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(5 votes) 
Maybe it’s just me but I’m loving my new pernambuco bow. ITS LIGHT!
I have an older Coda Conservatory bow which I love but is a bit heavy.
This lighter bow seems to track across the strings better and while it’s a bit was a bit more skitters at first, I’m learning a lighter touch and it’s working!
I know plenty of string players enjoy a little heavier bow but I’m kinda turning toward the light ones.
-Jim
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i do to Doc. I have a codabow luma thats on the light side I use all the time. I will say about a month ago i tried a diamond gx at a store and it brought out a different tone that i liked. but yeah...light bow for me too.
ABitRusty said
about a month ago i tried a diamond gx..
Hey ABitRusty!
Do you like that Coda Diamond GX?
Ive been looking at it wondering if I could do it justice.
-Jim
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Doc-Ivory said
ABitRusty said
about a month ago i tried a diamond gx..
Hey ABitRusty!
Do you like that Coda Diamond GX?
Ive been looking at it wondering if I could do it justice.
-Jim
I liked it. I dont have that model though.
if youre thinking about that one...contact @fiddlerman.. you may want to consider the SX.
Looking at the SX too.
I like the NX but it's listed a bit heavy.
Gotta give Fiddlerman a call today and as "em about either the SX or GX.
I love my wood bows but something about the Coda Fiber bows that I just really enjoy.
-Jim
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I go back and forth between what weight I prefer. I kind of like the mid-range the coda GX is, not too heavy, not too light, but also enjoy going back to my lighter wooden bow depending on what I’m playing. Or just what mood my ear is in, haha.
A fiddle friend of mine, Hannah Harris, recorded her whole album using her coda diamond SX. She’s such a good fiddler, though, I think she could make any bow work for her, lol.
I now have to get out of this thread before I start coveting new bows. I’m unemployed at the moment and do not have a fiddling budget at the moment, lol.
☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆•*¨*•.¸¸¸.•*¨*•☆
World's Okayest Fiddler
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I know the feeling.
I try to avoid the music shops because SOMETHING will always catch my eye and usually, it ain’t cheap.
My wife just gives me the “look” that only wives can give…..
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@damfino said
I now have to get out of this thread before I start coveting new bows....
EXACTLY! I had just about shook that sx ..but 'ol Doc had to start talking about bows! thanks Doc! 
Lol!
glad to be of service ABitRusty!
Whats a couple hundred bucks among friends….
”Honest honey, this is the last one..”
-Jim
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@Doc-Ivory said
Lol!glad to be of service ABitRusty!
Whats a couple hundred bucks among friends….
”Honest honey, this is the last one..”
-Jim
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I think you'll have to specify exact weights before I have any idea what "light" means.
The two bows I'm currently using most are a GX with a DeLille hybrid for backup.
The GX is not really about absolute weight, it's about balance - the centre of gravity is closer to the frog than in cheaper bows. This is very noticeable when you first use one, but the novelty wears off very quickly. The tone quality doesn't vary much - the GX's tone is perhaps slightly richer than the Delille's.
Andrew
Verified human - the ignominy!
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Gordon Shumway said
I think you'll have to specify exact weights before I have any idea what "light" means.The two bows I'm currently using most are a GX with a DeLille hybrid for backup.
The GX is not really about absolute weight, it's about balance - the centre of gravity is closer to the frog than in cheaper bows. This is very noticeable when you first use one, but the novelty wears off very quickly. The tone quality doesn't vary much - the GX's tone is perhaps slightly richer than the Delille's.
the luma is around 58 and the gx is around 61 so I understand what youre getting at more and more. Theres more going on than just weight. The day I played with the GX I had actually just dropped into a local shop because I was close. Played some of their instruments and just couldnt put one down. I ended up leaving but as these "just browsing traps" usually go...i went home and got the violin I had purchased from them and my luma and went back to compare.
The experience wasnt the same and I still felt what i already had in a violin, my current one, sounded better to me. At that point I asked for the bow they had given me to demo with earlier and thats when the earlier sound came back...and even my violin seemed more pleasing. Probably a combination of things..new hair on bow maybe.. how i felt that day.. G.A.S. .. whatever.
So i gave violin and bow back and ran home.
still naws at me. these topic conversations dont help. And my luma is great..glad im able to have it. best bow i have .. I just need to stay outta music stores and practice more.
AND Im not saying dont upgrade to anyone shopping. Theres good reasons to buy the best you can or upgrade. and no one even needs a reason..its your life and money...Im..just talking about my day with bows a few weeks back.
now i gotta go over and do some price checking again at fiddlershop 🤔
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If it's any help, my luthier jokes that Coda bows are indestructible (unfortunately, insurers aren't convinced of that).
I've been trying to remember how I chose the GX - I didn't go to a shop (it was lockdown). I read the literature and asked on VCom.
I chose the GX by looking at the Codabow E-Book (see attached pp. 7, 11, 14, 15 - their website is a little harder to navigate than it was, which is why I have attached a two-year-old version).
Coda seemed to offer the cheapest (entry-level) professionally balanced bows - far cheaper than Arcus or Musing or Jon Paul.
For balance it was the GX or the Luma (pp. 11 and 15), and I chose the GX according to their description of their respective tone qualities. I was thinking of orchestral playing.
Andrew
Verified human - the ignominy!
Good morning Gents
To me, light weight is in the mid 50 grams-ish.
Ive had bows weigh in around 70 grams and it produced a BIG sound to to my hands (large as well), it was a little less comfortable to control.
I just found that a lighter bow works better for me.
Funny thing is, on my guitars I much prefer heavier strings and 3mm picks.
I'm looking for 10s at a minimum, 11s are a pleasure while others are in stringing up with 9s or 8s. I even had a friend try the "Billy Gibbons" 7s but they were WAY too light.
-Jim
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Long time since I picked a guitar, but I quickly found out the thicker the pick the better.
(bought a cheap selection pack of a dozen different thicknesses and binned all but the thickest, lol, not such a cheap pick!) Having said that, the smaller picks are stiffer too.
Andrew
Verified human - the ignominy!
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I used a thicker pick when playing around with fiddle tunes on guitar.. but since picking up fiddle about all I do on guitar now is strum chords and a thinner pick seems better for me on that.
Its been so long since i changed guitar strings id have to watch a youtube on it.
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Just catching up on the threads here, thought I put in my 2 cents--
I have a Presto Impulse carbon fiber. It's a little heavier than the Luma (59 grams), & I chose it a few years ago over the Luma (had a home trial of 4 bows, two carbon fiber, two pernambuco).
It was my primary bow until last October when I bought a new pernambuco (61 grams), and I've been pleased with it.
Characterize people by their actions and you will never be fooled by their words.
SharonC said
Just catching up on the threads here, thought I put in my 2 cents--I have a Presto Impulse carbon fiber. It's a little heavier than the Luma (59 grams), & I chose it a few years ago over the Luma (had a home trial of 4 bows, two carbon fiber, two pernambuco).
It was my primary bow until last October when I bought a new pernambuco (61 grams), and I've been pleased with it.
Hey Sharon!!!
I like my pernambuco bow as it's light and the silver wrapping is certainly lighter than some I've experienced.
Funny you mention Luma, I was looking at that one.
-Jim
As an addendum to this thread.
I find that with a heavier bow (when I'm tired from practicing) I get more "bow skate".
For me, (just my opinion), I get less "skate" with a lighter bow and it tracks the strings better.
One of these days, I'll never suffer from bow skate. It is getting less and less as I progress.
-Jim
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Doc-Ivory said
Looking at the SX too.I like the NX but it's listed a bit heavy.
Gotta give Fiddlerman a call today and as "em about either the SX or GX.
I love my wood bows but something about the Coda Fiber bows that I just really enjoy.
-Jim
@doc-ivory
Geez, Jim, you said in your intro - you "just started playing violin after a lifetime of playing guitar"!
...don't think the average beginner usually thinks of starting off with a Coda bow. 🙄
Me thinks you have more 'violin time' than you've let on! 🤨😎
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