Really like the videos you've done with David. I agree, purchasing the bow is a lot harder than the violin itself. You really need to overcome a lot of your tension issues before making that purchase because they inhibit your ability to sense the variations in balance and weight. It might even be worthwhile to have a couple of really unbalanced defective bows in the shop so a customer can set the bar and appreciate what makes a bow good.

Awesome Interview!!! Anyone who loves music and his/her instrument, can appreciate the technical and philosophical nuances behind bows. Truly difficult to find a Luthier you can have confidence in. Well done.

Thank you so much for this video! I have been playing the violin for 7 years and only ever used the bow my first violin came with. I knew buying a better bow would be on my to-do list but had no idea where to start.

I borrowed five bows and tried them in rotation. The difference was amazing, but I was able to find the one that was right for me. It is very much the bow chooses the player! Thanks!

What a beautiful interview. Thanks Amber and David. I have always wanted to learn more about Bows for the Violin/Viola.

Another masterclass in how to have fun while learning 😃 thank you 👍

Very late here but, how is this not more highly rated? Damn KZfaq’s algorithm!

Amber, thanks so much for this interview. I found it very interesting. Always nice to hear from a professional that knows bows. Just excellent! I recently started playing viola along with my violin and find your videos helpful as well as enjoyable. I have a really nice bow that I play with on my violin and have started to use it as well with my viola as I wasn't happy with the bow that was provided with the instrument and it sounds much better. When I begin shopping for a new bow for my viola, I will keep this information in mind. Thanks again!

YOU ~ Soooo ~ ROCK ! !

This video has been very helpful to me! Thank you so much!!

insightful interview with gorgeous people. Learned a lot. Love it!

I really appreciate all you do! I have learned so much from your teaching. Thank you

Ironwood is just as tough as steel!... I've used it before to build a deck on the back of a house... I was breaking drill bits and screw heads left & right! Wow! It would definitely make a very, very strong bow! Blessings James... 🕊☘☀️🌈

PERFECT Thanks

Excellent insights! Thank you for sharing these with us.

Excellent Interview and a lot of learning...

Great to hear that!!!

Love this!!! Thank you both! Love your channel Amber 😀

... wunderbar und so kompetent! I learned definitive more about bows, again! Already Giovanni Battista Viotti said: "Le violon, c'est l'archet!" All the best for you and your work ...! Dankeschön!

Thank you another interesting video...

what a wonderfully interesting informative video - thanks

I think everyone should have one of the Baroque Style Bow. Of coursem everytime Jaap Schroeder gave masterclasses at WWU as the Reigning Baroque Violinist globally was so generous with his knowledge.

I love the video. However, I only play with carbon fiber bows. Ever since Arcuse Muesing bows appeared as well as Codabow, the sound from carbon fiber has continued to improve. With the Codabow you can go anywhere from the Luma up, and the sound gets more amazing with each new bow. As for Arcus, any of their bows sound great but I've heard the sound from the 8k bow and it is beyond amazing. Even Zlata, the music teacher from The Netherlands, owns the 8k bow and loves it.

Remember Lord Menuhin recommends octagonal bows for Strad Styles and heavier 64grams< and round bows for Guarneri "del" Gesu

As far as I know, the word frog comes from the part of the horse's hoof that is also called frog.

Bows are everything. I recently bought a new violin bow - reasonable at $2500australian and it's helped my playing like night and day. My previous bow I thought was fine until i tried my new bow and the violin sang like never before. Great interview, thank you for your time and effort here. It really was an interesting interview for obsessives like myself. Now back to my violin.

Professional bow maker: "This is the replaceable part which wears out, that you put your thumb on. That's why it's there, you see." All the self-appointed experts: "Let me educate you about how to hold a bow..."

Very helpful, thank you.

How do you feel about the "non-organic" , non-traditional materials such as fiber glass, or carbon fiber bows. They exhibit very desirable properties for a bow such as high modulus of elasticity, and controlled vibrational damping factor due to their homogenious nature, and very high Young's Modulus. I have used Glasser fiberglass bows in the past, and found them rather dead for my taste, but some of the higher quality carbon fiber bews show some potential. I am interested in your take on this both musically, and from a sustainability perspective. As always your videos are interesting, pertinent, and informative, and I follow closely. Thank you so much! Thomas von Arth.

350 bucks a pound. I live in Connemara Ireland there are a bijillion Connemara ponies around, now I am wondering if Connemara pony tail hair would work.

4:11 "this is called the grip"- I've never actually heard it being called that in all of: Australia, England, America, most of Europe. We call it the "winding" or the "lapping". It's a tribute to the original grip that was present on transitional bows (Paganini's time, and ever-so-slightly before Viotti). Said bows had clip-in frogs or a newly invented screw mechanism. The winding is no longer functional other than to alter a bow's balance point, and even then.... its not overly useful. Thanks for the video though, I know the effort that's put in to making such a video.

10:33 that's a golden moment

It's about time the poor unappreciated Bows got some respect! The best Stradivarius in the world can't do anything without a Bow!

I am looking at a german bow . The marking is rubbed off from use because it's old and used . You can only see three stars like *** . I like how it sounds . It is permanbuco wood . The tighening mechanism is not working very well . They are asking $1500 . I am wondering if I should buy it . Any thoughts for me ?

One question I have is whether those white or fancier frogs have a worse sound than the normal ebony black frogs. Because they look better but there must be a reason why none of soloists are using them. Same question about silver vs. gold mounting.

I want a groove in my rosin xD I think it's charming and I like how people can see wear and tear caused from one single action. After many months my groove is about 3 mm deep 👍

What do you all use to clean rosin off your bow sticks?

A friend recently gave me a very interesting video. It's called the Octobass... Where can I get a bow for that? And how much hair would that take? Cellos needed anything from 10-13 mm...

Gonna use a bow on my electric guitar

Unbelievable knowledge. Amazing what is behind a bow. I learnt a lot, .... Maybe I'm missing it and it is posted somewhere but can you give me the address of this shop? I live in Pa, would be easy to visit Philly...some time...

Maybe the frog got it's name from the rivet that goes through it. Frogs do go "rivet" you know. Rivet...rivet...

One thing that I have always questioned, will the bow hair quality affect the sound. eg. if I purchased a good bow and it produces the sound I like, will that change when it is rehaired? Pity I didn't know you were doing this interview as I have 1001 more questions to ask x

"Frog" is the "holster" part of a belted sword set up and the connecting piece of a hand plane's blade and foot. Both are adjustable much like the frog on a bow, I guess. Mwah!

Baroque players held the bow like olde tyme fiddle players do.

Concave vs Convex??

Bronze Fiber is the best of the best for bows in Pernumbuco. I have lotz of bronze fiber bows

I like carbon bow it straight and light what your open

How can you praise carbon or what make more prisey

Do you have a tip for how to loosen the bowhair from the case-strap thing? Mine is a swivel thing and i often have to touch the hair to get it out :( not the side i play with, fortunately, but still, i'd really like to not... touch it! 😅 thank you! 😊

Not musical in the least, but curious mind here. I do find you very attractive, love your voice.

A good video but unfortunately perpetuates the urban myth of barbs on horse hair. If you magnify horse hair there are no barbs. The rosin sticks to the smooth hair and the effect that causes the string to vibrate is from the slip-stick effect of static and dynamic friction. Physics 101. Literally what they teach in physics 101 class. Quite frankly I am surprised that this fellow does not know that.

All bows start as octagonal shaped. If the bow is round in cross section, it’s because the maker needed to remove weight and stiffness. The process of making a bow is a matter of removing material until it is just right. If the wood is especially heavy and or strong, then more wood has to be removed. Pernambuco can vary considerably in its density, as does Brazilwood. The Brazilian bow makers are now forced to make bows of the Ipe, pronounced epa, sometimes call Brazilian walnut. Octagonal sticks are a bit harder on the hair. Players press the stick to the point the stick touch’s the strings, this is common these days.. This in turn pinches the hairs, abrades them and eventually the hair breaks.

Can this woman not just shut up and let the other person talk?

I never knew that wood was ever used as ballast in ships, or at least uncommon wood. I always thought that rocks, sand, or gravel were used exclusively in that time simply due to it being cheaper. Did Brazil really have so much of this wood that it was better to use it over simpler ballast materials? Citation is definitely needed here as it just does not make sense considering that this wood only exists in one place in the world and therefore would have been extremely valuable for trading in Europe as was every other type of wood that came from south America. Maybe the traders in that instance claimed it was just worthless ballast because they did not want to risk valuable cargo being stolen in port because who is going to steal ballast? Similar tactics have been used countless times throughout history. But i could be completely wrong about the last theory as I could not find any reference to this either and I am only mentioning it as a possible explanation with David's story.

sounds like it's time to start sourcing bow wood from somewhere else - not unlike how they used to only use elephant tusks for piano ivory!

Hi! Sorry but the sound is very lower.

Always put your thumb on the leather - that's what it's for 🤷🏻‍♂️

I don't know much about bows but I disagree on the pricing. I believe you should not pay more than 2-3 grand for the bow. And should not pay more than 5-7 grand for the instrument. Sorry. I'm perhaps terribly wrong. But I believe some sellers might just be tricking you. We have all the technology. It should not cost too much. It's all about tuning and skills in my opinion. The rest is just fluff and showing-off. Just an opinion. I also believe strings matter. Put different strings on, and you got a different instrument! The tech is so advanced now.

that girl is too pretty - distracting! i guess that's the pont though :D great series though keep it up

These videos are great. But is this woman presenter aware of how bad her 'Vocal Fry' is? Her articulation is so awful at times, that I find it difficult to know what she's saying. Please put a bit more effort into your speech, and speak in a higher voice register.

It's too bad they have to kill the horse.