I have two similar CF bows, one with white hair and one with black. I like them both. The white hair is definitely more versatile, but the black excels for applications that benefit from its sharp attack and its grittiness. I particularly like it for singing and playing fiddle backup -- I’m able to focus on the singing and let that black hair provide the necessary rhythm with minimal attention. For solo breaks it does require a conscious light touch.

Of course a more highly skilled fiddler would be able to do everything with normal white hair, but this combo works for me. I guess hack fiddlers need special remedial tools, just like amateur golfers rely on “game improvement’ clubs...

INteresting! I have not come across a single player here with black hair in their bow.
If they do, I’m gonna ask to try it, for sure!

We used to call that song "Black is the color of my love's true hair."

I had my CF bow re-haired with black hair a few months ago. I like it. More coarse and grips the string better. A little "gritty".

I was offered a mis of both black and white hair mix (salt and pepper). I may try it.

I've heard this many times...black bows just play better. Congrats on the bow and the playing of the low fiddle...? I guess. I'm guessing...not sure what a tenor fiddle is.

I bought a cheapo cello at one point and had a terrible struggle with it...you had to bow backwards from the ordinary way, and unlike the cheapo viola I had bought earlier, the fingering would not work as usual...I struggled for a while, didn't have enough time to spend learning it...the trash collector saw it one time and he wanted to try it...I put it in his hands and he played it like there's no tomorrow. I asked if he had his own and he says no he couldn't afford one. I told him take it home...it'd be happier with him that it was with me.

But anyway...just congrats on the bow and on learning to play the instrument!

I tried Salt & Pepper hair but for some reason it didn’t appeal to me. Having two distinct choices, white and black, works well for me. I also have two fiddles, with different voices, so it’s interesting to mix & match.

I use the darker hair occasionally. It’s slightly thicker and more course. You can see the rosin going on and how it wears off very plainly.

Lately I’ve been enjoying playing with black hair. It produces a slightly sweeter tone. It doesn’t grip the strings quite as quickly as white hair so that requires a small adjustment. Also with pressure it can produce a gritty sound which is useful at certain times.

Of course this is 100% subjective…

There are some misconceptions here about how hair works. When you’re playing, the hair itself doesn’t grab the string and make it snap. This is why a bow produces no sound unrosined.

Under a very powerful microscope you can see that a strand of hair has scales on it with tiny gaps between. With the friction of the hair over rosin, the scales begin to pick up rosin particles and deposits build up, especially in the interstices. With more playing and rosin buildup, the rosin makes a coating along the hair. With usage the scales wear down and the hair gradually loses its ability to retain rosin.

The darker the hair, the more coarse it tends to be, but this doesn’t mean the hair alone is giving off the feeling of a bigger bite. Coarse hair holds rosin differently. Bass players sometimes like it because it feels like it’s grabbing well (there may be an entirely psychological aspect to this opinion, though). But most use the same white hair that goes into most other bows without any issue or substantive tonal difference.

Choosing a good rosin will make a far bigger difference in bow feel than changing the hair to black. If white hair were dyed black, I’m not convinced many (if any) players would be able to tell by playing on it.

In desperation i asked my friend if i could get a bow's worth from his horse. It was black, and it was amazing how little of the hair i took was long enough for a full size bow. It worked fine after sorting, washing etc. It was very coarse, i hear Bass players like it. but it worked ok at a pinch. Especially for fiddling, i would imagine i could get so used to it, i would prefer it to white hair, but i bouhgt a hank of that a while back and am still using it.

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Originally posted by The Violin Beautiful

There are some misconceptions here about how hair works. When you’re playing, the hair itself doesn’t grab the string and make it snap. This is why a bow produces no sound unrosined.

Under a very powerful microscope you can see that a strand of hair has scales on it with tiny gaps between. With the friction of the hair over rosin, the scales begin to pick up rosin particles and deposits build up, especially in the interstices. With more playing and rosin buildup, the rosin makes a coating along the hair. With usage the scales wear down and the hair gradually loses its ability to retain rosin.

The darker the hair, the more coarse it tends to be, but this doesn’t mean the hair alone is giving off the feeling of a bigger bite. Coarse hair holds rosin differently. Bass players sometimes like it because it feels like it’s grabbing well (there may be an entirely psychological aspect to this opinion, though). But most use the same white hair that goes into most other bows without any issue or substantive tonal difference.

Choosing a good rosin will make a far bigger difference in bow feel than changing the hair to black. If white hair were dyed black, I’m not convinced many (if any) players would be able to tell by playing on it.

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If white hair were dyed black, I’m not convinced many (if any) players would be able to tell by playing on it.

Yes, I think you're right. Tone and touch are subjective. I'm not sure that I could tell the difference between white/black hair with my eyes closed -- but I do enjoy observing the subtleties of how my fiddle speaks to me.