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I am sure someone has probably already asked this, but I could not find a previous discussion. So sorry if I am repeating a previous thread.
In discussion at the music shop I was told that your bow should cost about 10% the value of your violin. I found this comment odd. I understand that bows are made from different materials such as plastics, wood and even carbon and that can make a difference on the sensitivity or how much bow pressure you need.
But I still don't understand what to look for in a quality bow. I mean I don't play that well (YET!
) But I tried a $40 bow and then they gave me a $250 bow to try and I did not really notice any different. I currently am using a cheap plastic bow and have been looking to upgrade to go with my new old violin and just don't really know where to start and just using the 10% rule just didn't seem like a good way to choose a bow. Any suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks
I have never heard of a plastic bow, maybe you mean fiberglass? I started out with an inexpessive bow and then purchased a carbon fiber bow. I made a great difference. I don't think you will notice any difference when you first start but shortly after a good bow will make a big difference to you. Price doesn't really mean much though. FM was selling carbon fiber bows that were real good bows and worth much more than he was selling them for. I den't believe in any corrolation between violin price and bow price except matbe if you have a $3000.00 violin and a $25.00 bow or a $3000.00 bow and a $25.00 violin.
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You are probably right and it is fiberglass, it just looks like plastic.
In regards the bow. I didn't understand how the corelation made a difference either, except to be able to give folks an idea of where to start looking. But Honestly I do not know what to look for in bow that would make it better than another.
Is it weight? I saw one ladvertised that said 7 count? Is that a reference to something inparticular? Then I see all over things like Silver this and gold that. but that really doesn't seem to affect the way a bow would play. So I am still confused on what I should be looking for.
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I got one of the carbon fiber bows, and they are great, you can see FM on the Orange Blossom Special vid, using one, I believe. It is great and the price was really good. Perhaps after the first of the year you can get one from him, when he opens his Fiddlerman dot com store.
Shalom Shalom 
I think basically you want a bow that feels right to you and balanced in your hand. You want it to have a good curve to it. A lot of cheap bows, when the hairs are loose they don't touch the stick and they should.
I do agree with BC Shalom, wait until January and Fiddlerman should be selling more of the carbon fiber bows.
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What to look for in a bow?
Good curve for smoother strokes: A curved bow can be looser and still have a good tension. A looser bow can absorb shocks better without bouncing.
Good balance: The bow should be well balanced so that it has an even sound from the frog to the tip. Not too top heavy or bottom heavy. (Hard to know as a beginner) Good balance allows staccato to occur almost by itself when played with the right technique.
Good weight: A proper weight gives you a good soft sound without applying pressure and allows you to relax though too much weight requires you to lift more with your pinky. This can be very individual or there would be only one weight to all bows.
Strong material: If a bow is made of real high quality wood it will probably maintain it's shape. Carbon Fiber bows are great that way.
A good match: When you draw different bows across your strings you may notice that they sound different from one another. I can't say why this is but I do know that it is true from experience plus I have 3 extremely expensive bows in my case that don't sound much better than my CB bow.
The 10% rule is rubbish in any way. Someone trying to sound knowledgeable maybe.
Lastly, I ordered 50 more of those bows that I felt were the best of all the inexpensive CF bows that I tested and these will have "Fiddlerman" on them by the frog. They should arrive in early January. Unfortunately I only have one CF bow left and I am using it frequently as BCShalom noticed 
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Yeah, FM me too, it is just great, I can see some of what your talking about now. I work on my bowing and scales a lot and now what to concentrate on learning sheet music.
The bows are worth waiting for, after you have used it for a while you will see what FM is saying. Threy are really great.
Shalom Shalom
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Hey FM, Would you please let me know when the bows are available?
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I'll let you and everyone here know. I'll even post a link to buy them.
I look forward to receiving them. Hope my logo looks good on them. 
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Yep! 
My teacher already made an allusion that i may had a good bow =).. My bank card will be ready in a week 
so i hope to order that bow... and cap.. and wonder maybe there will be some peg compound in the FiddlerMan's Shop 
... and bridge... and tuning fork 443 Hz (i saw 440 only) and strings (i saw there's LOTS of them )... aaaand... (tell me when it'll become annoying) rubber mute? i didn't find it yet there
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Yes, "Hill Peg Compound" for about $10
I haven't uploaded the main feed yet because it is SOOOOO long and I have another 50 hours or so to work on it. The only one I uploaded is the D'Addario feed which contains a lot of other stuff as well but not all that much for bowed strings.:-(
It takes endless hours to enter products. Who knew? ;-0
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Fiddlerman said
Yes, "Hill Peg Compound" for about $10
Nice!
I haven't uploaded the main feed yet because it is SOOOOO long and I have another 50 hours or so to work on it. The only one I uploaded is the D'Addario feed which contains a lot of other stuff as well but not all that much for bowed strings.:-(
It takes endless hours to enter products. Who knew? ;-0
Hmmm. Seems alot of work You have with this shop! 
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I have my son to help me but he is very busy too. He works full time with WebHydro.com
He is the one wearing the cap on the fiddlershop.com picture for the fiddlerman cap.
I wish I could clone him and get more help
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Fiddlerman said
...I wish I could clone him and get more help
I wish i could clone myself to make that clone go to work instead of me 
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That is even a better idea. Wow Naska, you are smart
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Well I just placed my order for your Carbon Bow. Looks Good in the Photo's but it is hard to see the logo.
Here is the link if anyone else wants to see or is intersted.
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Thanks CGBownut.
The logo, I don't even want to talk about it. I had 50 bows specially made for me, all hand made, and they messed up the logo. It was supposed to be: Fiddlerman, but they printed, FIDDLerman
Maybe they will be valuable in the future. The first Fiddlerman bows with the FIDDLerman logo. ROFL
Therefor I didn't take the picture of the logo. 
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
I think I'll have to get one of those bows with FIDDLerman on it. When my daughter is old she can sell it and make a fortune.
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