Cheap double bass bow.

[kedo]

When I bought my 3/4 Stentor Elysia double bass about 6 years ago, it came with bow. In spite of having played DB in schools orchestras when I was young, I can't seem to get a good sound with the bow - scratchy with squeaks. I have hybrid strings by Helicore HH610 medium tension. I'm wondering if the bow is strung with synthetic material or something, or am I just crap (that's possible)? It may also be the bass, which is ok, but not as resonant as I would like. If it's me, then I would appreciate a pointer to a Youtube video related to bass bowing technique.

Thanks

[SubsonicSimpleton]

Go for a lesson with a good teacher, they will be able to look at all aspects of what you are doing, and all aspects of the bow/hair/rosin/strings/bass and identify what the problem is - a while back I was getting frustrated with playing on the E string in general and failing hard at portato on the A and E string and thinking about getting a bow rehair or changing strings, and my teacher immediately identified the problem was that I wasn't using enough rosin, a youtube vid would never have helped in that sort of situation.

With regard to getting a good sound, it takes time - my arco sounded like randy cats having an orgy on a set of broken bagpipes while a couple of sealions with tourettes cheered them on for at least 6 months, it's taken over a year to sound reasonable on a consistent basis on material that isn't pushing the boundaries of my technical abilities.

If you really want to do youtube, Jeff Bradetich, Mark Morton, Gealen McCormick, Barry Lieberman, Lauren Pierce and Geoff Chalmers are all worth checking out - there is probably more available that doesn't spring directly to mind right now.