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Well hate to say that I'm a smoker...So I always have a lighter on me. Great hint!
yes, that's how i tested my bows that came with my cvn 500 as well as my daughter's. They both stunk like burnt hair, my daughter's stunk even worse, like when they tried to put horse shoes on the hooves, it actually made me gagged.
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Now I'm going to have to try this you know. 
I have a loose hair on my bow anyway... Thanks for the tip. I never thought to check.
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judging from the original post, i would immagine that real hair works better than synthetics. is that true?
what about for an electric violin? could you use something else besides a bow?
-g
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guitar effects...
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gStretch said:
judging from the original post, i would immagine that real hair works better than synthetics. is that true?
what about for an electric violin? could you use something else besides a bow?
-g
Real hair is by far the best.
You can use your finger and pizzicato. 
I would freak out if my bow hair was not real after the "burn" test. I used to pay $100 or more to re-hair my bow when I lived in Sweden. Now I only pay $40-50.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Somewhere there is a herd of tailless horses, seeking revenge! They live near the legless frogs and boneless chickens.
Dave
David Burns said:
Somewhere there is a herd of tailless horses, seeking revenge! They live near the legless frogs and boneless chickens.
David, those horses aren't tailess, no one chop off their tails! They were a herd of hairless-tail horses because they only cut off their tail hair. Many people cut off their horses' tail hair any way to make them look handsome, powerful, or whatever other reasons.
I don't know about the legless frogs and boneless chicken, they probably wouldn't survive. Two frog legs = 1 life, one shrimp/prawn = 1 life. Sometimes I felt guilty eating meat, but I love meat and it's the main sources for my protein. So, one head of lettuce = 1 life, 1 head of broccoli = many future lives, 1 piece of fruit = 1 future life, etc etc.
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ok thanks. i guess that shows that man cannot remake the great nature God made 
hahahah good one! those poor boneless chickens. but technically they would be meatless chickens because we dont have the bones....now immagine a chicken skeleton running around
The maker of mostly student bows, Glasser, many years ago marketed a synthetic bow (hair) and it was around for a few years and dropped. It was hard to keep rosin on the "hair" and I think that teachers really complained.
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Well, I did the test! I have a Glasser bow and a few of the Cecilio brand bows. The Glasser bow had a broken hair and so did one of my Cecilio bows. So took the bic lighter to them over the kitchen sink. Both stunk like real hair! And having over two feet of hair on my head most of my adult life, I found out a couple times what real hair smells like when it is burnt 
Great test!
Anyone recommend great violin bows for a beginner violinist that is pretty sure he is sticking with this instrument for the rest of his life
A friend of mine from Northfield, MN recommended this guy:
http://www.mattwehling.com/ I called that number and just left a message and waiting to hear back on prices and what not.
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Ouch! Matt called me back and his bows average around $5,000 and he is solid booked so delivery about 4 to 5 months. The Minnesota Orchestra is getting all their bows made by him for violins and cellos. He said he could do a deal on refurbishing a bow for around $2,500... And said to call him anytime with violin bow questions and he will answer if I go some where else to find a bow.
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Yes, let's talk about bows! Quite a price range, isn't there. I imagine a bow is something you really need to try out to see if it is a good match for the musician and the instrument. I'm looking to possibly replace my bow within the next several months.
I've been reading that carbon fiber bows have come a long way in the last few years, and can sometimes be really nice (at least better than cheap wood bows).
Here is one guy's advice about how to choose a bow.
http://www.altmanbows.com/how_.....a_bow.html
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do yall buy bows or violins from musicians friend? i usually get stuff from them. if not them surely a local music store has good bows. that won't break the bank
-g
Bow advise from a bow maker ???????
The truth about bows is that some will sound better with your violin than other bows. The problem is which one? Price means almost nothing. I know of two people who purchased "good" bows and wound up going back to the "bad" ones.
Check to see if your distributor lends out trial bow sets to try at home. I'm almost sure that Shar does that. Contact them. Maybe Southwest Strings also.
Musicians Friend. I once bought a violin there and I did not like it. I returned for my refund and they very conveniently put my refund in the "house credit" account. I battled for about a month to get my money back.
"When you come to a fork in the road, take it!.
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I hear that Oliver. I'm not too pleased with musiciansfriend customer service or quality control lately. But I did get a great violin from their mistakes. 3rd one is a charm (Silver Creek). And I am really laughing out loud right now. Do not trust a bow maker giving bow advice when he knows you're shopping around. I'll check out those companies that you mentioned Oliver.
I found my latest Shar catalog ....... (quote) THE SHAR IN HOME TRIAL PROGRAM ........... Up to 4 bows for a 10 day trial period .......$20 to select, prep and ship home trials .....customer pays shipping ....... they insure shipment .... they supply a label for return shipping.
I believe I got that right but you certainly can verify yourself. I did not see how you start the ball rolling. Maybe a phone call ???
They have a LOT of bows!
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Thanks, I'll check it out.
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Bow makers actually work harder than you guys could imagine to produce the perfect bows. I had a good friend that was a bow maker and charged at that time about $2000 per bow. He would order very expensive wood and could only use 1 out of like 20 pieces after they were cut. I don't remember how he filtered them out but he was darn picky. He made great bows but I was never satisfied enough to spend the money. On the other hand it may be because I own 4 great and expensive bows already.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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You're right Fiddlerman. This guy Matt makes only bows and was going on and on about his process. He's serious about his work and I bet he was honest about helping me find a bow that I can afford.
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