Gear review - Cheap German Bows

I just spent a few months searching for a new German bow, and thought I would share some of what I learned. I only tried bows which were "affordable" for me (the budget I set for myself was under $800). The stick I brought home was considerably under that budget.

Here are the bows I tried which are worth mentioning:

-David Gage "Metropolitan" bow: a carbon fiber bow with white hair. This bow felt great. It was very well-balanced, very light (certainly under 140 gr) and easily controlled off of the string. The tone was incredibly even, and the notes spoke very cleanly on bow changes and string changes. The only weak area was in the volume of the sound; it seemed to "mute" the note a little when playing forte or above,. It just didn't seem to want to put out as much volume as a cheaper brazilwood bow. The Metropolitan bow retails over $800, but the one I had on trial was from a private seller who was selling it for $650. If money were no object, I would have wanted to keep this bow as a backup or traveling bow (carbon fiber is reportedly very durable and isn't affected by climate changes), but decided to send it back and move on . . .

-Arcos Pernambuco bow: These are Brazilian-made bows. I tried two models, both from Robertson's violins. Both were very good.

The first was a nickel wound bow, 142 gr, a bit on the longer side (I didn't take measurements), and was very nice. It was fairly well-balanced, pulled an even, round sound, and had some power if you put a little extra work into it. It retailed for $670.

The second Arcos bow was one step up, I believe it was called a "nickel/silver wound" bow. (I'll look up the model number on these if I have a chance. Hey, if anyone leaves a comment here asking me, I'll drop everything and look them up right away!) This bow was similar to the one described above, but it was meatier, and pulled a bigger sound with less work. The only drawback was that it was on the shorter side, losing about an inch of playable hair at the tip. I love playing at the tip, especially for solos and bowing exercises, so this matters to me. This bow was slightly over budget, retailing for just over $800.

-Ken Smith Basses: Ken's shop recently started selling well-priced Chinese made bows. I had a chance to try two different models at my luthier's shop: The Fendt and the Domenico. They're both quality bows, which happen to come with black hair (which is my personal favorite) and are on the longer side. They're both worth a try.

The Fendt model was very well-balanced and light feeling Pernambuco bow weighing in the low 140s. It played easily, but, much like the carbon fiber bow, it just didn't seem to want to draw a very loud sound. It was very even and controllable, though, and handled well off of the string. For some odd reason, I got the feeling that this stick wanted to be a French bow - I'm not really sure why, it was just the impression I got. It was certainly a good bow, and well-priced (listed on-line at $600 - this particular one was selling cheaper.)

The Domenico model is a lower grade "Fine quality brazilwood" bow. It was a little bit heavier (146 gr), but still relatively well-balanced and controllable. This stick pulled a louder sound for me, but still played fairly evenly. It does pull sort of a "raw" sound at first: it can take a little extra work to get the notes to start clearly on bow changes (I'm not sure if this has to do with the grade of the wood or not). However, I determined that this one was the best overall value for me, and it's the one I have at home right now. It lists at $200 on the website, but I payed $300 + tax for mine (either because I'm a sucker, or because this one is a little better than the others: you decide).

The Domenico bow was well under my budget, and I'm playing it happily now. It's a fine upgrade for me, as I was playing a flimsier Chinese brazilwood bow before, which still draws a decent sound, but doesn't recover well from off of the string. I guess I will continue to shop over the next couple of years, though . . . I would appreciate any suggestions other German bowists would care to send my way. If you know of any good, reasonably priced German bows that are worth a try, leave a comment!