Mass – the weight of
the bow including hair and lapping or grip
Length – measured from
tip to end of adjuster or button
Balance point
-measured from the front of the frog
Sound velocity – the
velocity of sound travelling through the wood. Higher velocity (over 4800 m/s)
correlates to a more responsive bow.
A few comments on internet
purchases of bows for concert strings.
Bows have several variables (Responsiveness, stiffness, density,
geometry, aesthetics) that impact how they are perceived by the player and the
listener. Bow makers, musicians, and
technologists have for many years worked to arrive at rational measures for how
a bow will function, but even today, the challenge remains to reliably
understand how a bow may perform outside of actually using it. At Hopestreet Music Emporium, we understand
the uncertainty that buyers rightfully have in paying for a bow that may look
great or may cost a lot but not live up to performance expectations. Stiffness has been a popular measure for
predicting playing characteristics for a particular bow, however, it is well
established that both stiff and flexible sticks can be quite responsive. Responsiveness has been the most tricky aspect
to quantify. In 1983, Giovanni Lucchi, a
very well regarded bow maker in Cremona, developed a tool and method to measure
the velocity of sound through tone wood and did considerable experimentation to
correlate sound velocity with bow responsiveness. In the years since, many bow and instrument
makers have used tone wood velocity as a basis to select woods and evaluate bow
performance. To help buyers know that the bow they purchase
will be the bow they want and expect, we include several key measurements including
bow mass (lighter bows can be more lively and easier for fast passages, but may
require more force to get volume), length (bowmakers have used different
lengths, and some players prefer longer or shorter bows for their repertoire),
point of balance (some players prefer a heavier tip, etc), and sound velocity through
the bow. Each element influences the bow
and contributes to the responsiveness of the bow.
With respect to
aesthetics, some very handsome bows have very modest playability, and some very
modest looking bows (for example with plain ½ lined frogs or simple leather
grip vs silver lapping) can be excellent.
The challenge to distinguish good bows from poor becomes even greater now with a number of
reproductions being made to look like bows of fine old makers.