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Baroque bow tension
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Ferret
Byron Bay Australia
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June 4, 2013 - 7:47 pm
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Does a Baroque bow need to be more tensioned than a modern bow?

I have noticed that the hair width is somewhat narrower than my other bows

Seen it all. Done it all. Can't remember most of dunno ..... What was I saying???? facepalm

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June 5, 2013 - 1:06 am

Not really sure about boroque bow tension, but I would think you would need enough to make it playable like a modern bow and be able to adjust the tension with the screw, (if it has one), I'm unable to find the pic you posted of it.

As far as hair width, a hank of bow hair usuall contain's 150-200 hair's. If the hair is narrower at the frog, there is a possibility that the wooden shim/spreader has come out between the hair and the ferrule. This happened with my pernambuco bow I had rehaired last year. I noticed that the hair was very narrow at the frog, but normal width at the tip, I knew I hadn't lost any hair's, so when I took it to another luthier, he said it hadn't been rehaired properly and that the wood shim/spreader had fallen out letting the hair's clump together, they were only about 7 mm wide. After it was fixed, the hair's now measure 11mm at the frog.

Incidentally, you really don't realize how fine the hair's are untill you start counting them. One of my bow's with "Fiddlershop" hair counted 178 hair's. Definately not good on the eye's.  dazed 

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Ferret
Byron Bay Australia
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June 5, 2013 - 2:16 am
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@fiddlestix 

Hi Ken

No, it's the same thickness all the way. It looks as if it's as it should be.

And yes, it does have a screw.

Its OK to use but I find that it handles better with a higher tension.

I can't find a great deal about them on the web except for their history.

 

Am going to China in a couple of days and am considering bringing back an Erhu

They have quite an odd bow. They are also tuned in fifths like a violin. They look like a violin that has been in a bad car accident and when reassembled, they didn't have all the parts.

Seen it all. Done it all. Can't remember most of dunno ..... What was I saying???? facepalm

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June 5, 2013 - 7:14 am

One great thing about the Erhu, is that the bow never get's seperated or lost from the instrument itself.

I hope you have a wonderfull time in China, I have a friend in, Taiyuan, city, Shanxi Province.

Be safe, John and good.

 

Ken.

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Fiddlerman
Fort Lauderdale
June 5, 2013 - 7:26 am
Member Since: September 26, 2010
Forum Posts: 16537

Not sure about the required tension either. The whole thing about bow tension in general is to find the tension that is not so loose that the bow stick touches and scrapes the strings too much when playing loudly and not so tight that the bow bounces uncontrollably.
In other words, you'll need to guess at first and experiment and find the best compromise.

"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."

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ozmous

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June 5, 2013 - 8:29 am
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hmm...since the cambering in the bow is the same as a modern bow, it should be the same as the tension of the modern bow, as long as it is not touching the stick and it's easy to do techniques, but it has a snakewood stick, so it's harder than the more flexible pernambuco........ erhus are awesome!!!!

cheers! - ⁰ℨ

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ratvn
Kent, Washington USA

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June 5, 2013 - 10:39 pm
Member Since: October 14, 2012
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Ferret said
 
considering bringing back an Erhu

They look like a violin that has been in a bad car accident and when reassembled, they didn't have all the parts.

yes, John, did not have all the parts so they substitute with something else handy beside the fact that somebody stole 2 strings and leaving only two strings left. Your future Erhu may have its "top plate" made with snake skin, python skin, perhaps, lol. Well, there were sheep guts and horse hairs for fiddles, and snake skin is also organic, right?

Have a safe trip and enjoy your time there, John.

thumbs-up

 

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