me their bows, they just sent and awaited the return. On the phone they are all very accomodating. Thanks to good trusting people.
Regardless of the bows I pick, I am so impressed by the shops of Jack Hill (JD Hill Music), George Vance (Slavapub) and Tom Owen. These are some of the nicest guys. Some didn't even charge to ship me their bows, they just sent and awaited the return. On the phone they are all very accomodating. Thanks to good trusting people.
on the other hand - knowing both Tom and George Vance - they would be the way they are if you just bought a cake of rosin or such from them
Louis
Louis
I ended up choosing the Tom Owen bow. I still really like Prochownik's products, but I think the Owen that I got has a stronger orchestral sound, but is still agile enough to play solo work. I really like the sound the bow produces with my bass.
I've developed an itch for a new bow and had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. Prochownik today. He gave me an overview of the characteristics of his bows and we talked a bit about my needs and playing style. He suggested that I contact George Vance and try some of his bows via that route. He also told me that he plans to visit relatives here in Chicago later next month and may have some bows with him at that time.
I did speak with George Vance late this afternoon and three ZP bows will be on their way to me tommorow. I might add that speaking with both of these gentlemen was a pleasure and I appreciate the time they took with me despite their obviously busy schedules.
I did speak with George Vance late this afternoon and three ZP bows will be on their way to me tommorow. I might add that speaking with both of these gentlemen was a pleasure and I appreciate the time they took with me despite their obviously busy schedules.
Prochownik is such a nice guy to deal with.
Did he tell you about his new purpleheart (wood) bows?
It sounds like they could be very interesting.
Dr. Rod,
No, ZP did not mention the ""purpleheart" bows. When I called, it was a bit hectic at his place, even more reason to be thankful for the time he did take with me.
One thing he did mention to me is that he feels his bows seem to respond better on "better"grades of basses. He did not define that conept further. I'll see how his bow works on my no-name (luthier label - Calin Wultur suspect) Romanian carved bass. I was hoping to upgrade to a somewhat better instrument but have decided to wait a bit on this. Let's see how a better bow does on it.
No, ZP did not mention the ""purpleheart" bows. When I called, it was a bit hectic at his place, even more reason to be thankful for the time he did take with me.
One thing he did mention to me is that he feels his bows seem to respond better on "better"grades of basses. He did not define that conept further. I'll see how his bow works on my no-name (luthier label - Calin Wultur suspect) Romanian carved bass. I was hoping to upgrade to a somewhat better instrument but have decided to wait a bit on this. Let's see how a better bow does on it.
Well my Prochownik on my asian bass didn't sound very good, put it on my teachers Panormo and it sounded great. Who knows if that's the bass talking or the bow????
Prochownik bows don't have a lot of "grab" in the sound. They're fairly airy, and extremely light, not very suitable for orchestral work. They seem to respond better for light and very agile solo playing like bach at pitch. The best thing about his bows is that they've got a very good sense of balance and they're a good bow for anyone wanting something easy on the hand that does all the tricks. Purpleheart sounds good. If you notice, not many bass bow makers are using Pernambuco today, mainly due to the fact that you really can't find good Pernambuco unless you own a metric tone like Reid Hudson or you're Giovanni Lucchi. Most bows (unfortunately even some high end makers) are making Pernambuco bass bows out of somewhat low quality pernambuco. You'd be better off investing in excellent quality Swartzia, Snakewood, or Cacique
I appreciate the comments. These qualities are all things I need to watch for when I receive and try these bows.
My bow budget upper limit is $2500 USD. If anyone has other suggestions for trial bows in that range ($1500-$2500 US), I would appreciate hearing them. George Vance did have two Giles Duhaut bows but at the current USD/Euro exchange rate, they are both over $4000 US.
Oh well . . . I could have spent it on season tickets to the Cubs . . .
My bow budget upper limit is $2500 USD. If anyone has other suggestions for trial bows in that range ($1500-$2500 US), I would appreciate hearing them. George Vance did have two Giles Duhaut bows but at the current USD/Euro exchange rate, they are both over $4000 US.
Oh well . . . I could have spent it on season tickets to the Cubs . . .
I disagree completely with this... which is just to say, different strokes for different um, folks, basses, etc. My Prochownik is my orchestra bow, and a fine orchestra bow at that. I know his bows are used in some top orchestra bass sections.
Bass Barrister, I would contact Chris Brown. He is the principal bass of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra and one of the largest bow brokers around. He'll have LOTS of stuff for you to check out in that price range. PM me if you want his contact info.
That's fine, that's your opinion and you can keep your "own due respect" lol. I own one of his bows, and that bow in his opinion is not like the others that he makes. He sent me about 8 bows, and 5 of them were of a lower quality of wood, and had no real "into the string" attributes. As I said before about his bows...You have to try a bunch because quality control is an issue as he makes a very number of them relatively quickly.
Quinoil, we obviously have very different concepts of sound and that's apparent in your choice of gear for orchestral playing. That being said I still respect your opinion and I think your opinion is very valid for the starter of this thread. Just know that there are certainly a lot of people who don't share your concept of sound and weight relationships in bows and basses.
Dr Rod, keep in mind that his German bows are also a completely different animal from his French. A colleague of mine recently purchased a very simple 113g German bow from him...It was one of the most articulate and easy to play bows out there, and it had a very distinct tone and feel than his overhand models, so as I said before...They're not all the same in sound and feel.
1800.00 for anything is a lot of money. Whether it be 400.00 or 4000.00, you should try and get the best value for your money, and I think all of our opinions are valid in helping the thread starter find his/her ideal bow...There is no right or wrong, just informed and uninformed opinions.
My choice of who for what? Not sure why you think you know what my concept of sound is (whatever that means), or what I think about weight relationships in bows and basses. But what a relief it is to have a valid opinion!
My choice of who for what? Not sure why you think you know what my concept of sound is (whatever that means), or what I think about weight relationships in bows and basses. But what a relief it is to have a valid opinion!
Let me clarify. You obviously follow the Rabbath method, correct? I've used a lot of his method as well, bent end-pins etc. You use a "Solo" bass for orchestral playing, a light bow, Corelli Strings, and I've heard your MP3's, so that's easy for me to associate you with a "Rabbath/French" sound. I'm on the completely different end of the spectrum, and so are a lot of other people, and it's my opinion that a lot of Prochownik's bows don't cater that well to specifically orchestral music. Perhaps to you they do because they fit under the Rabbath system and your definition of sound. As you said earlier "different strokes for different folks", and you were also the one to disagree with my opinion firstly, which is fine, I'm just explaining to you my viewpoint.
Well, back to the Prochownik bows... my own take is:
for the price they're very good bows. Not much better available for the price although of course you can stumble on some wonderful bows in this range if you keep your eyes open long enough.
I think (and orchestral players much finer than I agree) that they can be quite good orchestra bows. I don't think the ones I've played had the potential to be particularly great solo bows, but then very very little in this price range really does.
for the price they're very good bows. Not much better available for the price although of course you can stumble on some wonderful bows in this range if you keep your eyes open long enough.
I think (and orchestral players much finer than I agree) that they can be quite good orchestra bows. I don't think the ones I've played had the potential to be particularly great solo bows, but then very very little in this price range really does.
