Dear Mel,
After three years of violin lessons, I’m looking to upgrade from an adequate student bow to something more responsive and lively, and that I can continue to grow with. I see on Piccolo’s Music web site that they are a dealer for the Codabow brand of carbon fiber bows. Call me a stick-in-the-mud, but I thought that all good violin bows were made out of a South American hardwood called pernambuco. Are carbon fiber violin bows even worth considering? I’ll give them a try if you can give me five good reasons why I should.
Signed, Old School
Dear Old School,
Ahhh, the wonderful three-year mark. For many violin students, this is when all the hours of playing really begin to show results. Something clicks, and the bow suddenly feels like an extension of your hand instead of a twig with a hank of horsetail tethered to both ends. Sounds to me like you’ve had the epiphany: all this time you thought you were learning to play violin, only to realize that you’ve learned to play the bow. Congratulations!
But now the quality of the bow truly matters, eh? Let’s ponder that for a minute. What makes for a “good” violin bow? What specific qualities do we look for?
First off, a good bow should be stable, not overly bouncy or skittish. A stable bow feels balanced in your hand, not too heavy toward either the tip or the frog. It runs straight and smooth when you draw the length of it over a string. (You can sight down the length of the bow to check for any sideways curve or warping.)
But a good bow also needs to be lively, responsive to your lightest touch. For this, you want to be able to feel the string’s vibrations in your hand, especially where your index finger and thumb touch the stick. This is a subtle feel--not buzzing like a power sander. But in a good stick the vibrations come through. The stick should also retain some camber when the hair is up to playing tension. You want a bit of springiness (without undue bounce).
Finally, a good bow is comfortable. The frog should be free of sharp edges, and the pad should feel slightly tacky for traction with your index finger.
Now on to wood vs. carbon fiber.
Based on the above criteria, you may find that carbon fiber actually does a better job than pernambuco or other hardwoods. Carbon fiber is light for its strength and incredibly stable. Carbon fiber bows are almost unbreakable under normal use, and they won’t warp. When properly constructed, the carbon fibers transmit vibrations and “feel” as well or better than wood and they project volume very well (some companies are now making professional quality violins and cellos completely out of carbon fiber).
Sure, some people simply prefer the look and feel of pernambuco. In blind trials, however, I could not tell which bows were wood and which were carbon fiber. I conducted my own “taste-off” between Coda carbon fiber and a range of pernambuco bows, and the Coda bows always came out on top.
With these qualities in mind, Coda models their bows after the best traditional wooden bows. The result is a strong, powerful, lightweight, well-balanced, lively bow that is nearly indestructible, and at a price far below most wooden bows of equal quality. Also, all Coda bows come with the finest horse hair and can be rehaired in the traditional manner.
Piccolo’s Music carries a wide range of Coda bows for violin, viola, cello, and bass. The top-of-the-line Diamond series is often the professional’s choice. The Prodigy and Joule series offer the same state-of-the-art quality for specialized uses. Bassists can choose between the Infinity and Revelation bows, available in both French and German styles. Gold, silver, and nickel mounts allow for a range of affordable pricing. And remember, Coda bows ship free from Piccolo’s Music!
No comments:
Post a Comment