bythesea Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Quick question. Have a Stagg EUB which I am starting to get used to (walked about three inches of that 10,000 mile journey!). I now want to get a bow. As the Stagg is 3/4 size should I go for the same in a bow or would a 4/4 be ok? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major-Minor Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 I would recommend getting a full size bow. There are some amazing deals to be had at the moment. You can pay several thousand for a top quality bow, but for a beginner I would suggest looking on ebay. I recently bought a Chinese bow on ebay for about £40 including p+p. I liked it so much, i ordered a second one ! 2 caveats to this: They do tend to be a bit on the heavy side - not ideal for spiccato playing. But that heaviness is good for getting a full fat sound - something that helps encourage the new player. Also the lapping tends to be rather poor quality. Mine started to unravel after a few weeks work and I had to completely remove it - but thats fine - the lapping isn't essential. The other good thing is the quality of the hair. In fact, rather than have my other bows re-haired (usually £40/50 a time), I might just keep buying cheap Chinese bows !! (I jest). I would suggest the brazilwood bows are likely to be the best at this price. You should also be aware that there are 2 basic types - French (overhand) and German (underhand). The French has a smaller "frog" - the black bit you hold. I have always used French and of course believe it to be the better bow ! Players get quite heated over this issue and of course there are some fabulous players using the German bow. The main thing is to be aware of the 2 different types and decide which to go for. There is lots of classical bass playing on youtube so maybe its a good idea to research this on there. The Major Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bythesea Posted June 18, 2009 Author Share Posted June 18, 2009 Much appreciated Major - detailed reply as yours always seem to be. I have been looking on ebay and this seems to tick a lot of the boxes so I think I will give [b][url="http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&ssPageName=STRK:MEWAX:IT&item=150294102829"]this[/url][/b] one a try. At that price it isn't too much of a risk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major-Minor Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 That one looks ideal - and what a great price ! Even better than the ones i got. Let us know how you get on with it. And of course you will need to get some ROSIN. That's the sticky stuff you put on the bow to make it grip the string. There are many makes. Kolstein is favourite at the moment with many orch players. Or Nymans is good - or Pops. If there is a choice of different grades always go for something like "All Weather". Some of these rosins can melt in hot weather - very messy ! Also - when you put it on the hair, make sure you cover the whole bow. And then when you play a few notes, dust off the rosin that is now on the strings. Play a few more notes and do the same again. This way you won't get clogged up with too much rosin. And a new bow will always need regular rossining (now there's a new word!) before it starts to feel right. The Major Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatgoogle Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 (edited) Ive been playing a couple of months started taking lessons, im learning with a french bow, first of all my teacher uses one so it was obvious, i also believe it streghtens your right hand alot more then a german bow well its bein doing my one a world of good. Also my teacher said if you can play something with a french bow you can probably play it with anything. I got my first bow which is still my current from china, for 60 squids, and my teacher said it was really good for a student bow and the price. Its a full size. He makes bows himself, and only uses his own now, so i trust his judgement. Also on roison, my teach advised some sweedish stuff nymans i believe, but i got some petz in cardiff for practicality, its really soft, but goes on easy, and my bows just about rigt now, i dont have roisin it as much. Also i read somewere that its good to begin with violin roisin i did it and seems grand, Edited June 18, 2009 by fatgoogle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bythesea Posted June 18, 2009 Author Share Posted June 18, 2009 Thanks for the tips Major and fatgoogle. I will let you know how I get on with the one I linked to - order now sent Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velvetkevorkian Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 [quote name='fatgoogle' post='517851' date='Jun 18 2009, 09:31 PM']Also i read somewere that its good to begin with violin roisin i did it and seems grand,[/quote] I wouldn't recommend this, DB rosin is on another level as far as stickiness goes- violin rosin will just make your bow slide, it won't grip the string at all. Likewise, don't offer a violinist your DB rosin- their bow will probably stick in place! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fatgoogle Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 i just read it and like the gullable fool i am i followed it, didnt make a difference really Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
velvetkevorkian Posted June 18, 2009 Share Posted June 18, 2009 Shouldn't do you any harm at least! I was amazed at the difference in feel I got when I started using decent rosin. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBus Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 (edited) One for the Major. How do you apply your rosin, in one direction or both directions. I've tried both but I seem to get a better grip when I apply it from frog to tip only. I know it's another topic people get hot under the coler about. Edited June 19, 2009 by BassBus Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Major-Minor Posted June 19, 2009 Share Posted June 19, 2009 [quote name='BassBus' post='518771' date='Jun 19 2009, 07:18 PM']One for the Major. How do you apply your rosin, in one direction or both directions. I've tried both but I seem to get a better grip when I apply it from frog to tip only. I know it's another topic people get hot under the coler about.[/quote] Hi BassBus. In all honesty i don't think it makes much difference which way you do it. When I first started playing 44 years ago (I know, its difficult to comprehend!!) we used powdery rosin like violin players, and we were taught to "scrub" it on at the frog and the tip and only lightly rub it on the middle of the bow. Fiddle players still do this now. In the 70's a new sticky rosin became available and we all thought it was fantastic ! At last you could get a really good grip on the string. Since then many different makes have appeared. Personally, I start at the tip, and put the rosin on in just the one direction, perhaps just 2 or 3 srcapes. But everybody has their own method. There is no "right" way to do it. Experiment - find what works best for you. And try not to get the rosin on your left hand fingers or you will be sticking to the strings. I try whenever poss to rosin up and then go and wash my hands before starting to play. Actually you should always wash hands before each playing session anyway. And clean the strings with a duster at the end of each session too. The Major Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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