Comments

• MacKeagan ✭

  January 2014 Posts: 51

  Ah, I forget to mention--I am using those inexpensive carbon-fiber bows, if that makes a difference, and Hills' Dark rosin.
• Jazzaferri Victoria B.C.Moderator Dunn Ultrafox, DuPont MDC20 Gretsch Chet Atkins CG

  January 2014 Posts: 3,707

  This from the violin player in our duo. Get a really good bow. His cost nearly 5k vs his violin at 3k (both several years ago.).

  

  The Magic really starts to happen when you can play it with your eyes closed
• MacKeagan ✭

  January 2014 Posts: 51

  Different (bow)strokes fer different folks, I guess. To be fair, I've never owned a bow that cost over $100 US, but I'm real pleased with the carbon fiber--good balance, good weight, nice straight sticks. And, far as I know, pernambuco wood is still on the endangered list. I read somewhere that in Mozart's day, bows were dirt cheap so when the hair went bad, they just burned them in the fireplace... :hmmm:
• Jazzaferri Victoria B.C.Moderator Dunn Ultrafox, DuPont MDC20 Gretsch Chet Atkins CG

  January 2014 Posts: 3,707

  Robert said his bow made a huge difference then proceeded to show me playing the same thing with his old and new.
  
  Like going from a base model Gitane to a great old Busato. Convinced me.lol
  
  

  The Magic really starts to happen when you can play it with your eyes closed
• Mandobart ✭✭ Mandolin, Octave Mandolin, Mandocello, Fiddles

  January 2014 Posts: 100

  A basic rule of thumb for most fiddlers I know is 3:1 ratio; so play a $3000 violin with a $1000 bow. I know a bow freak in Lahaina who has sunk hundreds of thousands on bows. I play mostly 5-string 16" violas now, so I like a heavier viola bow with dark cello rosin. I like the Incredibow viola bow currently.
• Mandobart ✭✭ Mandolin, Octave Mandolin, Mandocello, Fiddles

  January 2014 Posts: 100

  Here is another cool string option. I put Octave (not to be confused with octava) strings on my old, overly bright Roth student violin. These are an octave below regular pitch and bring a violin down into the cello range. Cool sound, but you have to amplify it to really hear it well. Aka "chin-cello."

  
• AndyW Glasgow Scotland UK✭✭✭ Clarinets & Saxes- Selmer, Conn, Buescher, Leblanc et.al. // Guitars: Gerome, Caponnetto, Napoli, Musicalia, Bucolo, Sanchez et. al.

  January 2014 Posts: 600

  A number of players recommended "Dominant" strings to me, but I'm using D'addarios sets for now. I 'd like to try a 'heavy gauge" set , wondering if hat would improve projection / tone etc. Though my fiddles are both very old, low-budget no-namers (about £70 each) and bows are cheap new beginners bows (£15 each) -Andy-
• Jazzaferri Victoria B.C.Moderator Dunn Ultrafox, DuPont MDC20 Gretsch Chet Atkins CG

  January 2014 edited January 2014 Posts: 3,707

  I just asked Robert (he is classically trained with. BA in violin performance if that matters) and he uses Evah Pirazzi (spelling may be off a bit) regular but they run about 100 a set.
  
  He says they give a fairly bright sound and are more for solo work than Orchestral.

  The Magic really starts to happen when you can play it with your eyes closed
• MacKeagan ✭

  January 2014 Posts: 51

  Never tried Pirazzis. They probably sound great. I just put the Praezisions on both my fiddles, and of course I'll want to wear them out, but I might consider the Pirazzis.
  Like the octave-strings idea, too--wonder how they'd sound on a viola?
• Mandobart ✭✭ Mandolin, Octave Mandolin, Mandocello, Fiddles

  February 2014 Posts: 100

  They also make octave strings for viola (C-G-D-A vs G-D-A-E). Scroll down to the bottom of the link. Same pitch as a 'cello, but of course not the same timbre on a smaller bodied instrument.