Quote:
Originally Posted by Justin Leonard
How does the thickness of the ribbon of hair affect the sound drawn in terms of loudness and affect of short attacks clarity. I don’t mean width I mean literally how much hair has what effect. Please do not rant about the hairs color or quality, or the stick weight, distribution or etc.; or the instrument or strings. only the thickness of the hair. ie: a thin amount of hair -vs- a thick amount of hair
change of mind, responses can include how they sound on bel cantos GDA or Helicore orchestral ext E strings.
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Thickness of the ribbon across it's width? I thought it was one hair per string going across the ribbon. I am not totally sure what you are saying, sorry.
By more hair we mean closest to a full ribbon and by less, we mean hairs have broken off. When the ribbon is down to 3/4 or less of its original width, it has usually already lost its grip to hold rosin and/or become dried out or brittle.
Sometimes when I have a bow re-haired, I don't like it as much as when it was down 10-20% and nicely broken in.
Too much hair if uneven at all across the ribbon can sound scratchy. As the loose ones break, the sound gets cleaner.
Since I am allowed to say how they sound on bel cantos GDA or Helicore orchestral ext E strings I must say I am NOT a fan of Helicore strings. Mixing them with smooth Belcantos I can't see but without the Extension E/C Belcanto I can see that the regular E might be too soft for those basses that are weak below the A. On that note, I don't think it matters what the strings are. Good haird bows are good haired bows period. Some bows work better on some basses so don't ignore that fact.
Now, about the
hairs color or quality, or the stick weight, distribution you will have to come for a lesson as this is not totally free information.
When you post a question here, be prepared to see the answers stray with the minds of those who post. Limiting how people can talk or express themselves might result in less replies. In this case so far it was zero before I came in.
I have a Bow I just got and it has Black hair
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The Stick is on the lighter side but grabs well because of the quality of the stick and not the craftsmanship of the bow so much in my opinion.
I have another Bow of good quality that grabbed better before it was re-haired when it had older hair with only 3/4s of its ribbon left. Now it needs to be played in again, the hair, not the stick.
Some bows grab better on some basses depending on the string tension and bass quality believe it or not. Also, wood has its own sound and frequencies. If you don't believe me, drop two different basses down the stairs, one at a time of course and see if they sound the same. Record the sounds and then do a blindfold test later on see if you or anyone one else can guess which bass is which as they tumble down the stairs self-destructing. Then, you can hear all of the wood in each bass.
Was that allowed or off topic to your question?
Ok, time to walk the dog. He's waiting and I need to put my shoes on to take him out.
