A Late Bultitude, #3 (a keeper!) "Better Late than Never!"

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Carlos Henriquez

I was just talking to John Scheafer, and he said Dave Pearlman and him brought most of the Bultitude's into NYC in the mid 60's. He said they bought about 10 to 15 of his bows then costing 100 dollars!! Now, they are hard to find and costing about 5k and up if in good condition.

In the Bultitude/Hill book it is mentioned that he was commissioned to make 30 bass bows a year for USA and shortly after that, refused to make anymore. He preferred to make bows one at a time for each individual player. Bultitude made over 2,000 handmade bows including a small percentage of them being for bass. The one I just got is not anything like the model from the '60s of which I've owned two of them. This latest one is something off the charts. Sue Lipkins even commented that it was an oddity and she has handles more bass bows than most.

Funny thing about the book I mentioned above. I ordered it either between having the 1st and 2nd bow or after I got the 2nd. The Book was on back order. By the time the Book came in, I no longer had a Bultitude bow. That was a real bummer for me. Waiting to read about my favorite maker (next to Sartory) and then not having a Bow to match the Book. A year or so later, I find one, my 3rd Bultitude Bass Bow. Now, I wanna read the book.. lol

When I showed the 1st Bow to Duane Rosengard a few years ago he mentioned that it was the model that Schaeffer had commissioned Bultitude to make in the '60s only my Bow came from London. Apparently not all of them were shipped over here unless that Bow made a trip home sometime between 1962 when it was made and 2003 or so when it was purchased at Auction in London. This is just another example how instruments 'come to be'. Players demand!

This one I have now is very unusual and has the thinnest Tip I have ever seen including German Bows. Yet, the Bow plays and draws a sound to die for. Like Bultitude told Brian Tunnicliffe (another British bow maker who knew Bultitude) towards the end of his life, "I'm gonna leave a few things for the so called experts out there to think about". This Bow of mine I believe is one of those things being the latest Bultitude Bass Bow we have seen or heard about to date and the oddest as well.

[Eric Swanson]

Follow up on Ken's recommendation about my Morizot, the grip, the feel, the bow's sound, etc.

Just got the bow back from the bowmaker today. Had him go halfway back to where it was before, for now, putting the curve back where it was (he had bent it a bit more, to his liking, but it ddn't work for me) and removing the tip weight.

We left the grip on for now...thinking that it is easy enough to take that off if I feel the need. I started by following Ken's practical point that one's hand is already dampening the stick at the point of contact anyway, so the grip is probably changing things in a more negligable way.

Well, Ken was spot on. The stick has come back to life and works well again, thankfully.

Jury is stil out on whether or not to keep the grip. It does seem to dampen the stick slightly, from where it was before, but the tip weight was definitely the major culprit. Most of the bow's former, nice, clear sound is back.

No charge from the bowmaker, Eric Lane...a very skilled and cool cat. He got what I was talking about right away and started talking about "inadvertantly changing the bow's nodes of vibration", etc. as soon as I mentioned a suspicion that the tip weight and/or grip was messing up the stick.

He had put the tip weight in to counteract the new grip he put on...all with the best intentions, on his part. Interestingly, the balance doesn't seem "off" at all, without the tip weight, with the grip. So, really, the "balance point" of the resting bow is relatively unimportant in this case. As Ken implied, the contact point with the hand is the axis of rotation, anyway, when the bow is in play. Static balance be hanged!

Eric Lane encouraged me to try the stick for awhile and bring it back as needed. I am tempted to have him pull the grip off, but I will be prudent. He did such a nice job on it, I certainly don't take removing his work lightly.

Thanks, Ken.

[Ken Smith]

Ok, not bad for a blind guess huh?.. lol

On the Grip, I have rarely ever seen a French Bow without some sort of grip unless it was in the process of being repaired. French Bows as far as I know have grips, period.

Now for playing the Bow, give it some time. My first Bultitude that was made in 1962 was not new when I got it a few years ago but had not been played for some time. Within less than a year, it went from being my #2 at best to my #1 Bow by FAR. The Stick needed to be warmed up a bit. Once it was warmed up, it was smoking hot!

Play the Bow you have and let it re-develop. Maybe, start a Thread on your Morizot and I might be able to move all of this relative discussion over to that and keep it all in one.

[Ken Smith]

After waiting about 7 months the Bultitude is finally back from Sue Lipkins fully restored. The time factor was not at all her fault as she is booked up for the next 5 years making Bows to meet orders. I just sent it there immediately so she could get it done as her schedule allowed.

She made a new Ebony/Silver Screw/Button for the Bow and copied an original Bultitude Screw to do so. Other than her beautiful figured Pearl in the Button which is not at all the material Bultitude used, the Screw looks as original as my other two Bows I owned in the past that were 100% original.

The Bow also has a new Silver/Leather Grip with a partial thin latex cushion grip as well as her typical high grade re-hair job.

This Bow with only a low grade whalebone imitation grip before weighed in at 142 grams. With the new grip and latex it's 152 grams in total, 147 grams without the latex. Stick wise, this is one meaty Bow. Same high grade dark dense Pernambuco as on my other two Bultitudes but this one comes in at 10 grams heavier. It's also about 1/2" longer than the others but the Head is closer in size to a German Bow. Despite its smaller Head it's actually on the Tip-heavy side believe it or not.

The Sound is huge with this Bow even more so than my other two Bultitudes from what I recall. It just doesn't look typical Bultitude until you look closely at the Stick and then you listen to the tone of the Bow when drawn across the strings.

[Robert Kramer]

Ken,
Do you prefer the French bow, or are there situations where using a German bow necessary?

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Robert Kramer

Ken,
Do you prefer the French bow, or are there situations where using a German bow necessary?

I am a French Bow player, period. To me it's like either being right handed or left handed. It's not like Tea today and Coffee tomorrow. Playing the French Bow Classically is a life time study. I can't do anything with a German Bow at all unless I hold it like a French Bow so why bother.

Simply, I play French.

[Ken Smith]

While at the ISB this past week I showed this Bultitude to one of today's leading Bass Bow experts and was told it is 'not' a late Bultitude but rather a very early example. He pointed out the Cello like features of the head as well as some Hill'ish features as this was made just after Bultitude left Hill. The Bow is stamped in the normal way but it is not numbered like many of his other Bows. perhaps it was before he started numbering them. Either way, this Bow beside being a fantastic example is also Historic being one of the earliest known Bultitudes seen to date.