Did anyone see this last night?

Incredibly energetic performance from Bellowhead, and I was fascinated with Jon Boden's bow. Done some research and now find it is an incredibow (on which he uses cello rosin for a 'scratchier' sound).

It looked like fun. Anyone tried an incredibow??

I missed that but I've heard of incredibows and wondered what they are like. I think quite a lot of fiddlers use them, particularly in America....

http://www.incredibow.com/

I've just been browsing the website. I fancy an Aurorabow Realis

bizarre.....
anyone tried one?
x

He gave an awesome performance on the fiddle.

In the hands of a skilled folk fiddler I'm sure they're great bows.

If you're thinking of buying yet another bow, then you've clearly got far too much money rattling around in the bank

Well there is one spare bow holder in my violin case - seems a shame not to use it.

I tried one once - it was interesting. The hair is synthetic, but grips more or less like normal hair and never breaks or needs replacing (major help) - but the sound is not the same as a wooden bow. The feel is also much lighter, which makes it great for fast passage work, but hard to play things like slow airs with much feeling. The bow is cambered like a baroque bow.

I didn't end up buying it because I prefer my normal bows even for fiddling, but they are certainly an interesting object and for the low price (only just over a hundred quid I think) - worth getting just as a curiosity!

Some people have recommended them as being better for fiddling that a normal bow - I think that's highly unlikely, a good folk fiddler has good violin technique and so uses a normal bow and most usually a normal bow hold (none of this higher up the stick nonsense - that just reduces the amount of bow you can use!) - but I do know a few fiddlers who have bought them once they were able to use a normal bow too.

Get one - you know you want to!

Allan

I tried one a few months ago when I was having a go on a carbon fibre viola. The bow felt very light, and I actually liked it. I thought that it suited the carbon fibre viola well. I wasn't able to try it on my own viola or do a direct comparison with my own bow. I felt that on a wooden instrument it would be easier to generate a really rich tone, and a wide a variety of sounds, with a good wooden bow. Having said that I have been tempted to buy one.

Looks good.

I use a arch bow to play my rebec - it's got synthetic hair and I'm sure it's that which makes the rebec so difficult to play, with gut strings