Double Bass From student to pro upright (5/8), bow size help?

Odelalala

Odelalala

Jul 28, 2019
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2
4,606
Maryland
#1
Greetings!

I play a student 5/8 upright and I will purchase a pro in October. I am using a 1/2 bow and I have had a lot of problems with it, so I have decided to buy a new one.

Am I to be married to this size, forever, or can I go for the size used by double bassists playing 3/4?

I personally like the look and the feel of the standard (larger bow), but worried that it will impact the sound? True? False?

Thank you.
 
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#3
Hi, welcome to Talk Bass. I think you probably want to posting your bow question over in the Double Bass Forum, unless you are looking to add tort to the stick.

This is the Electric Bass section.
 
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#5
Greetings!

I play a student 5/8 upright and I will purchase a pro in October. I am using a 1/2 bow and I have had a lot of problems with it, so I have decided to buy a new one.

Am I to be married to this size forever or can I go for the size used by double bassists playing 3/4?

I personally like the look and the feel of the standard (larger bow), but worried that it will impact the sound? True? False?

Thanks.
 
#7
Odelalala said:
Greetings!

I play a student 5/8 upright and I will purchase a pro in October. I am using a 1/2 bow and I have had a lot of problems with it, so I have decided to buy a new one.

Am I to be married to this size, forever, or can I go for the size used by double bassists playing 3/4?

I personally like the look and the feel of the standard (larger bow), but worried that it will impact the sound? True? False?

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Yes, this should be in the dog house section. Specifically Bows and Rosin [DB]

But since you are here at the moment...
Bow sizes are not standard to bass size. Bow sellers don’t even follow length standards. I also have a 5/8 bass, carved and use it for jazz, and a 7/8 bass for classical.

I have six bows, most are about the same length although at least one was listed as 3/4. It is not. French bass bows are traditionally a bit shorter than German.

The absolute most important aspect of bowing is instruction by a pro. Even after playing for 45 years I take occasional bow lessons from the local symphony members, and practice one to three hours a day. Learning never ends.
 
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#11
It's the bow that came with the bass--that's the only reason. The bass is a Shen SB80 5/8 that I've rented until October. The bow is labeled as 1/2 (French).

I want to buy a carbon fiber bow ASAP but need to be clear about the size I should buy first. I would prefer a larger bow; however, I'm not sure if that would impact the sound negatively.
 
#14
You can even use a 4/4 bow on a 1/4 size bass without any problems. Usually a longer and a little heavier bow gives a better tone. The reason for the smaller bows for smaller basses is the problem of children handling the larger bows, but most adults don't have any problems handling 3/4 or 4/4 bows. The netherland school of double bass recommends heavier bows for playing. A cello bow is not as thick, but almost as long as a full size bass bow, and the cello is as small as the smallest double bass.
 
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#19
The best bet, if at all possible, is to try various bows before you purchase. The same goes when shopping for double basses, only more emphatically.

Short of that, if you have pretty normal wingspan, I'd suggest at least trying a 3/4 bow, again keeping in mind that 3/4 means different things, in inches, to different bowmakers.
 
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