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King
I have several bows. Recently I have been playing a carbon fiber from the U.K. I also have an EBAY survivor which may have nylon hair. I think this bow is Brazil wood.
I am totally baffled to find that I am capable of faster tempos with the Brazil wood. I took some measurements:
CF Brazil wood
weight 2.25 oz. 2.1 oz.
balance 26 cm 26 cm
I also think that the CF is stiffer but I have no way to measure that.
My questions are:
Do you see anything that might account for a difference in how these bows handle? Could I expect a physically lighter bow to, in fact, be quicker on the strings?
It's possible I'm imagining all this but there's a bigger picture. If I exclude sound quality, what are the other benefits of a "good" ($) bow ??
When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
King
"Balance" point discussion occurs now and then and is where the bow, literally, does physically balance. My measurement is 26 cm for two different bows. (Do all bows balance at 26 cm ?)
My first and only teacher had me put a marker at the balance point and "forbid" me to play below that point (?) ( i.e. use tip only )
FM....the difficulty of my questions only means that I have already reached a truce with the easier questions
When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
Regulars
FM, thank you for the information! I guessed mine (at least one of them) is tip heavy, because I need to work really hard to play at the tip for violin 3 and 4. Well, it couls also be my bowing skill is not there yet.
Oliver said:
"Balance" point discussion occurs now and then and is where the bow, literally, does physically balance. My measurement is 26 cm for two different bows. (Do all bows balance at 26 cm ?)
So, Oliver, where do you measure it from, the tip or the frog, or the screw?
King
I measured from the end of the screw with the bow hair more loose than tight.
I did a little surfing and easily found some very interesting articles about balance point. Some sites measured the balance point directly from the frog. At least one site emphasized that the balance point could make the bow feel lighter or heavier as played.
My teacher with the balance point rules was, at heart, a Celtic fiddler and maybe that became part of her teaching habit.
When you come to a fork in the road, take it.
Regulars
I measured mine, one is balanced at 28 cm, the warped one, the other is at 27cm, both measured from the screw and with hair loosen.
I like the one that is balanced at 28 cm better, in fact, it was the bow that looks the worse -- it's warped and lost quite a few hair, but play better, it does not squeak like the other one. However, my hands felt stiff and sore after playing for a few minutes at the tip, on both bows. That's why i can never practice the christmas project for more than 10 minutes a day, usually my right hand started to give up after playing the song three times or so.
I guess I need to get a good bow from the fiddlerman:P
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