I just saw a mention the other day of what’s known as ‘Incredibows’ -they look like an old baroque bow. The spin on their site makes them sound great but almost too good to believe. Anyone have any experience with these? --I had also thought of getting a Coda bow a while back. Also saw a graphite bow at Shar Music for $89. that sounds interesting. (The incredibows also are $89) -any opinions on any of these? --mike
I’ve heard nothing but good things about the Coda bows, although I haven’t heard of the others. The only comment I’ve ever heard against carbon fiber bows in general has to do with natural resonance of the wood. Some people, though not all, claim that the wood of the bow resonates as well as the fiddle, adding to the quality of the sound. Some critics have claimed that the carbon fiber bows lack this natural resonance, but have remarkable balance and response for the money. I have absolutely NO CLUE if that whole thing is true or not. I dunno. An interesting thought, I suppose. As for the Shar version, I’ve seen them in the catalog, but never had the chance to try one. I’d be curious to hear what you had to say on any of these bows if you decide to get one.
I really don’t put much stock in the resonance theory myself. I use a Coda Conservatory myself and it’s the best bow I own. I’ve played $3-400 wood bows and this one’s gust as good as the best of those, and much better than the marginal ones. You do notice the difference with a fine pernambuco bow, but you’d have to spend a couple grand and like Martin Hayes to to the difference. My only gripe with the incredibows is that I think they’re odd looking. Hey if they work for you though then who cares?
thanks for the feedback-- I’m probably tending to shy away from the Incredibow not just because of not being familiar with it but that they say it’s ‘loud’ and I’d rather have a quieter sound. - I’ll have to dig out the Strings magazine where I saw the Coda ad to see which one of those had a more softer sound, I think one of them did.
A friend of mine - Greg Dahms, makes bows here in Ottawa. He has made bows for both Peter Schryer and Martin Hayes. Apparently Martin uses this bow a lot since he got it from Greg - about 6-8 months ago (there is also a topic about this on ‘The Session’ message board.
This is an advertisement I pulled from the web:
Greg Dahms Violin, viola and cello bows 613 720-2975
gdahms@fox.nstn.ca Handmade pernambuco bows. Pierre Schryer has ordered one of Greg’s bows…