| Author |
Comment |
Len
Thompson
Registered
User
Posts: 201
(7/30/01 3:16:49
pm)
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Bow
Modifications?
We hear quite a bit about the various cello mods that can be made.
From set-up changes, to strings, to new hardware. Eather I missed
the ones concerning bows, or there's not any. Does this mean that
you can't alter the bow much beyond a rehair, or can a good bow
maker make changes?
Len
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Christopher
Chan
Registered
User
Posts: 156
(7/31/01 12:45:31
am)
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 |
Re: Bow
Modifications?
These excerpts taken from various sites have some good info on bow
mods.
www.salchowbows.com/select.htm
Quote:
Bow Maintenance
Bows require constant, skilled attention
if they are to be preserved in good condition. And condition is an
important factor in determining price and salability. So if fine
condition is not maintained, the value of your investment will
decline.
What has your bow done for you lately? Is it
doing all that it can for your playing? Many factors can influence
the performance of a bow, for better or worse.
The first
consideration is sound; the difference in sound between one bow
and another can be staggering. So if you want to improve your
performance, look for a bow which brings out the best tonal
qualities of your instrument. Beyond that, and assuming that your
bow does have "the sound," many mechanical problems can prevent
your bow from functioning at its best. For maximum strength and
resistance, the evenness of the curve is crucial. Any "break" in
the camber can cause the stick to collapse on the string at that
point. If the stick is not centered over the hair, this can cause
major loss of resistance. If the stick is weak, bringing it over
to the "good" side can greatly improve strength. Balance can also
be corrected and improved, giving better spiccato and overall ease
of playing. A loose frog is dangerous, leading to frog damage. And
long hair can expose the stick to wear by the thumb, causing loss
of value as well as changing the playing characteristics of the
bow.
www.tourte.com/
Quote:
Bows can often be "customized" to suit a particular player by
changing the weight and balance slightly. This should only be done
by a competent bow specialist, not an amateur.
A maker can change things
like the tip (bone or metal), the screw, the windings(silver adds
more weight than whalebone would for instance), frog weight, etc. A
maker can also make irreversable changes by removing wood from the
bow, but it probably isn't a good idea for expensive
bows.
You can also add surgical tubing to the bow to get a
better grip and relieve some tension.
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Len
Thompson
Registered
User
Posts: 202
(7/31/01 4:26:30
pm)
Reply
|
Re: Bow
Modifications?
Christopher,
Many thanks for your reply. I have not read
all the info from the sites yet, but I intend to. There may be some
hope for my bow yet. Thanks again!
Len
|
Andrew
Victor
Registered
User
Posts: 371
(8/2/01 9:40:39
am)
Reply
|
Re: Bow
Modifications?
You can try experimenting with hair tightening. If your bow has
enough hair, you can vary the tightness to see what this does to the
sound quality, the response on all the notes (just play scales), and
the ability to vary volumn and the range of "bowing points" (or
sounding points) you can use.
Sometimes luthiers use a
standard amount of hair that is not optimal for the particular bow
and you may have to use different degrees of tighness after a
rehairing - the same thing appleis when the humidity
changes.
If a bow has too much hair it may not be possible to
get it tight enough, even when the stick has been tensioned to "full
straightness" the tension in each individual hair may not be highe
enough for optimum sound - this espeically happens with soft
sticks.
With stiff sticks, it is possible to have too little
hair in the bow, and when optimum tension in the individual hairs is
achieved, onecannot maintain adequate standoff of the hair from the
stick.
The balance that can be changed by weight changes at
either tip or frog can make major differences in the way a bow
handles and plays.
I've yet to find a bow maker (or expert)
willing to commit to or even state what it is that different bow
acoustics are really doing to change the sound of an instrument.
They seem to agree that more resonant sticks sound better.
Obviously a stick that vibrates when it is played has picked up
vibrations from the hair. It is taking energy to make the stick
vibrate. This energy is removed from the hair. I reason that
removing vibrations from the hair allows continuation of smoother
hair contact with the string and purer sound with no "bad notes."
So, the resonant stick is actually damping the hair vibrations - I
think - and that is in the wood and what the maker did with it.
Since bows of various weights and stiffnesses can have these
sound characteristics, I think it must be some intrinsic property of
the wood - more like the speed of sound therein - that is a dominant
factor (but I'm not sure). This is one thing no luther can change.
But the tension in the hair will affect how the hair couples with
the stick - and this WE can vary. I've certainly changed the way a
number of my bows play - in every way (including the sound) by
changing weight, balance (more important by far than actual total
weight), the tensions (hair standoff from bow) I try playing with,
and the number of hairs in a bow. (It is easier and cheaper to give
a bow a careful haircut than it is to have it rehaired!)
Andy
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