Fiddlerman Carbon Fiber Violin Bow 4/4

Good opinion for a bow replacement. Works better than the lower end bows that I have used. It has good weight and balance. The hairs tighten evenly.

Arrived today, well packaged and in a very nice box for the bow, which was a pleasant surprise. I am a beginner to intermediate player, and purchased my violin and bow from an old man in an alley for practically nothing. It is a student model which was well set up twenty years ago but was very worn. The bow I started with was what I now believe to be a Vale student model. It was breaking down and half the hair was missing so I went looking for an affordable alternative. I'm very traditionalist in my selection of most everything, and was hoping to acquire a well made brazil wood bow at the very least. However, after noticing the many positive reviews of this product I decided to take a chance. Also I live in a very unpredictable climate, and with a carbon fiber bow, you eliminate a great deal of worry over environmental stress on the bow. After the bow arrived I inspected it and found no obvious defect. I rosined it and tested it and am fairly pleased with it so far. I have spent much time looking for an affordable quality bow and I believe this one is a very reasonable selection for a beginner such as myself. Is it a professional quality soloist piece? No. It is priced and manufactured very appropriately for a beginner to intermediate player. It produces a very clear tone and is decently balanced. There are some people who may tire kick this bow and that is to be expected of people in general in this day and age. They want it all, and they want it for nothing. Don't listen to them. This is an extremely high quality bow. For the price point. If you are working with a very tight budget, I highly recommend this bow, in terms of design and quality. This is an excellent option for those of us in need of a workhorse for a low price. And did I mention it comes with a warranty?

I inherited my grandfathers 100 yr old German made violin and refurbished it with the intention of playing again after many years. The instrument turned out nicely, but the bow was not in good shape so I searched for a new one. I settled on the Fiddlerman carbon fiber bow based on reviews I had seen. I was pleasantly surprised when I received the package containing the bow. It was shipped in a box, but also came in a very nice little box of it's own. A very nice touch for a not so expensive bow. I added rosin and was again pleasantly by the nice smooth sound the bow produced. After a couple of weeks of playing with this bow, I am still impressed with its performance and the quality of construction. If you are looking for an inexpensive quality bow for your violin, I don't think you will be disappointed with this product. Well done Fiddlerman.

This is a good bow, but to save time, purchase it from the official site instead. They function with professional musicians who will inspect the bow before shipping it over, which guarantees a straight bow, but that's not the case with Amazon - you may get a crooked bow without the inspection. I had to return it because the one I got from Amazon was crooked. Otherwise, still the same item from the same company, and Fiddlerman has fantastic products.

OMG, this is a great bow for the price! I love how light and sturdy it is and the real horse hair is providing such a rich sound with no screeching over my high end synthetic bow. Love it! Just be sure to use a lot of rosin when you first get it. The Siberian horse hair is very thirsty at first.

I picked up the fiddle in 2002 and have been playing old time tunes since then. I consider myself an advancing- intermediate player. So far I've used cheap brazilwood bows (at least that's what they claimed to be), and have used the same bow for the past 10 years, with an even older bow as a backup. Those bows no longer hold up to the summertime humidity, so I figured I'd give this carbon fiber bow a try. I read the strong reviews, but I can't say I always trust reviews. Well, it arrived today and I rosined it up (with light Bernadel rosin), and man, it does play nicely considering the price. The bow is about a half inch longer than my other two bows, and it doesn't seem to be noticeably heavier or lighter (my other bows must be roughly 60 grams as well). It looks fine -- I didn't notice any obvious errors or problems with construction. And like I said, it plays nicely. Seems to be well-balanced. I've noticed no bouncing or skidding. The horse hair seems fine. You can't expect too much from a $68 bow, but I am surprised at how well it plays for that price. My oldest daughter is about to begin the master's program in violin performance and pedagogy at Arizona State University in the fall, and I will have her mess around with it and give me her impressions. As for me, I'm going to be playing with this bow like crazy at an upcoming music festival in town a week and a half from now, easily four to six hours a day for a few days. If I experience any problems I'll be sure to update my review. Update: No problems at all -- the bow held up to serious humidity and relatively damp late-night playing throughout a festival weekend. I really like this bow.

Works as advertised, appears more stable during humidity changes. After a year and a half in the deep south of the US it hasn't warped. This is important as it does not relax completely when unscrewed; the carbon fiber composite doesn’t take a set like wood. It is relatively heavy, 59 or 60 grams depending on whose report you read, but it is balanced so well that it feels lighter than a 52 gram tip heavy bow. I play mostly old time American fiddle tunes and Irish fiddle tunes and it reverses well, keeps up with 16th note runs and syncopated runs very well. It is stiff enough without being too stiff. This bit of stiffness gives good definition of those same runs without making them choppy. It has pretty good feel of the string vibrations, but then I don't like a bow which is too sensitive in its feeling. It needs a forthright playing style, doesn't do as well as some other bows I have when I try excessively light bowing. It is good enough for student fiddles and my carbon fiber five string Glasser battle tank, but I recently got a luthier made fiddle and it is there the differences stand out. Comparing it to my old German bow it doesn’t give at all as much complexity and warmth for low notes and the high notes are harsh, sounding at times like its being played too close to the bridge. This is most obvious playing hymns and Scottish laments, the sort of tunes which are meant to sound more violin-like. I keep a couple of cheap student bows for emergencies and to take with the carbon fiddle, since they would be no great loss if exposed to the environment, a 1980ish Lark in The Morning and a new Stew-Mac cherrywood. The Lark is bright and focussed without so much harsh edges as this one. It is a tossup whether this one or the cherrywood sounds better. That being said, it is perfectly OK for a student fiddle or a carbon fiber fiddle. And it is much cheaper than what it would cost to replace my good bow. Edited to add that as I advance in my fiddling I am seeng this bow is too bouncy for consistency playing double stops and also for those long end to end sweeps which are one of the thins you have to learn on the old hymns and for Texas swing songs. Those need a stiffer, harder feeling. Having said this, I’m reducing my rating to three stars. Edited again to add that I’ve decided the Vingobow is a better buy in terms of a cheap CF. The latter has a better feel and is more sure for fiddle tunes. This one is still dependable and has held up well, but not more than hree stars worth.

Well add me to the chorus that is singing praise about this bow. This was intended to replace a bow that came with a student outfit (Stentor II). The Stentor bow was...ok, I guess, but it just didn't have a balanced feel to it, which wasn't a surprise. I think the packaging bears mention, though there is a fine line mentioning that in an Amazon review. I was disappointed that it was only secured in the box with some crumpled up paper. The bow was rattling about in the box some, but fortunately this is a strong bow (how strong? Check out Fiddlerman's video at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gOjs84ShSp0) and it didn't seem the worse for wear. Still, I'd prefer that it were packed a little more securely. The bow I received was a little different than the photos...the "Fiddlerman" name is simply engraved, no gold to it or anything. However, it was in good shape. I have to say, when I picked it up it seemed much lighter than the bow it was replacing, so much so that I had to weigh it. Nope, came in right around 60 grams. That's what proper balance is going to get you...the bow is going to feel much lighter than it actually is. I found it quite easy to hold with no pinkie strain at all. I decided to go dark rosin with this bow, and though the hair was not pre-rosined (really, thanks Fiddlerman for that...I like to be able to pick my own rosin) it only took me about five minutes to get it all set up. And then, heart in my mouth, I drew some notes. Wow. In the back of my mind throughout this process, I confess to thinking "how good can this thing *really* be?" Had I fallen for a gimmick and cheap marketing talk? Am I doomed to wander the Earth forever in search of a decent, reasonably priced bow? Well, it's pretty darned good and there is nothing oversold about this bow. It's balanced. it's agile. The weight is appropriate and drawing it is effortless. In short, it's a dream to use, and before I knew it, a half hour had passed with me just jamming on the violin. That's when I knew I could not give this to my kid. Or at least...I'd have to get another one. After all, if you're going to learn, why not learn with a great bow? I don't know how I found this bow. Honestly I am a bit of a traditionalist when it comes to these things and wasn't looking for a bow made of space-age materials. But found it I did, and I couldn't be happier with this. It's a very good bow.

best buy carbon fiber violin bow!

The product was received in good condition. No hair was broken.

جيد للتمرين

Excellent!

A mi hijo le encantó, muy ligero y fácil de manejar.