New bow by Sue Lipkins

[Eric Swanson]

Hi Folks,

I want to express my gratitude to Ken, who let me try his Ode to Sartory bow by Sue Lipkins when I met him. At that moment, I knew that I wanted something similar.

I contacted Sue and joined her waiting list. A while ago, I was fortunate enough to be able to meet her and visit her workshop. We talked and played a bit; she skillfully and patiently helped me describe what I hoped for in a bow.

Last Friday, she sent me my new bow. It is as close to being a "magic wand for the bass" as I could wish. It exceeds all of my hopes.

With a clear, loud, and warm sound, the bow hugs the strings, bounces easily, and articulates well. I think something and the bow does it. Using it is as close to effortless as playing can be.

140.5 grams, octagonal stick, silk wrap, Parisian eye.

I'll share an "overall length" photo when I get one. For now, here are the frog and head.

I can't imagine being happier with it. The process of working with Sue was a true pleasure.

What a great experience! I feel very, very lucky to have this bow!

[Ken Smith]

Beautiful bow.. I haven't played many bows in my lifetime that can compare and those were classics.

[Eric Swanson]

Thanks, Ken. I feel very lucky. You inspired me.

When I was a young journeyman cabinetmaker, back in the early and mid '80's, I got "into" edge tools. I wanted the toughest, "best" chisels and plane irons.

I bought myself a few handmade Japanese chisels from Woodline, The Japan Woodworker.

http://www.japanwoodworker.com/categ.../Chisels.aspx?

When I brought them into work, one of the older Italian cabinetmakers said, "This chisel is better than you are." It wasn't something that pleased me to hear, but he was right.

On the other hand, the better tools inspired me and made a higher level of work easier to pull off. I had to grow as a woodworker even to hope to be worthy of the tools. While I'll never know if I did, or not, I tried and continue to try.

That's how I feel about this bow. It is better than I am, as a bassist. It inspires me to grow, to be worthy of it. If I can't play something now, it is my shortcoming, not the bow's!

Makes me want to play and practice. What is nice about it is that the practice time is more quickly rewarded.

As I get older, having something that makes my practice time more productive is helpful...

[Jeremy Darrow]

My former teacher came for a visit yesterday and brought his Lipkins bow, it was beautiful and put more energy through the bass than any other stick I have played.

Congrats on yours, I'm sure it's a killer!

[Ken Smith]

Eric, you will find as time goes that this will make it easier to play certain things that were before hard to play. Like my original old Sartory I played for 15 years in NYC, my Lipkins makes things that were once hard to execute a thoughtless process. As if, there is no problem now.

[Eric Swanson]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

Eric, you will find as time goes that this will make it easier to play certain things that were before hard to play. Like my original old Sartory I played for 15 years in NYC, my Lipkins makes things that were once hard to execute a thoughtless process. As if, there is no problem now.

It certainly motivates me, anew, to practice! I am not yet as comfortable with the new bow as I am with my old one, which doesn't help sound production, of course...

I am sure that my nervous system's connections will get used to it, with a couple of weeks of focused work on the right arm/hand.

The bow has such a clear sound that it makes playing higher up on the A and E strings much more appealing; much less muddy there, now, which helps with certain fingering possibilities.

The bow's clarity also points up some left hand issues/slop that I haven't noticed ; the softer, more diffuse sound of my other bow was obscuring some poor technique, I can tell now.

After only a week, it is already kicking my playing (and awareness of my technical shortcomings) up a few notches. I am looking forward to the bow and I really getting used to each other.

[Abe Gumroyan]

Can you believe I’m going to be at the top of Sue’s list in about 2 months or so !!! I got on the list in 2012. Beyond excited lol !!

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by Abe Gumroyan

Can you believe I?m going to be at the top of Sue?s list in about 2 months or so !!! I got on the list in 2012. Beyond excited lol !!

What? 11 years?? wow..

[Abe Gumroyan]

Ken - wow is right lol