fatgoogle Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Well just got back from a morning spent in the contrabass shop with tony trying out bows. I think I tried out about a dozen or so ranging from 900 to 3000. Whittled it down too two which I'm bringing back to Ireland to try out more. I'd recommend the contrabass shop to everyone. It is expensive but the service is great. Free coffee and biscuits too. And tony has so much knowledge and patience. And the bass's, possibly too many bass's. Some amazing examples. Ill post some pics of the bows later when im near a laptop. How do you decide between two bows? Sam Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 (edited) Blindfold test - ignore the brand ? Spiccatto , Legato, Bankbalance-ato ...you'll know what to do after a few hours playing I'm sure! Thank goodness you only came back with £4k of bows to try - was worried for you a bit there mate. With all the recent talk of sleeping on park benches - thought you might have already been last month ! Edited June 6, 2013 by ubassman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatgoogle Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 Will do. I have them for about a month so hopefully ill be able to make up my mind. Weird thing is they're two very different bows, ones quite short the other pretty long. Different weights as well yet these were my favourites. Still trying to get over that shop. Played a very nice German bass for the time I was there with low shoulders, very comfortable. And only 14 k...... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 ...you can tell that by the fact that they don't advertise their address and you have to phone to make an appointment that they got some seriously nice stuff in there! Really interested to see how the bow comparisons work out - be great to see some photos when you've got time Sam. I guess they will both have very different balance points - maybe the shorter one will be livelier but you'll get more thinking time and volume with the longer one ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
thisnameistaken Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 I sometimes go to their website when I've seen something on another website but I'd like to pay a lot more for it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassace Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Certainly a great experience to go and try all those wonderful basses. I spent the best part of a day there and Tony made me lunch. Didn't buy anything although I took one away on appro. Still on my conscience as a bit of a timewaster. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Clarky Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 [quote name='thisnameistaken' timestamp='1370534450' post='2102362'] I sometimes go to their website when I've seen something on another website but I'd like to pay a lot more for it. [/quote] Nice gear and very pretty website but their string prices are quite eye catching. Check out Velvet Garbos at £282, wow! [url="http://www.contrabass.co.uk/velvet_garbo.htm"]http://www.contrabass.co.uk/velvet_garbo.htm[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 [quote name='bassace' timestamp='1370535864' post='2102389'] Certainly a great experience to go and try all those wonderful basses. I spent the best part of a day there and Tony made me lunch. Didn't buy anything although I took one away on appro. Still on my conscience as a bit of a timewaster. [/quote] Did you keep the bass you had on approval?!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bassace Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 No, I returned it - a bit sheepishly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatgoogle Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 I was told a lot of stories of bass's shipped to Germany, Denmark, South America etc on approval and then having to be shipped back. Sounds like. Huge amount of time and money. Ill post some pics and lengths later tonight if I can or Saturday for sure. The two I settled on are about 1500 each and floated my boat more then the 2500-3000 bows that I tried. Can't quite right a good review on my phone. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 I sometimes think that if its a recognised name brand the price just gets hoiked up ! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 ....desirability and "street cred" and all that. But not necessarily the best bows. Did the shoppe have much in the way of Germans ( i know you are a Frenchie )? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatgoogle Posted June 6, 2013 Author Share Posted June 6, 2013 I saw about 4 Germans out but I presume he must have more. Neither of the bows I have a are branded or rather brands didn't come into it. I have a maker for the short now scribbled down somewhere. Luckily I don't know a huge amount about bows and makers so it wasn't something that could sway me. Pure feel. And I don't mind the look of bows. The bass I was playing however played and sounded great but was ugly as hell. I don't know if I could of owned it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted June 6, 2013 Share Posted June 6, 2013 Have you got the Essentials of Sevcik? That would be a good test of the bows working through some of those? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatgoogle Posted June 11, 2013 Author Share Posted June 11, 2013 Here's a pic of the bows. Bad iPhone quality but.. The one on the bottom is my carbon fiber yita music bow, next up a oldish German French bow with an ebony button. I presumed this had originally been a German bow but apparently that was just how it was made. Next is a 1920's French bow. I think i was told that this one was by quite a famous maker but only the stick was original now. The carbon fiber hair length is 22.25". But my favorite so far is the really short bow which is 19.5" so a big difference. The German one seems to balance the best, probably due to the extended button but i don't think its quiet there for me. Ive been trying them out with my usual practice routine and then playing the third movement of Beethoven's fifth and Koussevitzky Double bass concerto mov 1. Ill report back in a few days when ive had more time to play with them. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Quite a leap of size between your carbon fibre and the top bow - bet they all feel very different. ...what do you reckon to the black hair? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatgoogle Posted June 11, 2013 Author Share Posted June 11, 2013 (edited) First time ive ever played black hair, i asked the guy who rehairs my bows about it and he said it was gimmicky in his opinion but im quite enjoying. Very growly and very quick to grip the string. Not as smooth or singie(i dont know if this is the correct word but im sure you get my point) as silver hair. For orchestral stuff i imagine ill be hooked on the black hair. It gets a bit raspy in thumb position but i might be using a bit too much hair compared with the silver. I imagine a smoother less sticky rosin then pops would work well on the black hair. Ill have to do some research. I have to say i love the short bow, very quick and bouncy and a lot of articulation in the notes especially on the top of them. I just have to be a bit more conservative in my movements. Also im very proud to say that even though the carbon bow isnt up to the level of these two bows it really does perform well. I think i payed €200 or so for it and i dont think for that price youll find a better bow. Defiantly worth checking out. Also been getting a lot of comparisons of wand tryouts from friends. Double bass/hogwarts i dunno. Edited June 11, 2013 by fatgoogle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 [quote name='fatgoogle' timestamp='1370946507' post='2107714'] Also been getting a lot of comparisons of wand tryouts from friends. Double bass/hogwarts i dunno. [/quote] "...spicatto-tippicus-maximus" Do you reckon that the short length bow feels more like a bow for solos? What is it like on those long legato and [i][b]pp [/b][/i][font=arial, helvetica, sans-serif]notes[/font][i][b]? [/b][/i] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatgoogle Posted June 11, 2013 Author Share Posted June 11, 2013 Sort of the opposite. Finding it surprisingly easy to play quiet legato passages with a lot of movement. Playing FF long notes is more tricky and requires more weight then im used to at the moment. For instance the opening of beethovens fifth, third mov is very easy and practical in one bow for some reason while that long extended loud wide B in the opening of the koussevitzky concerto is proving more challenging. Also the grip of the black hair makes pp notes very easy, not pressure or thought needed. Ill have to experiment with tempo's, see how much i can get out of one bow. Any recommendations for a very smooth rosin thats less sticky then pops(i think everything is less sticky then pops) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cattytown Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 You can tell they are serious by their listing of budget basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Owencf Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 [quote name='cattytown' timestamp='1370961254' post='2107974'] You can tell they are serious by their listing of budget basses. [/quote] Call for pricing scares me stupid...HOW MUCH!! *Click* Yo fatgoogle, i use Nymans Bas (purple can) give me a nice pinch and its not to powdery. undoubtedly many other options will present themselves shortly Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatgoogle Posted June 11, 2013 Author Share Posted June 11, 2013 Ive used nymans, not a huge fan of it, id take it over petz though. God that was an awful rosin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 Did you see Klaus Stoll on the Scherzo and Trio for the 5th? He has what looks like quite a short German with black hair ... [url="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyouRYAq-tE"]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyouRYAq-tE[/url] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ubassman Posted June 11, 2013 Share Posted June 11, 2013 [quote name='fatgoogle' timestamp='1370968575' post='2108081'] Ive used nymans, not a huge fan of it, id take it over petz though. God that was an awful rosin. [/quote] Been wanting to try the Bernadel which I think is quite a pale colour . My Gaston Brohan is very dark and would be a bit too sticky for black hair - I guess maybe something a bit more powdery and brittle would do the trick http://www.thestringzone.co.uk/gustave-bernadel-rosin ...1st dibbs if you decide to buy it and don't like it !! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatback Posted June 12, 2013 Share Posted June 12, 2013 The bow hair colour subject is interesting. I read somewhere that brown hair may be the best compromise for db. Anybody tried it? I'm hoping that blonde, mermaid's hair might do the trick for me, if I can source some. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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