Inexpensive German bows

[Ken Smith]

Originally Posted by stan haskins

Thanks for the info, Ken. The comment about being "longer" was just meant in comparison to the Arcos bow I tried a couple of paragraphs before. I didn't do any measuring.

When a Bow grabs the string well, it feels longer. Also, when a Bow plays even from tip to frog in sound and feel, it feels longer as well.

The reason I use playing length of hair and not just overall measurement is because the Tip, Frog, Stick and Screw is not that actual playing length. Only the hair that touches the string is. The rest of the measurements are up to the Bow maker.

Most Bows I have tried play shorter than they are because they are only consistent for 1/2 to 3/4 the Hair length. Only the better ones play even from tip to frog and may feel longer because the play longer.

At home now I am using my shortest Bow, the Bazin with my biggest Bass, my 5-string. It grabs the string well and is easy to handle.