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Old 11-06-2008, 07:32 AM
Eric Swanson's Avatar
Eric Swanson Eric Swanson is offline
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Default The subtlety of our bows

One of my former teachers, Terry Plumeri, once gave me his #3 bow, a Louis Morizot, out of pure generosity. I was young, going out into the world to play, and he wanted to help. I was broke, as a kid/young adult, so the gift was a mind-blower.

The bow came to me ungripped. Compared to more beautifully made sticks, it certainly never looked like much, but it always worked effortlessly. Sadly, after damaging the tip, I took it to a bad (unmentionable) man who wreaked some crudity on it with crazy glue.

Wanting to be a good steward for the bow, I took it to a wonderful bowmaker, Eric Lane, here in Boston:

http://www.reuning.com/other/our_company/lane.html

I needed to have the tip fixed, and wanted, possibly to have a grip installed.

Eric looked at it critically, as a professional bowmaker, noticed that the stick was kinked at a grain change, slightly twisted, and straighter than usual. He curved the stick a bit more, lessened the kink, made a lovely leather/silver wire grip, elegantly repaired the tip, and then weighted the tip slightly to keep the balance point the same (offsetting the grip’s weight).

Interestingly, now the bow didn’t work well. It felt “dead” and unresponsive. The sound was muted and quiet. Ken Smith, on his “A Late Bultitude #3” thread, advised me to have the tip-weight removed (as a first step) and I followed this advice. I also asked Eric to try to return the stick to its original shape, kink, twist, and all.

The bow has come back to life and the much of the old sound and feel has returned. Eric Lane understood exactly what had happened and talked about “moving the stick’s nodes of vibration.”

I am strongly considering having the grip removed and the stick straightened a bit more (it is still a bit more curved than before; the “feel” is still a bit less lively than the bow was before all of this started. I am pausing, allowing the bow to get used to the changes, before doing anything else.

So, why relate all of this? Because I was impressed by the experience. I know little about the bow makers’ craft, but I am now more aware of its' subtlety.

Interesting that my Morizot, while not especially beautifully carved, was set up to work well, just the way it was, twisted, kinked, ungripped, and very light (126g, ungripped). When we changed a couple of details, this bow, suddenly, just didn’t work.

Anybody else with any experience, changing bows slightly, regripping them, etc. and noticing changes in sound and feel? Maybe repairs that have changed your bows, in one way or the other? Different tones corresponding with different grip types?
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Last edited by Eric Swanson; 11-06-2008 at 12:24 PM.
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Old 11-06-2008, 12:03 PM
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Ken Smith Ken Smith is offline
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Cool well..

Humm,, 126 grams in my book is quite light. Perhaps with the straighter stick it sits on the string better, just a guess.

I have not had the problem really of going back and forth with Bow modifications. Usually, it just goes from what it is to what I think it should be. I did this with my Eibert Bow which is one of my main bows now. I always loved the feel of it. That bow was a bit straight (but ultra stiff wood) and I re-cambered it myself. Then Biase put a heavier silver wire grip to help balance the weight. I also added a rubber grip and now its about 152 grams. It actually feels lighter now than it did when it was about 8-10 grams lighter as the balance is all in the playability.

The Bultitude#3 I just got had a huge deep mortise in the Head. Both this and the Eibert heads are relatively narrow by French standards. Still, both bows have dense wood and some good head weight. The Bultitude is getting filled at the mortise as part of its restoration and will have only a normal mortise afterwards. perhaps replacing the overly large plug with some pernambuco with add a gram or two up there. This Bow had an acceptable Camber at the least so we wont touch that. Sue Lipkins will also mane a Bultitude 'copy' screw to replace the current unmatched button. The hole for the screw is worn as well and will get filled and re-drilled as well so the fit is perfect. It will be topped off with a nich silver/leather grip as well.

On this bow at least, there is no going back to how it was like in your case with the Morizot. I think that after a Bow is re-haired from playing it with the older 'broken-in' hair, some time should be given to let the bow itself adjust. I would leave the grip on especially for a classic vintage French bow like this. Still, you are the best judge as you know the Bow from before and after. I am just guessing.

Funny story (maybe not that funny..lol), my Eibert was re-haired when it was re-gripped years ago and the hair was 'going' a few years later. A bassist in one of the Orchestras I play in does some re-hairs and offered to re-hair it for me. This was a Wednesday night rehearsal I believe and the concert was on that Saturday. So, I gave him the Bow with the assurance I WILL have it for Saturday and not to worry or bring another Bow. Well, he comes in Sat. and hands me the Bow... with salt/pepper hair!!!!... I asked why not the white hair that we discussed and he goes on to tell me he was out of anything good in the white. The price was great but I didn't like the hair on that bow. Anyway, just in case, I brought my Lipkins bow and ended up using it mainly because it just didn't feel right and it was a bit lumpy and scratch sounding.

Well, as time goes on and I pull out some loose hairs as well as the rosin building up within them, the Bow starts sounding and playing better and better like back when it was at its best and my favorite bow (before I ever had a Lipkins).

Now, this is my 'go-to' bow when ever picking up a bass. My 3 current favorite bows are this Eibert, my Bazin and the Lipkins/Sartory. The Bultitude should sit at or near the top of these when all done and, 'broken-in'.

Remember this Eric, just like a Bass, a Bow and a re-hair NEEDS to break in for some period of time what ever that may be. If the Bow is poopy when it goes into the shop (or a bass) then immediate improvements should be noticed right after the work is done. If it sounds and plays good to great and then goes in the shop, it may take some time to settle back in or into a new comfort zone to when both you and the bow (or bass) sit just right..
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