bow options

[Michael Holden]

Thanks for all the information Ken! I sent you a PM

[Michael Holden]

Hey Guys, What's the deal with Peasold? I gave them a call and talked to a guy that speaks English. They handmake all their bows in house (in Germany) and it is either made by a master bowmaker or reviewed and approved by him. That being said, why are their prices so reasonable? A Pernambuco stick, silver hardware, and highly figured abalone slide, eye and button lists at only $1,068.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Michael Holden

Hey Guys, What's the deal with Peasold? I gave them a call and talked to a guy that speaks English. They handmake all their bows in house (in Germany) and it is either made by a master bowmaker or reviewed and approved by him. That being said, why are their prices so reasonable? A Pernambuco stick, silver hardware, and highly figured abalone slide, eye and button lists at only $1,068.

So, if it Lists at $1068. what does a Dealer pay wholesale after a distributor gets his cut? How much does Paesold actually collect for the Bow themselves?

Go over to West Germany and see if you can watch someone there actually making an entire Bow. Then, go over to the Pfretzschner Shop and watch them.

List is not usually Street Price. The Street can be 20-40% lower. Then figure the Dealer is making 30-40% on average to stay in business and then YOU do the math.

So, my top Bows LIST for $800, Street is $600 and Discounted we sell them for $480. What does that mean? Less middle men I think! I doub't any of the USA Dealers actually buy direct from the Factory. Paesold is sold thru distributors in USA. Now, do not doubt the possibility that the can come from China by way of Germany.

The Last time I was in Germany, the costs were somewhat equal to here. Also, the Euro is now at about $1.31 so they are doing very well if they are buying from China. If the Dollar was equal to the Euro now, the List would only be about $815. and thats going thru a distributor and then to a Dealer and then to you.

So, all things being equal, the List is actually higher for the dealer to make money. If my top Bows were sold that way, the LIST would be $1,200.

Judge a Bow by the Bow and not by the List business and remember to count all the people making money along the way. Then think to yourself 'can this be true'? If it's too good to be true, it probably isn't!

[Michael Holden]

Yea I was actually asking about the quality of their work... not their business practices.

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Michael Holden

Yea I was actually asking about the quality of their work... not their business practices.

The Quality of Whos work? That's my point. We don't actually know who is making them. Companies will go to great lengths to protect their sources. I do not doubt that a large US Distributor does not or cannot import Bows directly from China contracted by Germany.

Asain companies drop ship as well to cut down on double shipping costs.

Find out from Pfretzschner how much their Bows cost and in Italy, call Lucchi who I know hand makes their Bows. The run $2500-$4500 from what I have seen and that's from Lucchi directly to the Bass shop, not thru a distributor.

If a Paesold 'handmade in Germany' can be 'double' wholesaled and still LIST for only $1068., then I have a Bridge in Brooklyn for sale..

I think if the Quality was anything other than average for a Student grade Bow, we would hear more about them.

[Michael Holden]

I understand what you're saying. That's why I called to make sure they list Eastmans as a distributor... so I called them they said they are Handmade in Germany... but they also sounded like they new less than I did so I wasn't sure of their info... so I went right to the source... Paesold told me that they personally in their shop... make their bows.. in Germany... they are not in Asia.. their bows never touch Asian soil.
and since I can't find a distributor for Marco Raposo bows, and on his website it doesn't look like you can purchase straight form him... Paesold may be a decent choice.

[Anselm Hauke]

Originally Posted by Michael Holden

Yea I was actually asking about the quality of their work... not their business practices.

my first bow was a paesold. i paid 600 DM (300€ now) 25 years ago.
i used the bow through my music-study and several years working fulltime in professional opera/symphony-orchestras.
i have also some other bows (kurt dölling/albert nürnberger/arcus) but the paesold did the job always good. i never heard complaints about the bow from my colleagues, only about the bow-user

[Michael Holden]

Hey Guys, I'm trying to find out some info on a bowmaker named Horst John. Does anybody have any info?

[Michael Holden]

I actually just found out. Horst John bows also go by John Brasil. Any info on them?