Bow woods

[Dave Whitla]

Not sure if this helps, but I've played two or three 'brazilwood' bows, and I would say generally that they have less density and resilience than pernambucco. Not as responsive to play, as a result. That's not exactly a large survey sample, but I personally would not buy a brazilwood bow other than as a cheap option for a student. From what I have seen, for the price one might be better off looking at carbon fibre bows...

This past summer I played my first snakewood bow. It was an absolutely beautiful bow but way too heavy and not at all balanced in a way I'd like. Snakewood seems to be used often for baroque bows, but I have never played one of those.