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Jack Rushing Member
Joined: 23 Mar 2007 Posts: 170
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Posted: Wed Feb 13, 2008 11:15 pm Post subject: Bowhair |
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WasWondering, Is the result really worth the effort, to pick out and examine
each hair for quality, that you are going to use on a bow rehair?
Looks like that would up the price on a rehair job tremendously.
I can see where this might mean something to a world class violinist, but
to a amateur scratcher like me???
Last edited by Jack Rushing on Sun Jul 13, 2008 8:18 pm; edited 1 time in total |
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Jack H. Super Member
Joined: 24 Mar 2007 Posts: 346 Location: Israel
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Posted: Thu Feb 14, 2008 9:22 am Post subject: |
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when purchased, the bow hair SHOULD already be sorted for quality.
Of course, the hank you use should be given the once over for irregular hairs with kinks adn bends and thin spots.
Not sure if you have to go over the hairs in the hank you use, but shouldn't even the amateur have every advantage that he can get?
the irregular hairs might brak quickly, hairs with kinks might not grip the string right...
the decision is yours in the end though.
J |
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Mat Roop Senior Member
Joined: 24 Mar 2007 Posts: 911 Location: Wyoming Ontario
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Posted: Fri Feb 15, 2008 11:23 pm Post subject: |
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It does not take long to run a few hairs at a time thru your fingers... you will be surprised how easy it is to go thru a hank of hair and you will likely discard 1 or 2 dozen strands...do it right... its worth the extra 5 minutes! Mat |
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John Cadd Super Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 828 Location: Hoylake
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 6:03 pm Post subject: bowhair |
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to MattRoop
Good advice there about sorting hair .I am just an amateur but I found that if you are already using a bow it will by then be covered in rosin and if you shine a bright light on the hair you will notice shiny hairs.These are misshapen hairs .the irregular shape has not touched the rosin.You can all have a good squint at your own bow to see what I mean.Use a good strong magnifier.A common fault "type"will be a hair that is shaped like water as it runs out of a tap,alternate twists.Any hair like that will"use up the bend of the stick without producing any sound.The worst [rarer ]fault is like a sawblade with a nasty barbed shape.These faults are not all along the bowhair but will have a nasty sound.Another fault is a folded -in shape like a groove along the hair.This again will not have rosin on much surface,and will not give a full sound.
I always assumed it would not be economical for a bowmaker to check as they are using clean hair so the light method would not work. You can feel some of them but they do tend to hide and I think the light method is very reliable ,time consuming and for an amateur FREE.
Rest assured if you take out all these faulty hairs you will notice a big improvement in tone.If you have enough hairs left that is .
Lots of bows have too many hairs anyway. TRY IT ! |
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John Cadd Super Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 828 Location: Hoylake
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Posted: Sun Jul 26, 2009 6:09 pm Post subject: bowhair |
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to MattRoop
Good advice there about sorting hair .I am just an amateur but I found that if you are already using a bow it will by then be covered in rosin and if you shine a bright light on the hair you will notice shiny hairs.These are misshapen hairs .the irregular shape has not touched the rosin.You can all have a good squint at your own bow to see what I mean.Use a good strong magnifier.A common fault "type"will be a hair that is shaped like water as it runs out of a tap,alternate twists.Any hair like that will"use up the bend of the stick without producing any sound.The worst [rarer ]fault is like a sawblade with a nasty barbed shape.These faults are not all along the bowhair but will have a nasty sound.Another fault is a folded -in shape like a groove along the hair.This again will not have rosin on much surface,and will not give a full sound.
I always assumed it would not be economical for a bowmaker to check as they are using clean hair so the light method would not work. You can feel some of them but they do tend to hide and I think the light method is very reliable ,time consuming and for an amateur FREE.
Rest assured if you take out all these faulty hairs you will notice a big improvement in tone.If you have enough hairs left that is .
Lots of bows have too many hairs anyway. TRY IT ! |
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Mat Roop Senior Member
Joined: 24 Mar 2007 Posts: 911 Location: Wyoming Ontario
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John Cadd Super Member
Joined: 23 Jul 2009 Posts: 828 Location: Hoylake
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Posted: Thu Jul 30, 2009 5:29 pm Post subject: bowhair |
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That was surprising to see.Who would have guessed there were so many variations?But then how many players would know what type of hair they had?I wouldn`t.
That article solves a little mystery for me.I have 4 bows and when I compared them I found some strange differences.The test I did was to tension the bow in the normal way and used a small plastic weighing machine to see which one could apply most pressure to the strings.A simple pressure on the top of the balance till the hair touched the wood at the centre of the stick.The French Pernambuco which I had rehaired myself was almost twice as strong as the other three.Only press with the hair and not the wood.
This one gives rich strong sounds.The carbon French bow sounds "chalky" and is not in the same class.The German bow I`ve had since 1958 is as weak as the carbon one and is a bright sounding bow.Last comes the modern £30 unknown (wood)also weak(pressure-wise).Sounds ordinary.All are better since the light test sort out.(see above).
The inventor of the modern bow ,Francois Tourte ,preferred strong thick hair.So place your orders now for some Canadian horsehair.
That seems the next logical step.If anybody is choosing a bow
read all about Tourte first to absorb everything connected with the "balance point".Very important!
Conclusion ;I may have three weak sticks or three lots of elastic hair. |
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