Welcome to ARCUS Müsing Carbon Fiber Bows 

On the other side of the world there are more and more players who think the Arcus bows are just fantastic and are retiring their wooden bows. Maybe you want to contact one of our dealers there, for example the Sydney String Center and try some Arcus bows for yourself. www.violins.com.au/shop/category/bows-violin-bows-arcus-violin-bows-857 Tourte was a clock-maker before he became a bow-maker, so he knew a lot about metal working besides quite a bit of engineering. And he meant to make better bows so he turned bow-making upside down. Describing him as an "innovator of sorts" really falls short. I have just watched some of your videos and noted that you are not playing "organic" pure gut strings, but modern strings made from high-tech plastics and all kinds of metal. Don't you think it a bit arbitrary to draw the line between the strings and the bow? And no, wooden bows do not "adapt" to musicians. They may wear, bend or break, sure, but any kind of adaptation is entirely on the side of the musician. Over the past 23 years more than 20.000 musicians around the world have adapted happily to an Arcus or Müsing bow and enjoy their superior playing qualities, sound, reliability and durability. By the way, did you know that Pernambuco (the best wood for bows) is an endangered species? Due to its reckless and illegal exploitation by the bow-making industry it is now highly endangered and may soon be put to the highest protection status. That would result in a full stop on all trade and would make travelling with Pernambuco bows rather difficult.

​@@ARCUSMuesing Hello, yes I read your whole reply. I guess I'll respond in order of the statements you made and questions you raised. I *have* tried out many different Arcus bows - I live in Perth (as far away from Sydney as possible essentially!) and about 5 years ago I was only able to try my colleagues' Arcus bows. They were good bows, yet my colleagues alternated between Arcus and fine wooden bows. I've found that people with a lot of money to spend have bought expensive violins plus the latest in bow technology (which is of course: Arcus!). These people are beginners though - so they don't really know what sound they're looking for, but at least the bow is comfortable to play on. That brings me to my next point! Recently, my local store had about 10 Arcus bows of different levels shipped in and asked me if I'd like to try them. I thought I would give them a go (again) because a lot can change over the years [in terms of developing the bow to be better]. I do think they are better than the bows I've tried in the past. They're perfectly comfortable in the hand and feel just like a wooden bow. Well. Some of them. I found the very light bows odd (in sound). They are VERY well balanced though! There are many uneducated (sadly, professional) musicians here that believe a bow is too heavy for their instrument when really it's the balance point that's off. I know you know this, you make bows! The lighter bows made my violin sound very shrill in on the A and E string, and also brought out the bass on the G string a lot! I know the weight is such that it allows the violin to "speak" truly, and relax, and use its own voice. So then... I naturally liked the heaviest of Arcus bows, as it made my violin sound more even across the strings. My wooden bows however matched the Arcus bows in this respect but also they have a lot more colours to offer, can enhance the volume/projection, and sit more comfortably in the hand. Next! Yes, I know about Tourte. Quite a lot. I'm not just a musician, but a luthier, collector of bows, and researcher of both bows and instruments. I've read many books that talk about FX Tourte and NL Tourte, and books that also offer up the information that Dodd stole silver spoons to melt them down for his fittings, and that Tubbs rarely did his own chasing/engraving but his buyers believe he did etc.. As for strings: the reason why I don't use gut strings is because (and I *have* studied the art of authentic Baroque playing) is because gut strings require less bow hair, less pressure, and generally a faster stroke. They are simply not my thing. I actually use a steel D and A on my violin, and on my viola, all steel. The nylon doesn't react well to any bow and also I can press the strings down with my left hand like it's a piece of dental floss... I don't like that. I like the tactile aspect. So now we're at a point in time where a lot of players have: A wooden "sound-box" , nylon strings wound with metal, a plastic and foam shoulder rest, a couple of metal fine tuners, and a bow ....of another material? Carbon fibre? So many different modern materials: but try to make a fine tuner out of wood! Not a peg (a gorgeous original idea, and we all still have pegs for a very obvious reason), but a fine tuner! That's fine if the carbon fibre bow works for them. I just personally like prefer a wooden bow - and NOT always pernambuco! In fact: in my collection I have many Abeille, Swartzia Bannia, Ipe bows which outplay some very fine Pernambuco French, German, and English bows! I think I have more "alternative wood" bows than the precious pernambuco bows. Anyway. Sorry for the long comment. More Arcus bows are coming to our store for people to try out. A side comment/question - a friend of mine works at the store and said "we have a $9000 bow, and do you know how many people are haggling with a counter offer of $7500? It's crazy. We might not be able to stock the best ones at all. Even the mid-range bows were tested but sat on the shelf for ages and so we sent them back. Purely because of the price. A shame." I just wanted to make you aware of this. The cost of wood and the cost of carbon fibre? Totally different. Then the process of making a bow, including machinery?! Sorry, I'll stop here...

​@@liamnevilleviolist1809 Thank you for your extensive reply, which covers some very interesting points. To begin with making an Arcus bow is more difficult and takes more time than making a wooden bow. It is also significantly more expensive. Many luthiers that have visited out workshop were amazed about the complexity. If you ever have the chance to visit Würzburg, I'll be happy to give you a tour. Over the past 23 years many thousand professional players all around the world have made an Arcus their primary bow. Their unique resonance quality plays of course a decisive role in such decision. Once you got the knack of it an Arcus allows you to pull not only a more powerful but also a much more flexible sound, allowing for shades and nuances wooden bows don't. It may take quite some time though to learn how to do that. Once you have arrived at that point you would think that wooden bows are quite a hindrance in your musical expression. That is why they all keep playing their Arcus. With the many thousand bows that we have made and sold you should expect to find plenty used ones - but you won't. The (light) S-series bows are designed to match especially warm and/or soft sounding instruments. Many valuable old violins have come to full bloom with them. For your bright sounding violin the P-series will probably be the best match. More precisely a P6 should deliver exactly the same sound quality as the finest wooden bows you have ever have been in touch with. The P7 and up are already in a league of their own. I understand that it can be very difficult to accept the idea that carbon fibre can be far superior too wood when you have been so deeply involved with wooden bows for so many years and having built such an extensive collection. It would be like changing a religion or fandom from Borussia Dortmund to Bayern München for example. :)

You can find important information regarding the rehair of Arcus bows on our website in the section "service and care". There you can find the ideal hair thickness, which is important for the playing characteristics. Good bowmakers (archetiers) know about that, but interestingly there was no hair gauge on the market to check this, so we have developed one. If can be obtained through us directly or though our distributors. Regarding the plugs and wedges - there are no standards in our industry, so for our bows just like for any wooden bow they must be cut and fitted individually. One thing that is very different from "normal" bows is that our hair last muuuuch longer. Professional player that normally need a rehair every couple month play with our bows for 1 to 4 years. The relatively weak stick of a "normal" bow tends to crush the hair between its (collapsing) stick and the strings when playing chords or forte. The much stiffer / more resilient stick of a Müsing or Arcus bow prevents this damage almost completely.

Thanks! Just pulled the trigger on the Arcus S9 Octagonal - heaven! @@ARCUSMuesing

@@gomezalx Wonderful, congratulations!

You will find prices of all our bows on the product pages. For example: www.arcus-muesing.de/en/products/violinbows/t-series.html

And for the Müsing bows: www.muesing.eu/en/bows/