Buying an instrument can be a daunting task. As a parent, I am often tempted to simply buy the most affordable thing out there. For example, my son is a track runner and pole vaulter. I know absolutely nothing about track equipment. When he first started, I bought trainers from Wal-Mart, but his knees started hurting him. After some discussion with his coach, I bought him trainers from our local sports outlet store. After several seasonal trips there, it became obvious that he needed something even more specialized and we have been shopping at the local running gear store since. Now, trainers from Wal-Mart = $20.00. Trainers from the sports store = $60-90. Specialized shoes that don’t cause him pain during his training season = $130-160. Each pair is good for 300 miles, and since he runs about 5 miles a day during his training, that works out to a new pair every 3-4 months. Luckily, playing the violin (viola or cello, too) does not cause that much wear and tear on the equipment, but quality materials can be pricey.
Three of my four children picked up my passion for music and I cringed at the price tag for quality instruments for them. And the cost of maintaining these instruments at any kind of quality is enough to give anyone a heart attack. But the benefits of taking my time to save the money and buy quality items, like bows and strings, far outweighs the strain on my pocketbook. Playing a stringed instrument is hard work and poor quality equipment makes it even harder. If your student’s teacher has recommended a new piece of equipment, please, please, please carefully consider following their advice. An instrument that plays well will keep your child playing, and the cost will not be in vain.
With that in mind, let’s talk about bows today. There are several levels of quality in bows and many things can go wrong with them.
- Bow hair gets dirty, breaks, or dries out. When this happens, you have two options.
- If the bow is a low-level student quality, the best financial option is to simply replace the bow. Make sure you get the appropriate size. If you are renting, most rental agreements include the bow and you can just trade it in at the instrument shop.
- If you own the bow and paid more than $100 for it, getting new bow hair is an option. This usually costs $75-100 and should be done about every 12-18 months, once the student is using a high-quality wood or carbon fiber bow.
- The bow stick is wood and, therefore, subject to normal wear and tear from weather conditions – meaning, they warp sometimes. If the bow is warped, it most often needs to be replaced. Higher quality bows should not warp because they were aged over time, and advanced quality carbon fiber bows also should not warp. Some higher quality bows may be able to be unwarped, so do check with your local luthier if you paid more than $500 for the bow.
- The grip needs repair or replacement. On lower-level student bows, the plastic grip sometimes comes unglued and the sticky residue can be distracting to a beginning student. If this happens, contact the instrument shop for trade in. If you have a higher quality bow with a leather grip and metal winding, this can be replaced and rewound for around $30. I usually have this done when I get new bow hair each year.
- The frog breaks, cracks, or stops working. Again, on lower-level student bows, this is a common problem, especially when students forget to loosen their bows when putting their instruments away. For a rental, this is another good reason to ask about trade ins, and is something you need to look out for. On higher-level bows, breaking and cracking are not typically a problem. Because it is the part of the bow that is handled, there may be some wear and tear over time, but frogs can be replaced. I have never had this done, so I don’t know an estimated cost, but it certainly should be less than the cost of a new bow. The inner mechanics of the frog do include a screw and a threaded loop that sometimes wear down. These can be repaired or replaced at minimal cost, as well.
Now that we’ve talked about what can go wrong with bows, let’s talk about types of bows available.
- Fiberglass – these are the least expensive, most durable, and least responsive type of bows available. These are usually recommended for young beginners because stuff happens. Because they are fiberglass, though, there does come a point in the student’s technical level when it just won’t do. These are the bows that you would trade in with the instrument shop, or buy replacement bows when something happens. They cost around $50-100.
- Carbon Fiber – this is a relatively new material in the market – maybe only in the last 10 years or so. There are some very high quality carbon fiber bows out there that range from several hundred to several thousand dollars (right up there with the following bow types). A new product in the industry is the lower-cost student carbon fiber bows that are as durable as fiberglass, but almost as responsive as wood. These cost in the $50-100 range, as well, and would be replaced, instead of repaired, if something happened.
- Brazilwood – Brazilwood is the outer layers of the Pernambuco tree, which only grows in South America and, therefore, getting pricier each year due to global warming, deforestation, etc. You used to be able to get these types of bows for as little as $50 to $500+, depending on the maker, age of the wood, etc. Due to diminishing raw materials, it is harder to get good Brazilwood because of how long we have to wait for the trees to grow to harvest them, so prices have gone up. I rarely see one for less than $200.
- Pernambuco – the wood for these bows is taken from the core of the trees. It is denser, more vibrant, more responsive, and everything else you want a bow to be. These can range in price from $300 to $1,000, or more. Again, a lot depends on the age of the tree, the age of the wood, the maker, the other materials (frogs can be made from ebony, ivory, bone, etc.’ wrappings can be leather, silver, or gold; other elements can be Mother of Pearl or other types of inlay.)
I know that’s a lot of information. I hope I’ve answered some questions you never thought to ask about bows. Feel free to let me know if you have any additional questions or find any errors in my claims above. Have a great week!