Hi, Iwas given a new violin set (inc bow) for my birthday back in May- make is Yamaha- and the day of my exam last week I found the bow has broken/ worn out. The hairs don't seem to be able to loosen properly. I have three questions:

Should a bow break/wear out so quickly? The set wasn't cheap or bought over the internet.

Can it be fixed (expensive?) or will I need to buy a new one?

Can anyone reccomend what sort of bow to go for? - it needs to be fairly cheap but if there's one a little bit more expensive that's a lot better quiality that might be better.

I hope you can help, Thanks, Fiona

Hey Fiona, if you like your current bow, you can probably have it repaired / rehaired, although if it's a cheap bow, then it might not be worth it. The fact that the hairs don't loosen may be due to a problem with the screw and button, rather than the hair - check that the button isn't coming way out when you try to loosen the hair - if it is, retighten it and try again, whilst putting a bit more pressure on.

Are you happy with the sound the bow produces? If so, keep with it or buy a new one of the same model. If you aren"t happy with the sound and manageability of the bow, it may be time to upgrade but beware - bows are not cheap! Sadly, 'a little more expensive' won't get you 'a lot better quality'. Reasonable upgrade bows are available in carbon fibre around the 100 - 300 mark, these are ok for advancing students and intermediate level players. After that, it starts to get more expensive. Some peopl say you should pay 30% of the cost of your violin for a bow, in France the feeling tends towards 50% of the violin cost (so if your fiddle cost you 1000, you should spend around 500 on a bow).

If you want to upgrade, let us know what kind of bow you currently have, what it costs and what you dislike about it and maybe we can advise you on what to go for - Liz from Elidatrading who posts on this board sells bows and will kindly send a few to you on approval within a specified price range so you can try them at home and make a decision in peace.

But bear in mind, you may not need to change bow if you like yours and it's repairable.

Good luck with your choice,

Allan

Hi Allan, Thanks. I think it's the heat but I should have said it's not a dirt cheap set, rather than not cheap! The whole set was £250 (rather than the £50 packages you can get over the internet- I had one of those before and though it was a bit awful it did the job!)). I've been looking at carbon fibre bows on ebay, which are a lot cheaper - but I don't know if they're any good?

The bow I have now came with the set, so I guess it's just a standard one. I'll try retightening it then loosening it, hopefully that will do the trick. Is it normal for a bow to wear out so quickly though? My £50 package bow never wore out the whole year I had it.

No it's not normal, unless your playing hours and hours a day! Mind you, even then the most likely thing would be for the hair to wear out - what you're describing seems to be a design fault to do with the screw, certainly playing a lot wouldn't cause the hair to be unable to loosen.

If your set was 250 UK, then I'd recommend getting yourself a glasser from Liz at Elidatrading - they retail at somewhere around 60 - 175 ish (I think, check with her). Failing that, a basic wooden bow may well do the trick, there is a good range of cheapish wooden bows of serviceable quality at www.stringmail.co.uk - they offer next day delivery free of charge too. If price is your principal criterion then their Brazilwood student bow at 27.50 is perfectly adequate. If you can stretch to it the 59.50 one is very nice (I have one of these for my viola) but both of these are, in my opinion, outshone by the glasser carbonfibre bows - the X series and the advanced composite are both available from Elida for around the 50 quid mark, I think and are better than a wooden bow of the same price.

Good luck choosing and let us know how you get on!

Allan

Fiona - what is the problem with loosening the hairs. Is it that you can't turn the nut, or is it that the frog doesn't slide, or something else?

How can I put it without getting sued? With a Yamaha you pay an awful lot for the name. , Enough said I think.

It might well be possible to get the bow repaired but whether that is economic or not is another matter. I imagine not.

Liz



I haven't yet found a Chinese carbon fibre one that I can recommend.

Liz

I can turn the nut but it's only loosening the hairs a little bit! the nut then starts to come too dar out if that makes sense. I think I might be going to see the people at the shop where I bought it!

Thanks everyone for your replies!

I would definitely take it back to the shop. If they have any kind of service staff they should be able to sort it out. Sounds like it might be heat/humidity related rather than worn out.

If the shop cannot sort it out you could try a home repair before giving up and buying another bow. It is normally perfectly OK to take the screw right out so the frog can be pulled away from the stick. Put the whole bow down on a flat, clean, dry table first. Completely remove the screw and see if you can see a problem. The frog should then come away from the stick. There is a threaded eyelet (I can't remember its correct name) on top of the frog which the screw threads through. This can be unscrewed just one half turn only which may then allow the frog to slide more easily so the hairs can be tightened easily - you may need some fine nosed pliers to turn it. Make sure the eyelet is still lined up with the frog/stick so the screw will go back in. Also a tiny amount of oil (or I have heard washing up liquid recommended) on the screw can help - but make sure neither go anywhere near the hairs.


Best of Luck