Don Rickert Musical Instruments

So You Think You Need a Pernambuco Fiddle Bow, Eh?

Well, okay...some people actually do need a pernambuco bow. Read on. In a recent article, Making Sense of the New Carbon Fiber Bows, I expressed a strong preference for the new generation of braided carbon fiber bows, for violin, fiddle, viola and octave violin (sometimes called baritone violin) for meeting the needs of the modern player. Considerations I covered in the previous article were: Whether or not the bow is to be used to play violin/fiddle or octave violin/fiddle, concluding that the octave violin or fiddle player should use a viola rather than a violin bow Do you need a “forgiving” bow or does your playing demand a “race horse” bow? Are you a fiddler or a violinist? (a minor consideration really)  Considerations NOT covered in depth in the previous article: Cost, as the best high-performance modern carbon fiber bows are all in the $400 to $900+ range, which is FAR less than the cost of a good wooden bow Situations for which the player actually needs a quality wooden bow…that will be covered in this article Our Conclusions About High-Performance Carbon Fiber Bows: The CodaBow Diamond NX is the way to go if you desire a really nice but forgiving bow. The Glasser Braided Carbon Fiber Octagonal Shaft is the best buy for a fiddler in need of an extremely high-performance bow. The CodaBow Diamond SX is our second choice FOR FIDDLERS in the high-performance class owing to its higher price than the Glasser, but our first choice... Read more →

Making Sense of the New Carbon Fiber Bows

The bow is just as important, and in some ways more important, than the instrument it is used on. There are different kinds of bows for different instruments. For example, a bow for a viola or octave (baritone) violin or fiddle is heavier, with a different balance point, than a bow for violin or fiddle. The playing characteristics any specific bow makes it more or less suitable to the playing style of the musician. Bows for Violin or Fiddle (Price range from about $400 to $900+) CodaBow Diamond Series NX Violin Bow CodaBow Diamond Series SX Violin Bow CodaBow Diamond Series GX Violin Bow Glasser Braided Carbon Fiber Octagonal Violin Bow Bows for Viola or Octave (Baritone) Violin (Price range from $400s to about $1,000) CodaBow DIAMOND NX Bow for Octave Violin or Viola CodaBow Diamond Series SX Viola or Octave Violin Bow CodaBow Diamond Series GX Viola or Octave Fiddle Bow Glasser Braided Carbon Fiber Viola or Baritone Fiddle Bow, Octagonal Stick Deciding on a New-Generation Carbon Fiber Bow Deciding on which bow is right for you can be bewildering, as they all are so-called “braided carbon fiber” and look pretty much the same, except for color and appointments, such as gold inlay, goldfish abalone, etc. on the most expensive models. All models are made of an “acoustic core” (such as Kevlar), encased in graphite fabric saturated with a hard resin (e.g. epoxy). Only the new generation of braided carbon fiber bows has this acoustic core. Fiberglass and other... Read more →

It's All About the Bow

Assuming that you have at least a moderate-quality fiddle or violin (that is properly set up) and some skill at playing it, NOTHING matters to your playing, the sound your playing makes and your development as a bowed string musician than the bow. The old rule of thumb that we old people were taught is that you should spend at least as much on your bow as you do your fiddle or violin. How many of us really followed that advice. Especially those of us who practice the fiddle discipline played on the cheapest Brazilwood or fiberglass bow that we could get our hands on. Until you play a great bow, you just can't get it--you play a lot better with a high-quality bow. Not too long ago, a great bow could cost thousands of dollars. Invariably, great bows were always made of Pernambuco wood, or occasionally Snakewood (but Snakewood is more common for Baroque bows, and that is a different topic than today's). Pernambuco bows can be real a joy to use; but there is a serious shortage of Pernambuco wood, so buying a new one could be considered irresponsible, and a good old one is going to cost you some big bucks. Today, you can get a carbon fiber or carbon graphite (they are slightly different composite materials) bow for under $500. In the case of the IncrediBow, you can get one for about $150 or less. High-end carbon fiber bows that I have played are better than... Read more →

Is a Snakewood Violin of Fiddle Bow an Alternative to Pernambuco?

No! Snakewood is for Baroque bows, which are used for playing Baroque music on Baroque violins. The wood is heavy and does not hold the camber (reverse curve) that is so critical to Tourte (i.e. modern) bows. Francois Tourte explicitly rejected snakewood as being unsuitable for his bows. We nearly cried when we heard that a vendor (yes, a competitor) sold a snakewood Tourte bow to a young fiddle student who was considering buying an entry-level carbon fiber bow (OK, yes from us). Now, you might ask, why not use a Baroque bow for modern playing. We'll get into the details some other time, but suffice it to say that Tourte did not invent the modern bow just to be different. Snakewood looks really cool, but it sucks for modern violin and fiddle bows. Unless it is vintage or made from pre-embargo pernambuco wood, getting a Pernambuco bow is irresponsible. This means that if you buy a pernambuco bow (note: Don Rickert Musical Instruments DOES sell them), it is going to be made in Europe, as it is difficult to certify Asian-made bows as legal (i.e. pre-embargo). Got comments...bring them on! D.R. Read more →

Dr. Don Rickert Revisiting the Best Bow for Octave Violins and Fiddles Question

In an earlier post, I (Don Rickert) presented more or less a summary of what various musicians use to play octave violin or octave fiddle. In that post, I mentioned that the extraordinary 'cellist and also really good fiddler, Natalie Haas, uses a French-style 'cello bow on her octave violin. Natalie has since informed me that she is now using a violin bow. I did not ask her the characteristics of her bow, as we had other business to cover; however, I assume (i.e. if I were her), I would choose a "heavy" violin bow. ALL violin bows weigh in the 56-58 grams range. A "heavy" bow is one whose balance point is further away from the frog, so that it feels heavier and "grabs" the strings with more force. That update being covered, I will talk about my two favorite bows for octave violin; the Glasser Braided Carbon Fiber Octagonal Viola Bow and the new CodaBow Diamond Series NX Viola Bow, also a "braided" carbon fiber (meaning epoxy-saturated carbon fiber fabric wrapped around a core) bow. The Glasser is pictured on the left and the CodaBow on the right. The Glasser's core, as far as I know, is proprietary or I was not paying attention when I was told. The CodaBow's core is composed of Kevlar strands. The Glasser is slightly stiffer, the octagonal shape contributing somewhat to this stiffness, as the octagonal is far stiffer than the Glasser round shaft version of the same bow, which I do... Read more →

Don Rickert on Bows for Octave Violins

There is probably no topic that stimulates more debate than which type of bow to use on an octave violin, or a regular violin for that matter. For instance, Darol Anger, indisputably the prime mover behind the resurgence in modern octave violins, uses a violin bow exclusively and has very strong opinions about its benefits. But, then again, Darol favors an octave strung standard violin for his style of playing and the type of alternative jazz-grass fusion, which is far from the mainstream. On the other extreme, the great 'cellist, Natalie Haas often uses a 'cello bow on her octave violin (a Rickert-Fiddarci with Chanot-type soundholes). Our point of view is informed by formal observational research and depth interviews with hundreds of musicians conducted by Dr. Rickert. The answer is that whatever bow works for the type of music you are playing is the right bow. For virtually ALL players, however, the right bow is a high-quality braided carbon fiber viola bow. Wooden bows of any sort are completely unsuitable for playing an octave instrument, as they tend to have too much bounce. Perhaps a $5,000 pre-moratorium Pernambuco wooden bow could do the job, but who knows, especially when you can get a bow that we know will work for about $500. The stiffness of a high-end carbon fiber viola bow pulls sound from the large diameter strings of an octave violin with minimal bounce. We favor the Glasser™ Octagonal Braided Carbon Fiber viola bow or the new CodaBow™ Diamond... Read more →