Christopher Basses and Resale/Trade Value

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Joel Larsson

The mysteries of life...

Sounds like a sound idea to get a good bow, though! For 2k you could get a good master bow.

And what Master Bow would that be now? A real Master, Classic, new maker or a wannabe? I have not seen Master grade French Bows in the last few decades anywhere near 2k. Even 20 or 30 years ago my Sartory was more than that on the market.

[Joel Larsson]

Ah, hm, just checked where the dollar is at these days... turned out that it was about two thirds of what I thought it was! Oh well. Always the up to date guy.

Edit: Over here in Europe the Döllings, Hoyers and their counterparts starts at about €2-2,5k. The better ones sells for over €3k. €2000 would make about $2600.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Joel Larsson

Ah, hm, just checked where the dollar is at these days... turned out that it was about two thirds of what I thought it was! Oh well. Always the up to date guy.

Edit: Over here in Europe the Döllings, Hoyers and their counterparts starts at about €2-2,5k. The better ones sells for over €3k. €2000 would make about $2600.

Yes, ok, but Dollings and Hoyers are NOT what I would consider a 'MASTER' grade Bass Bow. Not by any stretch of the imagination.

Survey 100 Pro Orchestra Bassists that play French bow and list what they use. To judge what a Master Bow is, make sure you survey the Master players in the Major Orchestras like the LSO, NY Phil, Philly, National, MN, etc.. I think that the German Bow might be more popular in your area but for French Bow prices in USA, check with the USA and UK Orchestras.

[Joel Larsson]

True, I know only one person who plays a French bow made by Hoyer; he had some copies made of his own old French pedigree bows (which it is safe to presume are still his main bows).
You'll quite easily find a French or German bow by one of the Döllings for about €2k and slightly below, although I see why that would appear as too cheap a solution to some people (which it probably is).

I was just making the point that this is where you will start getting bows made by a real master maker; isn't this what the word "master" refers to?