All I know is that I now have Two Incredibows and I love both of them. The first one I bought was one of their high tension cello bows to power my tenor viola that is fitted with cello strings. It seemed very light to me and it was tricky to get the strings to respond to it. So I bought one of their heavy Omni regular tension bows for a perfect result. I then tried the first bow with my regular tuned fiddles and surprisingly it works great even though it is for cello. Incredibow gets a strong recommendation from me!

I don't generally have trouble with humidity because California is dry in the summer. I've had trouble a couple times playing outdoors under cover when it was raining in the spring. I had to resort to the matchstick under the hair at the tip. I always like watching videos from Clifftop. It's a festival I have long imagined to be an ideal destination. I envy you. I have an old girlfriend from high school who goes every year and sells pottery from a booth. I'm afraid I'll never make it to Clifftop. Responsibilities at home.

What a great tip, Brian! My pirate band almost exclusively play on or very close to open water (big surprise), and excess moisture in the air is always a consideration. I've often maxed out the travel on my bows, and just dealt with it. Once, playing on a tall ship with drizzle in the air, I'd almost been better off just rosining the stick and playing with that! I'll shall certainly try your trick next time! I wish I could love the Incredibows, but I just cannot get used to them. I guess I will throw a few kitchen matches into the fiddle case. On second thought, I'll break the heads off, 'lest one of the pranksters gets a bright idea.

I live in Kentucky.... I read about the matchstick trick at some point in the past two decades since I took up with the bow. I try to keep a match or two in my case. And yes wrench13, I cut the heads off too. Another simple fix is for lack of moisture in the air ... a plastic film container with some damp sponge inside and holes in the side or top of the container is a very workable humidifier. I have read that some folks would keep a slice of apple or potato in their case. Play on friends. R/

My carbon fiber bow seems less affected that my wood bow.

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Originally posted by ChickenMan

My carbon fiber bow seems less affected that my wood bow.

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Hmm I thought it was just the hair that stretched in damp weather..?

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Originally posted by TuneWeaver

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Originally posted by ChickenMan

My carbon fiber bow seems less affected that my wood bow.

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Hmm I thought it was just the hair that stretched in damp weather..?

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Yes, it's the hair that will cause the noticeable difference. It's true that a wood stick is wood and has pores and therefore susceptible to moisture, but pernambuco is an especially dense wood with fine pores the endgrain runout is not very great. Bows are typically French polished as well, so the sticks are fairly well sealed anyway. Hair, on the other hand, is directly exposed to  humidity and changes drastically as atmosphere changes--a loose bow in Floridawill become dangerously tight in Arizona, and vice versa.

Because carbon sticks are so much stiffer than wood sticks, you notice the change with the hair conditions more. 

IMO, for what it is worth, yes the hair is the first to be affected by moisture in the air, of course. If you live in the right part of the country. Just as those living in drier climes know that a fiddle, being the canaries of the instrument world, are the first to notice and shriek when their moisture content drops. If, big word, I continue playing my Pernambuco bow after the hair relaxes the bow feels like it gets a little more "floppy', for lack of a better word. My Coda bow does not. Though as written above it is stiffer from the git go. Has anyone noticed a difference in Pernambuco versus Brazilwood in high humidity conditions?

Likely my CF bow is just a tad tighter overall, but I prefer my wood bow for tone and it seems to pair nicely with a fiddle I like playing, makes it ring.

If the stock market is doing well next spring.. I'm going to "spring'' for an incredibow..

OK.. Problem maybe solved.. I experimented with two inexpensive bows.. One fiber and one wood. .I removed the frogs and noticed that the slot that the frog slided across could be lengthened by almost 3/16s.. So I lengthened those slots.. Now I can tighten my bows Probably enough that they'll be functional in damp weather.. We shall see next summer.. I've often wondered why there wasn't more play in those slots.

I almost always fine-tune the tightness of my bows when I play. Sometimes I enjoy the having the bow feel softly springy, and sometimes I prefer it a bit stiff. I enjoy the tonality differences, as well. The only thing I never seem to like is when the hair is slack enough to rub against the bow itself...which it seems is where more than a few fellow fiddlers seem to keep it.

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Originally posted by Lonesome Fiddler

I almost always fine-tune the tightness of my bows when I play. Sometimes I enjoy the having the bow feel softly springy, and sometimes I prefer it a bit stiff. I enjoy the tonality differences, as well. The only thing I never seem to like is when the hair is slack enough to rub against the bow itself...which it seems is where more than a few fellow fiddlers seem to keep it.

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Yes, there is no accounting for taste!!  Hopefully I've settled my humidity problem.. Luthiers COULD just string up the bows just a little 'tight' so that there is a lot option for additional tension...Better a little tight than Way loose..

Of course it’s not good if you’re running out of room to tighten your bow, but there is a danger to the bow being too tight. I tend to do my rehairs so the hair will just relax without tension but not more than that. If the bow still has tension on it, it can warp or twist the stick over time and you can lose camber. A lot of players have damaged their bows by leaving them tightened in their cases.

Sticks that are especially stiff can simply require more turns of the screw to achieve tension, as they are more resistant to hair tension. Good hair has a fair amount of elasticity, so it will stretch as it’s being tightened. Over time the elasticity decreases, making the hair less lively to play. If the bow is left tight it wears the hair out faster.

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Originally posted by TuneWeaver

Having dealt with over loosened bow hair at festivals over the years, I've decided to forego the problem of bows getting so damp from the humidity that they are Actually useless.. I'm planning on having a 'dedicated' bow that is tight from the start and can then be further tightened as humidity requires...Anyone who has spent time trying to play on a humid WEEK will understand this need.. I'm going to shorten the hair on ONE bow. 

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A temporary fix, a piece of a wooden match stick or similar twig placed at the tip between the bow and hair.

https://web.archive.org/web/20230928003108/https://www.fiddlehangout.com/photo/23708

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Originally posted by carlb

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Originally posted by TuneWeaver

Having dealt with over loosened bow hair at festivals over the years, I've decided to forego the problem of bows getting so damp from the humidity that they are Actually useless.. I'm planning on having a 'dedicated' bow that is tight from the start and can then be further tightened as humidity requires...Anyone who has spent time trying to play on a humid WEEK will understand this need.. I'm going to shorten the hair on ONE bow. 

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A temporary fix, a piece of a wooden match stick or similar twig placed at the tip between the bow and hair.

https://web.archive.org/web/20230928003108/https://www.fiddlehangout.com/photo/23708

I'm aware of the twig tip, but Now with just a little effort I have a permanent  fix.. If the bow won't tighten with the extra 1/4 inch of frog movement, I need  a bow with shorter hair!!!

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