| Author |
Comment |
pogostick21
Registered
User
Posts: 7
(5/25/01 4:49:20
pm)
Reply
|
How important is
it to have a good bow?
OK, when I bought my cello a year ago, I got a bow with it. Thing
is, it's basically a piece of wood with horse hair  Anyway, if
I were to buy a much better bow, would this affect the sound quality
of my cello much or is it a waste of money?
Thank
you,
Dave
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lblake
Registered User
Posts: 363
(5/25/01 9:11:12 pm)
Reply
|
Re: How
important is it to have a good bow?
Very important. At least, the difference a nice bow can make is a
big difference.
Go try some at a local shop - you'll very
quickly hear and feel the differences. Try really nice bows, too.
What do you have now? Is it really that bad? General rule
seems to be, a bow is worth about 1/3 what the cello is worth.... is
your bow at that level?
I play a lot better when i play with
my teacher's bow, which is worth twice what my cello is worth....
but, i'm not going to go out and get a bow like that.
.... try them - see for yourself! Bow shopping is FUN!!!
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Ryan
Selberg 
Registered User
Posts: 228
(5/27/01 12:30:21 am)
Reply
|
Re: How
important is it to have a good bow?
A better bow is an important investment, as important as a better
cello. For some very useful and helpful people, contact Ellen Gunst
at Cellos2Go.com (lots of good bows available at very reasonable
prices, including a good selection of carbon fiber bows, which are a
very good quality for the dollar) or Tom Dignan at
Dignanbows@aol.com. Tom is an excellent professional bowmaker, but
is carrying a fine selection of "student bow" make in Brazil. These
are excellent bows, many of which are priced below $1000. I have
recently had two students purchase bows, one was a Coda Classic from
Cellos2Go and the other was a Brazilian bow from Tom
Dignan.
As a teacher, I am happy when my students acquire
better equipment, because it allows them to concentrate on the
music. Better cellos/bows enable the player to get a quality sound,
sustain sound, do a wider variety of bowstrokes, etc.
Good
luck,
Ryan
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42
Registered
User
Posts: 181
(5/29/01 12:14:43
am)
Reply
|
Re: How
important is it to have a good bow?
just a quick question..... where does this 1/3 thing come from?
that seems high to me........
for referece I use a bow worth
roughly 10% of what my cello is worth and I am very happy with this
bow. BUT if it turns out to be this way I could talk myself into
spending more or getting a second(good) bow.
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lblake
Registered User
Posts: 365
(5/29/01 7:32:06 pm)
Reply
|
Re: How
important is it to have a good bow?
I think it's a little arbitrary.... but, it seems to suit beginner
cellos pretty well. I've also heard 1/4. I can tell you, though,
when I bought my cello - which was my first cello - just a simple
student instrument, I also bought a bow. I tried several bows -
usually between 1/4 and 1/3 the price of the cello I ended up with.
I bought the one that was 1/3 because it was dramatically better
than the ones at 1/4 the cello. And, when you're talking a $2-3K
instrument, you're talking about a difference of a couple hundred
dollars. At first, I hesitated about that, then my teacher at the
time pointed out, "if you can't afford the better bow, then wait
until you can and buy it then. You're talking about something that
you will use every day. It is worth having the one you like best."
And, I thought that was an excellent point. Using it every day, a
couple hundred dollars was worth it. Otherwise, I'd have probably
been regretting my choice every day, and longing for the clearly
better bow.
The next level of bow that I have been trying is
way more than I can afford, so even though I long for it, I don't
regret the bows I have now. Bows can just make such a dramatic
difference, I think it's worth investing in them.
Well, that
line of thinking works for me, anyway. If you're
happy with a 1/10 value bow, then that can be right, too! I think
the really really important thing is that you're happy with it.
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Andrew
Victor
Registered User
Posts: 325
(5/30/01 9:48:18 am)
Reply
|
Re: How
important is it to have a good bow?
I think the reason you're not getting more responses to this thread
is because lblake is doing such a fine job of passing on good
information.
Andy
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