Bow for a newbie!

[lobematt]

Hi guys I'm looking for a bow to work on my intonation with at home. I have got no idea what I'm looking for! I'd prefer something cheap(ish!). Does material of the bow make much difference? Also French or German?

Thanks!

[stingrayPete1977]

Quite a few people have the Yita music ones off ebay on here now, I got mine as a recommendation from others on here, Jake Newman tried mine at my first lesson and he promptly bought himself one so they can't be too bad unlike my playing with it!

I asked the same question about French or German and the advice was "what does your teacher use?", I find the German one easier to start with (a cheap wooden one that came with my bass) but the French one nicer after I have settled in a bit, the German one is easy to slip into sawing the strings off mode IME.

So a vote for a carbon Yita from me and you might get a few others saying the same or at least agreeing to go for carbon unless you are spending a grand or more!

[sarah thomas]

Carbon Yita vote from me too. I went for the German style after trying both and preferring the German. Bowing is a whole new world and it's well worth having a couple of lessons if you're just starting out on the bow. If you're after a case, modified snooker cue cases are much much cheaper than pukka bow cases.

[lobematt]

Thanks for the replies! Is this the one you're talking about? http://m.ebay.co.uk/itm/150386840141?_mwBanner=1

I've also found this one which has been reduced, anybody tried these? http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/aw/d/B005GZ2UIY/ref=mp_s_a_1_10?qid=1422117062&sr=1-10&pi=AC_SX110_SY165#

This might sound like a silly question... But does the size relate to the size of the player or the bass?? So I have a 3/4 size bass, do I want a 3/4 bow or a 4/4 bow? Thanks!

[stingrayPete1977]

You want a 3/4 bow for a 3/4 bass but I see no reason why a longer bow would hurt, nothing size wise is set in stone with DB afaik?

[stingrayPete1977]

The ebay link is the right ones, mine is a standard French model, I think Jake went for the fancy weave version. The cheap wooden ones like the Antoni aren't much use from what others have said.

[Beer of the Bass]

French and German are very different to play. I went with German just because that was what was offered when I had a few lessons starting out, and I feel like I can barely play if someone hands me a French bow!

[stingrayPete1977]

I can barely play with either! Lol

[Owencf]

[quote name='stingrayPete1977' timestamp='1422120649' post='2668939']
I can barely play with either! Lol
[/quote]

Practice mate practice, blah blah blah makes perfect.
Never seen let alone used a German pattern bow, Im still rockin the French cheap student wood bow.

[stingrayPete1977]

Can't rush these things, lol

[fatgoogle]

I played a Yita bow for a bout a year then moved onto a really nice wooden stick. I now have a cheap carbow as my backup and it just out class's the yita in every way. There not expensive new and even cheaper second hand if you can find one.

The Yita is a quick stepping bow and nothing more from my experience now.

[stingrayPete1977]

What sort of money are they?

[fretmeister]

Another vote for Yita

They range from £75 to £150 or so - depends on exchange rate

I think this is the one I've got

http://www.yitamusicshop.com/ProductView.aspx?ProductID=89

[fatgoogle]

I think about 850 new i got mine second hand for peanuts. It just pulls a better sound, has much better balance and re-acts more like a wooden bow than the Yita. If i had originally got the Carbow i probably wouldn't have moved onto the Bazin.

Also I've discover you constantly need to have pressure on carbon fibre so never slacken off the hair or the bow will loose it's camber.

[stingrayPete1977]

So either spend £850 or hope to drop on another used one going for peanuts lobematt

[fatgoogle]

No need to be quite so sarcastic. €850 and in my opinion something which far outstrips the Yita bow and is worth that money more so than the Yita is. People spend so much money on a bass so why not a bow that can help them play the instrument more effectively?

Edited January 27, 2015 by fatgoogle

[SubsonicSimpleton]

Worth taking a look at amazon retailer violins4you as they seem to carry the most comprehensive stock of sub £300 bows in the UK.

http://www.amazon.co.uk/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Dmi&field-keywords=Violins4you+double+bass+bows

I just bought one of their carbon fibre french bows, but I wasn't sure exactly what I wanted so I arranged with the proprietor via email to get several bows on short term approval - all the stock is in the UK, so taking delivery and returning was very quick, and no nasty suprises with customs charges or exchange rates. I was impressed with the customer service, and the quality of all the bows I tried was good, so I picked on the basis of what felt most comfortable. Happy to pass on the email address of the proprietor via PM.

[stingrayPete1977]

[quote name='fatgoogle' timestamp='1422396673' post='2672273']
No need to be quite so sarcastic. €850 and in my opinion something which far outstrips the Yita bow and is worth that money more so than the Yita is. People spend so much money on a bass so why not a bow that can help them play the instrument more effectively?
[/quote]

I'm sure it's excellent but its 10 times the price of the Yita, next time someone asks advice on first basses I'll tell them a Classic5 Stingray at £2200 is better than a Squier for £220 and see how that goes down

Of course there are no rules as to who uses what so if the OP wants to spend more then he will get a better bow as you say, so maybe the OP needs to give an idea of what budget he wants to aim for, if its nearer the grand mark then the Yita and similar aren't going to be worth looking at I guess.

Edited January 28, 2015 by stingrayPete1977

[The Jaywalker]

I play German bow but all my students play French. Sometimes I'm not sure which i prefer; each has relative advantages and disadvantages i guess.
As far as the Yita bows go, one of my cellist colleagues bought a carbon fibre one for about £40 and A-B'd it with her Pfretzschner (which was substantially more!). Her verdict was that it compared extremely well.

[stingrayPete1977]

That's what Jake said and then voted with his own wallet!

[Burg]

I've got a Yita German. One of the fancy weave pattern ones. It looks nice, sounds horrible in my hands though.

French vs. German? There's a good vid online somewhere about the pros and cons of both which I wish I'd have seen prior to buying. Turns out, it's almost impossible to bow the E-String on my bass because of where the C bout is (for me at least). So I'd probably have gone French in retrospect. I'll probably buy a French at some point but I don;t bow enough to make it seem worthwhile. I only bought a bow to play Mr Krinkle and annoy the neighbours.

[stingrayPete1977]

Jaws theme and Mr Krinkle are my whole repetoire

[Owencf]

ive got a Killer Twinkle twinkle little star and Tell Aunty Rhody

[stingrayPete1977]

Lol

[chrkelly]

I've never liked any Yita I've picked up, they're way too long & the balance is all off. I've got a Finale carbon though that's amazing for the money. They come in at under £300 including case from the states. I've played a Grunberger Carbow in the past too that was lovely but for the purposes of the OP, it's way too much money for a beginner bow. My advice is buy Finale & be done with it. A Yita will just annoy you & your teacher in the long run. For reference, my 'proper' bow is a 3 grand Bryant & the Finale compares favourably in all aspects other than sound (you'll never get that tone from carbon).