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It is a cheap violin bow with coarse ,fat hair and because I live in humid area it really fluffs up and no matter how tight I make it it's still too slack to play properly .I've tried playing on edge ,flat ,fast, slow, heavy, light and it's really impeding my progress. I want to know if it's okay to snip some hairs off of it until I get the good bow that I want. Seems like a silly question but hey I'm just learning.
Thanks.
Just bow it.



Hi thegael. You may want to shield the non-affending hairs with a sheet of thin cardboard like a shirt card to protect them from the heat. If all of the hair shrank to the same degree, you would be no better off than you are at present.
Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal. —Earl Nightingale.



Fiddlerman said
I'm curious as to how bad the "Fat" on the bow is? It sounds unusual.
As Irv said, you can shrink the loose isolated hairs with heat. What is most common is to use a little flame from an alcohol lamp. But you can use a lighter, just be very careful and keep it moving at all times or all the hairs will catch on fire real quick. I'm not sure what this has to do with the fat hairs though.
Well it's a very cheap bow so the hairs are coarse and uneven in size. Some of the ones on the interior edges are all nice and straight and neat and there's a few scraggly ones that hang out below the others. When I get it adjusted to where I want it they hang loose below the other ones and are buzzing the strings and making it harder for me. I just wanted to snip them off but after reading these other posts, I gently held it above a burner on my stove and watch them shrink up They seem to be doing better but of course after they cool off ..I live in such a humid area they just sag again.
Just bow it.



Irv said
There here is not much good said about synthetic horse hair but people seem to like the incredibow. This would solve your humidity issue. Unfortunately, I think that they sell for around $125.
Irv said
There here is not much good said about synthetic horse hair but people seem to like the incredibow. This would solve your humidity issue. Unfortunately, I think that they sell for around $125.
I will look into that, thanks Irv.
Just bow it.



Fiddlerman said
If they are sagging again, they are probably pulling out of the knot. You can clip them off but most likely you'll have to either get a new bow or a re-hair.
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Yep I figured. They are worse now so snip snip. I am looking at your nice $68 bow . Will it last a year or so? I practice twice a day for about 20 minutes. Maybe in a month or so you will be sending me one. Thanks.
Just bow it.



Fiddlerman said
@thegael - I am confident that it will last at least a year but it also depends on how aggressive a player you are, and how tight you have the hair. Looser hair played aggressively will last the least amount of time. The hair grinds up against the stick in the middle.
If you are normal, you should be able to use that bow for at least a year without rehairing, or getting a new one.n
My aggression depends on how ticked off I am at the bow! Lol. I snipped a couple. I swear it's better. I also am finding the fine line between too much and not enough tension and amount of rosin. The humidity makes it sticky on the hair. So touchy!. Thanks for all your help.
Just bow it.
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