I have been very happy with my Incredibow for my regular fiddles. Carbon shaft, synthetic hair and pre-tensioned. They are very reasonably priced as well.

Choosing a bow is a challenging project, and not very much fun. I tried a variety of pernambuco, “snakewood” and carbon fiber bows and tested them side by side. I finally found a carbon fiber bow that had weight and balance that I liked, had good tone and fit my budget. So I bought another just like it.

DoubleBass forum was discussing this article. I didn't see anywhere where it stated, Pernambuco and Brazilwood is from the same tree. The only way one would know your getting Pernambuco/heartwood, is to trust your bow maker.
I probably won't need another bow in my lifetime, but as far as I'm concerned, the CF makers need to step up their game. There could be other/better synthetic bows coming? And now I'll step aside for A.I.

Just a few thoughts:

Carbon fiber is very stiff. It makes for bows that respond quickly but feel twitchy. Good pernambuco is strong yet flexible enough to give great tone color. Bad pernambuco or substitutes are softer and feel weak in the hand.

In the lower price range, where good wood is more scarce, carbon fiber is hard to beat. If your budget is $1000 or more, you’ll find some great options, especially if you can find a Brazilian bow (although now that production has been halted entirely, the stock has dwindled as people have snapped up most of the remaining stock). Ipe is the alternative wood being used there now, and it’s decent but not the same.

Arcus is a polarizing brand. You either love them or, as is more common, hate them. They are at the higher end of the price range (one of my customers made my jaw drop recently when he said they charge $14k for their gold-mounted S9 now). They’re easy to buy if you have the money but I’ve yet to see one resold. Since they’re easily replaceable, there isn’t as much of a market for the used models.

Weight is not as important as balance. I’ve played a 65 g English bow that felt light and nimble in the hand and some sub-60 g bows that were clunky. The standard target weight of 60 is a guideline for new making, but I’d be open to a bit more variety with old bows.

Bows are as personal a choice as violins. You have to see what you like by trying some out. I always recommend setting your price range first, then trying what’s available in that bracket.

I’ve been impressed with the hybrid bows from GEWA. They blend the good qualities of wood and carbon fiber to get a more responsive bow with some color at a good price. They have been selling very well in my area and teachers have been loving them. Even a few players in the big orchestras here came in and picked through a box of them for bows to play outdoors.

I' have a Coda Bow (Classic) and a Pernambuco bow (so I was told - @ $400 - hmmm). I've had both for a good number of years now. And I have an inexpensive wood bow - who know what it is made from.

I practice with the cheap bow. Recently had the Coda bow rehaired with black hair. And the Pernambuco has white / coarse hair from a few years ago. The practice bow has the white / coarse hair. 

I enjoy all three. All three pretty much "feel" the same in my hands. But the Coda with the black hair is the loudest. I enjoy the tone of the Pernambuco - but doesn't have much presence. I think I enjoy playing with the Coda in a session or jam, but sometimes - I'll switch.

This will sound weird - i know.  The cheap bow plays well. And I've stopped using rosin with it. I've figured out how it play in pretty much in a whisper. I can hear the notes being played but - its not loud enough to be heard in the next room (unless I add a little pressure). I don't want to Play my other bows without the rosin.  

I choke up on the bow when I play. I don't think it has anything to do with balance (maybe it does). I think its just the way I have "trained myself: - subconsciously. I'm not doing it because I want to - I'm just doing it. Yes, there have been times that I've embarrassed myself by running out of bow. 

I'm not in the market for a new bow, but...  if I picked one up that proves to me that I need one - I'd get it. Til then..........

When I was still living in L.A. I stalwartly made the rounds at practically every fiddle store in driving distance and drove 'em all nuts auditioning various bows both in and above my price range (a number which I no longer remember). I found three bows that complemented my three fiddles. And yes, I now live happily ever after. It doesn't hurt that I've found a pretty fine fiddle luthier only a half hour or such down the road.

I would think your teacher would be helpful with this. If you like their bow you could ask where and how they got it - not that you would or could do the same, but it might start the conversation.
I have several bows I like, but that doesn't mean you could duplicate how I came across them, so I won't bother to tell the stories. My best is 62 grams, so I wouldn't say 61 grams is too heavy - as Rich said, balance is more important.

Just as an anecdote about balance, I went with a friend to see a fiddle collector’s collection years ago. She had a box of old bows that were just thrown in, most of them not even with any hair left. I went through the box and there were about 50 bows. All were just junk—except one. In the midst of the bundle was one very nice old German bow. Through some trading for work I eventually got that bow. The stick and frog were in good condition but the stick was warped and it needed a few small things. I took it to the shop where I worked at the time and the bow restorer straightened it out and replaced the leather and winding. It looked nice but it wasn’t balanced quite right. So the restorer made some adjustments by adding weight to move the balance point to the right place. The result made the bow a joy to play and I am still so glad to have found it.

Balance point is very important and it’s something bow makers and restorers obsess over because it translates directly to playing character. It’s also why anyone who works on bows will cringe when a player talks about removing a winding or thumb grip—the painstaking work to adjust the balance can be undone with a change of a gram.

I have a chart I was given at the Oberlin bow restoration workshop that has information for establishing the balance point and a table of weights for windings by gauge and length. Balance point is just as important in bow making as it is in violin making, perhaps even more so.

If you choke up on the bow, it negates the balance of the bow because your hand is no longer in position to benefit from the bow’s balance. Holding the bow that way changes the character of the bow stroke completely, making it essentially more like a baroque bow, just with a longer stick and a different shape. For fiddle tunes, many of which were composed in the baroque era, that version of a baroque hold is not unreasonable and it complements the articulation of a lot of passages in old tunes. But it should be understood that holding it that way does work against the design of the modern bow to some degree.

As a less experienced player, it may be harder to get a sense of when a bow is balanced well because the mechanics of holding the bow in general are still being absorbed. One of the easiest tests of the balance point is to do some spiccato or flying staccato, but that’s not a technique that most players have developed at two years of study.

One advantage that cheaper non-wood bows have is that they’re fairly consistent in their feel. If a good player spent a while playing through 50 of the same model, at least one would probably stand out, but the difference would be fairly subtle.

My favorite bow is my newest bow, a very light wooden bow that has been revised by a dutch luthier with a very nice webshop where I regularly buy some accesories. My second favorite is a carbon fibre bow that I bought on Temu and that is remarkably good for practising new tunes, it tries out what I want to try out and does all what I request. But when it comes to fine tuning a tune that I studied, the wooden bow brings more richness in sound and amazing effects when you want to go wild with the bow.
I also have a Codabow Joule and although there's nothing to dislike about it, the Temu bow does a better job when it comes to studying. If I would ever go electric though , the Codabow Joule will probably be the best choice, since it has been designed for it.
I think one grows in bow preference related to his or her skills level.
I love my new wooden bow. I don't need any more bows I think, this one is more than nice or good.

quote:

---

Originally posted by capefiddle

My current bow is carbon fiber. It came with my Eastman 305 student violin which I purchased after the rental period last year. After 2 years of taking up the instrument I’ve come to realize the bow is kind of clunky and heavy (61grams). It produces an “okay” sound but when I compare it with my teachers bow (a lighter pernambuco bow) the playing ease and sound difference was pretty noticeable.  So I'm now starting to search for a new bow (for now, planning on keeping the Eastman). I'm asking for thoughts on choosing a new bow and thoughts on wood VS carbon fiber. I also suppose this article in today's paper added some thought. I've read Arrcus bows are worth looking at. Just looking to get people's thoughts. Thanks a lot. 
John https://www.nytimes.com/2026/07/14/arts/music/pernambuco-wood-bows.html?smid=url-share

---

You can always ask a luthier to take a few bows with you for a couple of weeks, then you can test them out on the long term.

Hmmmm... bows bows bows Bose, woops ( different subject) I have a Coda SX and a German Nurnberger Pernambuco that I use, they stay in my mandolin fiddle case. The Coda is a bit stiff but not too much, the Nurnberger is a hair light, not badly just a bit light. But the balance is just fine. The balance on the Coda is acceptable. I spent decades with finger picks and flat picks so at times bowing feels like a wrestling match. But I so love playing fiddle. Shar will allow you to test drive Coda bows with credit approval. I auditioned three or four models. I purchased one Pernambuco bow at The Violin Shop Nashville and played it until the Nurnberger came up for sale. So, I am lucky in my bows. Perfection will always be something I have an eye out for. French bows are well beyond my price range. Play on folks. R/

Thoughts on bows.
I've not found a carbon fiber or hybrid I liked enough to buy and I've tried them all.
I took my collection of bows (garnered from many years of trading auction fiddles) and traded up +$ to my main bow. Still have 3 others sitting around.
I practice and noddle around with the worst one and play performances with the best one. I am still pleasantly surprised what comes out of it doing that. Passages that seem arduous on the poor one are effortless with the good one. "Plays itself" comes to mind, instantly telegraphing what I want to the strings.

Get the best (for you) bow you can afford (plus a bit more ;-) ) Thats my advice.

Thanks very much for the thoughts. I’m going to the shop where I purchased my instrument and plan on trying a variety of both wood and carbon fiber bows (like maybe 10 bows). I’ll try and whittle that sample of bows I try down to 3 bows, take them home with me a play around with them for a week.
Hopefully I’ll find something I like.
Hopefully, at this point in my playing, I’ll have at least enough experience to help me decide …at least comparing it against my current clunker.

quote:

---

Originally posted by The Violin Beautiful

Balance point is very important and it’s something bow makers and restorers obsess over because it translates directly to playing character. It’s also why anyone who works on bows will cringe when a player talks about removing a winding or thumb grip—the painstaking work to adjust the balance can be undone with a change of a gram.

If I place my current bow on my finger and slide it back and forth until I find the balance point, it's pretty close to the frog as opposed to being in the middle of the bow (a benefit I suppose for someone doing a lot of chopping). As I look for a new bow what are some things I should be aware of regarding the balance point of the bow. Is a more in the middle of the bow good for a "beginner" or is it a more "what feels right" kind of thing?

thanks. 



 

---

The balance point is measured from the end of the thumb projection. For violin bows at 60g, the balance point should be 7.25”-7.5.” Some measure from the end of the stick, and then it would be 9.25”-9.5.” The winding and thumb grip are chosen and measured carefully on good bows to make this work, or weight is added at one end to shift the balance. Sometimes weight is added simply to make the bow weigh more on a scale, but if it’s not added evenly, it will distort balance. In some cases, small adjustments can be made by switching from a steel screw to titanium.

All of that is very important for bow restorers and makers, but you don’t really have to know all of that as a player, and while you could measure bows with a ruler and check them that way, I wouldn’t recommend it. Ultimately, it’s really down to the feel in the hand. If it’s tip-heavy it’ll feel clumsy and sluggish and if it’s frog-heavy it’ll feel like the tip just jumps off the string unprompted and the tone will be wispy.

If you have trouble getting a feel for this (it takes time to develop), I would focus more on finding a well-made bow of good enough quality that it’s worth rehairing. In the earlier stages, a teacher or knowledgeable luthier can really help to pick out a good bow. Once you’ve gotten a sense for how a bow balances (if you haven’t already), you’ll be able to evaluate them better unaided.

I would also clarify that where the bow balances and where it bounces best are not necessarily the same. You have to get a feel for each one, as they drive differently.

quote:

---

Originally posted by capefiddle

Thanks very much for the thoughts. I’m going to the shop where I purchased my instrument and plan on trying a variety of both wood and carbon fiber bows (like maybe 10 bows). I’ll try and whittle that sample of bows I try down to 3 bows, take them home with me a play around with them for a week.
Hopefully I’ll find something I like.
Hopefully, at this point in my playing, I’ll have at least enough experience to help me decide …at least comparing it against my current clunker.

---

Could I ask what shop you frequent?  I also live in eastern MA and would like to learn about shops in the area.

-Ken

Ken, I had responded to your message yesterday, perhaps you missed it. I go to Johnson Strings. That’s where my rental was from which I eventually purchased. Prior to purchase last year, I went to their sister company, Carriage House and tried 5 or 6 other fiddles. I’m planning on going back there to try out some bows. I’m also taking advantage of Coda Bows in home trial offer where they send you 6 different bows for 7 days to try out.

John, both Rich and I suggested your teacher could be helpful with this, but if you're really on the Cape and shopping at Johnson Strings that might not be possible. Otherwise that seems like a very good choice, just judging from their website. I'd imagine they have good approval and return policies, so maybe your teacher can help after you choose some (and with the Codabowstoo). I'd guess their sales staff will be helpful too.

Doug, it was my teacher who suggested I look into the Coda bows. I think my plan is to test out the 6 bows they send me. At least then I can narrow it down to which Coda bow (or 2) I like...... go into Johnson (who carries Coda bows) and try out some other bows they have.... maybe some wooden ones. And compare them to the Codas, and maybe some other carbon fiber brands. This should hopefully give a good sampling of what might work for me. That's my plan anyway...... will see how it all works out.

Sounds like a good plan. Its not a lifetime commitment, so if your needs or tastes change, you can always trade up (or down for that matter). Hopefully this will make playing easier and more satisfying. Good luck!