Carbon vs. Wood - Comparing the Sound of Violin Bows 

Such a good video, that is what I was searching for! Thanks!

You really should have more subscribers than you currently do. I subbed and look forward to seeing and hearing your uploads. Thanks for your professional work !! -Mark, Australia.

Fascinating. Thank you!

I just bought my new bow. This video helped me formulate my demands. The maker and seller at the shop gave me the simple useful advice: first go for obvious elimination of some bows based on your starting preference. One should know in advance some important demands that he is after and do preliminary elimination to fulfill that. For myself, I have come up generally with these corner stones when choosing a bow: 1) depth/beauty/harmonics on G, D-A, E. They have to be balanced, and wanted. 2) sound strength on G, D-A, E. 3) sautillé playable 4) upbow/downbow staccato bow range. (or any other stroke one prefer). 5) play several frases from personal repertoire. How is the total impression (sound + control/ ease of use) ? And yes, important things when bying at less prominent places: first check very carefully if bow is conplanar (straight in one plane) and if bow curve in the middle is pronounced. Generally repaired used bows should be avoided if intended for serious long time music implementation. Again thanks very much for the video.

Wow! What a presentation. Incredible! Thank you.

Fascinating. This is the most in-depth video on this topic I have found. This discussion of the nuances in bow construction and the differences in sound produced is very helpful for a noobie like me. However, one nuance that I would have liked more information on is the reaction to changes in humidity and temperature: I live in Florida, so having a bow that can withstand our swings in climate is important in the swamp state.

A very helpful video, thanks. I felt like I came away with a better understanding of how to judge bow quality than I had before. I like the "there is no perfect bow" idea especially.

Fantastic explanation. I am searching for bow and will use your advices.

Thank you for such an in depth evaluation. I used to think that the only purpose of the bow was to keep the hair in tention. I had no idea that it could affect the sound quality at all. I could really hear the difference, your high end bow sounded the best for sure, well done. How about a factory tour video?? Sure everyone would appreciate that. Thanks again.

TY for this video. I'm starting to research my next steps for a bow on cello, and the comments about cheaper carbon fiber bows being kind of grittier and less responsive validated exactly what I've been struggling with.

This was so helpful. I am reconsidering a new bow from a beginner bow to more intermediate and would prefer carbon as long as the sound and quality is commensurate. Thank you!

I have an S 5 bow that I have for almost a decade. It sounds very synthetic. I played a few wooden bow that cost a quarter of the s5 and consistently , people listening to me all said they prefer my wooden bow sound.

Thank you for this informative video. I bought a violin starter kit, a stentor student 2 outfit, several months ago and I am already looking for a new bow. Edited the violin outfit I bought

The trio test at @13.00, 3rd position on the A string, the wood bow (in my opinion), clearly sounded better than the carbon fiber ones. On all examples. Apologies, my only gripe. Other than that an excellent, and informative presentation. Thank you.

I purchased an Arcus S6 from an online retailer today, immediately after watching this video. My only trepidation was whether I might perhaps like the Musing C5 better for my own fiddle and playing style. Alas, I may be doomed to always wondering, without having a chance to compare them side-by side.

I would have liked to have seen/heard in closing a comparison of the richer sounding wood bow with the best carbon fibre. I was able to stop/start and compare, and while the projection of the carbon fibre bow was better, I still found the wood sounded warmer with a richness. I appreciate what you say about choosing the one that you like best because you spend the most time with it. Even though I play cello, I found this tremendously informative. Thank you.

Fun fact: The logo on his T-shirt actually means “bow” in my language ! Coincidence ??!

It would perhpas help if you gave the brand and the model of the bows you actually compare your bows against. It'd help put the test into perspective. But very informative overall, thank you very much!

This is fantastic!! I have been searching for a video like this for weeks, exactly the information I need to consider when I buy my new bow. However, what if I am unable to try them? With certain unfortunate lockdowns, how can I decide? Thanks so much!

Great video. I am an adult beginner. Had a carbon bow that came with my $700 violin. Bought a wood bow on AMZ, $25. I vastly prefer the wooden bow, mainly the sound. As you mentioned the difference I heard was the upper ranges. I had no idea the bow would be so different., Thank you for your thoughts/suggestions.

I like your video ! I'm a beginner violinist and I've got both a fiber carbon bow (I don't know the fiber carbon pourcentage in it) and a wooden bow. I wanted to own both types of bow to figure out what will work for me. My favourite by far (the only one I use now) is the wooden one which is also quite heavier. The fiber carbon one I've got is much much easier to play with, like make you feel you can fly over the strings as you play, very freeing senstation, very clear and "pure" sound, whereas the wooden one was at first definately harder to handle, specially at the frog and all around it is very sensitive to the pressure you put on, you do have to put the exact needed pressure for it to sound good, so it requires a lot more of fine control. It is more difficult to be confortable with then but it is totally worth it because the sound you get out of it at the end is so much more powerwul and richer. So out of my two bows I prefered to learn how to handle the wooden one in pushing myself to be more precise in my bowing. Now I'm actually also able to appreciate very much how this higher sensitivity (which was getting in my way at first as it didn't hide any of my bowing mistakes) is now something helping my playing by giving me a wider range of sounds and subtilities, like every intention you give will be transmitted to the instrument and heard. However I like that I learn about different fiber bow qualities in your video, I'm now even quite curious to try one day a fiber carbon bow with a higher fiber carbon pourcentage in it.

Great video! What could you say about CodaBow Prodigy CB-SPA4G? And what was the name of the bow from China?

The carbon fiber bow (min 6:00) not yield some frequencies (compared with wood bow) thus it sound more empty or lax. On the other hand, the ARCUS bow sounded very good

I'm on a island with no way to test bows and only listen to recordings. What bow would you recommend for a 1yr beginner Cellist who will never stop playing? I'm only able to purchase online. Thank you.

Listening on good quality headphones, I could barely tell the difference between any of the bows, with the exception of the last one (on the left of picture) which made that violin sound completely different (and amazingly good!).

Not sure what his comparisons are but my Berg carbon fiber bow from 1998 is a pretty good resemblance of my Dominique Peccatte. Not sure about the fiber vs resin ratio or even whether they still make Berg bows but worth checking out.

Omg thats a hell of a difference

What are your thoughts on carbon instruments? I notice you're using a traditional wooden violin. I ask because having heard both for my instrument (cello), I prefer wood. Does this timbre and character preference have any relation to which bow material a player might prefer? Or perhaps to the grading for your bows? (S, M or T).

Hello Mr Müsing and thank you for your very informative videos! I'm a violin student looking for an upgrade for my brazilwood bow. A professional player has told me that, while carbon fiber bows have made huge progress over the past years, they do not recommend using a carbon fiber bow for studying, because since carbon fiber dampens vibrations less than wood, playing on a carbon fiber bow for long periods would cause more stress to the finger joints, and possibly even damage in the long run. So they recommended getting a pernambuco bow over a carbon fiber bow. We're talking about the $500-$700 price range (so, e.g., Müsing C2 or C3 vs a similarly-priced pernambuco bow). Have you heard this criticism before and what's your opinion?

Ich finde es gerade sehr faszinierend, dass gute Carbonbögen scheinbar wirklich gute Einflüsse auf den Klang haben können, Carbon-Geigen aber bis dato sehr gewöhnungsbedürftig klingen. Sie die einfach noch nicht ausgereift oder resonieren sie zu gut und klingen dadurch weniger angenehm als Holz, das bestimmte Frequenzen verschluckt? Eine Frage, die mir noch kam: Die Bögen innerhalb einer Serie, egal ob Arcus oder Müsing, sollten ja relativ identisches Spielverhalten liefern und sich "nur" im Klang unterscheiden, oder? Sprich: Wenn man weiß, dass man bspw. mit einem C3 gut klarkommt, wäre es das gleiche Spiel mit einem C5, nur eben mit klareren Obertönen?

I could hear the difference between the bows and liked the Western deeper sound bow. The chinese like a higher sounding music. Which I do not appreciate. Good video. Personally other than the Chinese bow any bow would suit me after a few hours practice.

Would the M series violin bow be a better match for an old violin with wound gut strings?

I have to be honest, I prefer the wood bows. There's a humble quality to wood bows, and yes colours too, subtlety etc... but sometimes they can be a bit quite. When the first carbon fibre bow was played I thought "okay... we are losing sound here, but perhaps it plays easier". Some people will shake their heads at wooden bows and say "no, carbon fibre has power and great functionality, especially when trying to play a concerto with an orchestra or heavy sonata with a grand piano". Even though I only use wooden bows, I would have to concede that many carbon fibre bows will do much better than many wooden bows of the same price. I was stunned (not in a good way) when the last bow was tested. I thought "here we go, it's going to have all the colours of a wooden bow, but have a light enough weight to let the instrument vibrate freely and sing to its full potential!" but sadly not. One thing that did come across was that it sounded very even in comparison to the bow before it. All the notes were the same richness and volume. I see on online stores though that the top Arcus bows go for about $8k or $9k?? Is that true?? For Australian's looking at the price tag, after converting it, we are looking at at least $11000!! That is an incredible amount compared to many other bows available and I don't know where that price comes from..... Arcus are a legitimate innovative company that produce probably the best carbon fibre bows. But I can not see where $11000 comes from. Sorry to say. I have recommended these bows to many people (and know rich colleagues who have them and are very pleased with them) but the price tag puts them off, which is a big shame. Even shaving off a few thousand would likely change their mind and I don't know whether or not the Arcus/Müsing company would consider this drop in price. This company seems successful enough without dropping prices, but I'm thinking of the many musicians who would love to use these bows but can't afford them. Arcus COULD take the music world by storm by being more affordable and maybe make a huge profit in that change. I hope I am not out of line in saying what I'm saying, you are the business experts and you clearly put in all the hard work to make the company as successful as it is! I respect that greatly. I am just giving you my opinion as a performer (and potential customer!) All the best!

This short review of Daniel Blair about his ARCUS S7 also provides some good arguments why you should choose a high quality carbon bow (like ARCUS ;-) over wood. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-cC3C2pWWC2g.html

I think the quality of the horsehair and resin is more important than the weight of the bow.

There is so much I would like to discuss with you on this topic. But I would literally have to write a book to discuss all of my thoughts. Ha ha. It would be a discussion much better had in person over coffee.

10:4 "that is very similar". Maybe i am just being snobbish but the wooden bow sounds a lot better to my hears. More medium, warmer and more noble. Thank you for this comparison sir.

It seems that carbon fiber bows are objectively better than wood ones now and days. However, it is quite interesting how we haven't found a similar thing with the violins. Frankly, I rather keep the violins wood

I bought a fairly expensive carbon-fibre bow last year. The tip snapped off after four or five weeks. I've been wary of carbon fibre bows ever since.

what is difference violin bow and cello bow

The angle between his desk and the cabinet behind him hurt my eyes

If you play a violin that is valued at over $2000, a better bow can make a huge difference. i.e. Keep the the $2000 violin and spend $1000 on a bow that will make your violin sound better than a $5000 violin you were looking at. Of course, a better bow may mean spending $1000 or more. The weirdest part of this is that even two identical carbon fiber bows can sound different. I tested two Coda Luma bows and one was significantly better on my violin. The associate who was helping me was equally surprised by the difference in the sound.

I like the videos but honestly, you're so quiet I need to max out my volume just to barely hear you talk

I wish I could tell the difference! Unfortunately, the sound has to go through your microphone, get digitized, and finally coming out of my speakers. I'm sure you can tell the difference with the fiddle right under your chin, and maybe somebody sitting in the room with you could tell the difference as well. I've got two bows that make my fiddle sound different. The lighter one makes the instrument sound "brighter."

Well If you compare a $2000 wooden bow with a $149 carbon fiber bow, is the comparison honest ?

The fittings on the violin don't really match the varnish. Probably should replace it for some darker tone wood and it looks pretty dense and heavy.

I dont really like carbon bow its to light that it slides way easier

Chemically youre comparing the same thing brother

As I was watching this for the 2nd or 3d time I wondered if Chitin would make a better binder than Epoxy? I did a quick search on google on found there is a lot of interesting research being done on this. I can really begin to see the future of affordable violins and bows as being 3d printed Carbon fiber/Chitin resin.

There is no difference in sound. Period. The bow maintains tension on the hairs so that the hairs can cause the violin strings to vibrate. Whether the bow is made of wood or stale Twizzlers, sufficient tension on the hairs will produce the same sound.