Wow, I've been asking too many violin related questions lately. And this is not even a music related forum. Sorry, I don't use any other forum so I have nowhere else to ask. So I'm gonna buy a new bow within the next week, the only bow I've ever used is the one that came with my 50 year old violin which survived through the liberation war of our country. Although it did not see any action directly, though it would have been badass if it was played in the middle of the battlefield with bullets brushing past, it was just left somewhere in the corner of the house. (It almost got sold too...what saved it was the fact than nobody would buy a fucking violin in the middle of a war as anything more than firewood.) So, well, the violin survived pretty intact but the long and thin bow was a little more fragile so it's not how it used to be. Still pretty good, and also the tightening thing is broken too. So finally, after 9 years since I started playing, I'm buying another bow. I have one other bow, but that SUCKS!! That one is so shit that I can't even describe it. I don't want to end up with something like that again. So got any tips on what I should watch out for while buying a new bow? My current bow is a little on the big and heavy side, and I've never used any other bows, so I don't know. I might come across a really good one but it might throw me off the first time while testing it out since I'm not used to something like that, and I might miss out on it. If you yourself have nothing to say, can you at least link me to something that might help me with this? I don't want something that closely resembles the feeling of my current bow, I just want a good fucking bow. I'm ok with adapting to it, cause I've been stuck with this bow not by my own will. I don't wanna be unique, I wanna take up what is most commonly used, cause that means it's approved by the most number of people.
I don't know much about the topic, so I can't say much aside from the logical. Check for loose strings, make sure that the tightening thing isn't loose and actually works, make sure that you have rosin that isn't trash... Ideally you'd want to be able to test them out before buying them, but I don't know if shops allow that.
sorry for my english I'm writing for google translate I do not know much about violin but should not have a store that sells violin products that has an attendant who knows about violins? because I have a friend who has a guitar and he when he did not know which rope was better he asked the attendant.
Well, if they don't I'm not really gonna buy from that shop. That's the main thing about buying bows, isn't it? But isn't there more things worth checking out? Like, how much weight is optimal on both ends? The distance between the hairs and the stick? And maybe some other things?
Yea, but their job is to sell about anything. They don't really care about me. They'd only try to point the good things about their bows and sell me whatever from their shop.
bruh, whatever pay attention at the tension of the bow, i don't recommend buying one with one already very tight as if a bow is too tight for a long time it degrades itself also check the kind of wood the bow was made of -pernambuco wood is top quality and should be very expensive if worked on by a master(most of them were made in late 80s)(very expensif) well you need to find a bow which has an acceptable flexibility,not too rigid, but good enough well just get a carbon-fiber type of bow also hold the bow in your hand and see how good it feels (don't judge by the sound/ well yea a bit of that/ but does it feel natural to you ?) the weight should be properly balanced and get if you have the choice, choose a bow which is predominantly round not the octagonal bow (even if you might think it's better because it's more expensif) (also for the horse hair) -it's always good to check if there aren't any hair broken -if it's been dyed choose another one Finally, bring your own violin and bow in shop with you play a short melody with each of the bows you choose(5-6) and compare it to your own !! -That's all folks p.s. well this is what i can say from my personnal knowledge and after 30 minutes of searching on the web, so... ya
Oh, reddit. I know there is basically a sub-forum for everything there but I don't used reddit so I just asked here. I just didn't wanna bother making an account. Since I already have an account here, I just asked here. Ok, if I have no other choice I'll ask in the violinist sub-forum. Or maybe I'll sub to ling ling 40 hours sub-forum. Since I already tag every violin related post I make here with 'ling ling 40 hours'.
Oh wow, you searched the web for 30 minutes for me? Thanks. I don't know what to say. I'll take all of your words to heart when I'm choosing my bow. I don't know how I'll figure out what wood has it been made out of, but I'll ask for the best ones. Thanks.
I know this sounds stupid, but don't go bow hunting and end up with a hunting bow if they let you try, you can give it a feel of the bow on violin to see how it feels. the most expensive one might not be the best fit. find one that feels just right. Though i'm just BSing as i've no experience
No, you're right. I also don't think the most expensive one is the best. Expensive might just mean the most amount materials used, not the most balanced use of materials.