A. Cavallo Violins, LLC

What to Know When Buying a Bow
outside of shop
Dear Friends:

In the last few weeks bows seem to have been on our customer's minds. Since knowledge is power, we thought it was a good idea to give you an outline of the choices you have when buying a bow, and the advantages or disadvantages you have with each materiel and making technique.

If you have any questions regarding instruments or bows, do not hesitate to call us, as we are always happy to help you increase your knowledge and discernment.

Above all, make beautiful music!

Musically Yours,

The Staff at A. Cavallo Violins, LLC
A. Cavallo Violins, LLC
Bows, Bows, Bows
How to make the right choice

Your bow is as significant to your playing as your instrument, but it is often ignored during the purchase. We remind our customers that proportionately you get "more bang for the buck" when you spend more on the bow. Conventional wisdom is that the bow should be about 25-35% of your total instrument and bow purchase, and we believe that proportion is about right.

Bow sticks are made of at least four different materials: Pernambuco, Carbon Fiber, Brazilwood, and Fiberglass.

The gold standard for bows is Pernambuco, but the wood is endangered and the bows are quite breakable. Typically pernambuco bows start at around $200, and the finest examples are over $200,000! Bows are usually graded by the company or maker by their fittings. Nickel mounting is the entry level, Silver is usually second, and then fancier silver or frog materials such as snakewood, shell, or ivory can reflect the maker's assessment of the stick. The best commercial bows are now coming out of Brazil, as the Pernambuco is no longer available anywhere else due to import/export restrictions. Pernambuco combines a strength, flexibility, response, speed and ability to hold camber (the curve, induced by heat) at a higher level than any other natural product.

Brazilwood it thearcos brasil bow other natural product used commonly. These days it refers to any wood that mimics pernambuco. Typically, these bows do not have the playability and ability to hold camber like pernambuco, but they often produce a warm sound. Brazilwood bows can be as inexpensive as $30.00 and are often the choice of beginners.

Fiberglass is the student choice. Usually fiberglass has more strength and resilience and less camber issues than brazilwood, but is usually not very playable. Cost is low, usually under $50 for a violin bow.

Carbon Fiber bows are attempts to create a process and material that rivals pernambuco. Carbon fiber is practically unbreakable and will almost never lose its camber. The quickness and response of the better carbon fiber bows, such as the JonPaul and CodaBow brands, come close to pernambuco in warmth and tone. Many professional players have a carbon fiber bow as a "pit bow," for such playing as opera, musical, or pops that does not demand individual tone, and is used in a dangerous environment for fragile pernambuco or any other wood.

So far we have only written about the stick materials. There are many other materials and workmanship issues that affect the quality, cost, and performance of bows, but we will reserve that for a later discussion!



Interesting Bow Websites


www.arcosbrasil.com

www.watervioletbows.com.br

www.ipci-usa.org

www.jonpaulstrings.com

www.codabow.com









A. Cavallo Violins, LLC

8705 Shamrock Road

Omaha, NE 68114

toll free
877 838 6222

Everyday Instrument Care Tips

Ever wondered what simple things you can do everyday to care for your instrument? Here is a list of friendly tips and reminders for those young or old, beginners or artists.

Everyday Instrument Care Tips

• Be sure to loosen your bow after each session, whether practicing or performing. A bow left tight will cause a gradual loss in camber of the stick.
• Consistently wipe-off the rosin residue from the instrument with a 100% cotton cloth. If left on the instrument, this residue will deteriorate the varnish. A microfiber cloth is another idea for cleaning and light polishing.
• To lengthen the life of your case, be sure to always clasp and zip it shut. If any of these are left undone, the case will eventually loose it's shape and decrease it's protection of the instrument and function of the case.
• Never leave shoulder rests attached to instruments when putting in the case; even sponges or foams. If left on, once the case is closed extra pressure will be placed on the bridge, which is already carrying the tension weight of the strings.
• In climates or seasons where the humidity is low (less that 50%), an in-case or in-instrument humidifier should be used. There are many options, from models needing filled daily to just once per week. By using a humidifier, it reduces the stress of swelling and contracting of the instrument wood which causes natural openings and sometimes cracks.
  
• If carrying your case backpack style, consider switching to 1 strap that fits diagonally over one shoulder, across the chest, and under the opposite arm. This is known to more evenly distribute the weight of the instrument and case, rather than pulling on the body.

These are just a handful of simple tips that we pass along to our in-store customers and hope brings a longer life to your instrument 'outfit'.

-Cassandra General Manager

Spring Clearance Sale!

Hello friends! Right now we have an amazing storewide Spring Clearance Sale going on until the 1st of June. We have already had a great response during this sale and have been able to equip players of all ages, from the beginner to the performing artist with beautiful instruments, cases, and bows while they SAVE BIG! We are very excited with the outcome so far and want to make sure every player out there knows about this wonderful sale.

Below are some examples of qualifying instruments. We hope that this opportunity will fulfill the needs of the player in your life. Please contact us directly for more specific information on qualifying instruments.

Sincerely,

A. Cavallo Violins, LLC

Used Violin Outfits Each of these instruments are hand-carved under the supervision of a European master by fine craftsmen in Beijing, China. They have all of the features of a professional instrument, from the ebony fingerboard and pegs, the aged Himalayan spruce and maple, the hand-applied multi-layered spirit varnish, the tailpiece with four fine tuners, the Dominant, Vision or ProArte strings, and an Aubert French bridge. Each outfit is fitted in Omaha by the experts at A. Cavallo Violins, LLC. The outfit includes a suspension case and brazilwood bow that has an ebony frog and Siberian Stallion horsehair. Outfit includes: Violin, Bow, & Case A. Cavallo Retail: $500 Clearance Price: as low as $200

Concert Series Instruments We specially select these instruments for the advancing student and serious amateur. Each instrument features straight-grained spruce tops, complimented by handsomely flamed maple back, sides, and scroll. The hand-finished shaded or antiqued varnish gives each instrument a striking appearance. Examples of our concert instruments that will take the student to the next level! Violin A. Cavallo Retail: $1,750 Clearance Price: $900 Viola A. Cavallo Retail: $1.900 Clearance Price: $800 Double Bass 35% off select instruments (These instruments are sold without case and bow.)

Artistic Level Instruments Master Instruments Master Instruments are up to 50% off, such as Wojciech Topa, Gunther Lobe, Dimitar Dimitrov, Tansin Diedenbeck, Pavel Onoaie, and Janxin Wu. Violins finished by American Makers These instruments are finished by American makers specifically for Musaica Imports. A. Cavallo Retail: $4,000 Clearance Price: $2,000 (These violins are sold without case and bow.) Cello by Clement & Weise By Clement & Weise of Germany this cello is one of the standards of excellence for tone production and quality among current makers. It is based on a classic Stradivarius pattern with highly accurate measurements, wood thicknesses, and attractive and faithful antique finish. This results in an instrument which can carry the player well into the advanced stages of performance with a minimum investment. This is the introductory instrument in the Clement & Weise line but is in no way a compromise in tonal quality. A. Cavallo Retail: $4,950 Clearance Price: $2,500 (This cello is sold without case and bow.)

Anderson Music Stand This beautiful Anderson Music Stand by Lotus Design is a rich blend of classic beauty and performance. Several patented mechanisms were created to achieve a unique combination of portability and functionality. Handcrafted from the finest Brazilian Cherry or walnut, the Anderson Music Stand will enhance the joy of your musical experience. The desk height varies from 20" - 52" while the exclusive snap-and-lock mechanism allows you to choose six different desk angles and the extra-deep shelf accommodates heavy books or folders. It features aluminum hardware which has been anodized in a rich gold color coating that is extremely durable and will never tarnish. The stand comes with a handy durable padded carrying case with an adjustable shoulder strap. A. Cavallo Retail: $295 Clearance Price: $250

Accessories Discount Receive 25% off cases and bows with any instrument purchase. All accessories are sold at the lowest possible price (Between 10-30% off list price)

Double Bass Blog: In Search of the Perfect Bow

If you don't have access to the Strings Magazine Buyer's Guide 2008, you can always check out what the bloggers have to say about buying that next musical investment. The other day, I was perusing Jason Heath's Double Bass Blog and found a great post in "In Search of the Perfect Bow".

[Jason with a perfect bow?]

The Strings Magazine's articles describes how buyers should think with their money, especially in cyberspace. Jason's article also touches upon this subject as well but does a good job of describing the qualities and trail methods you should employ when bow shopping. The article covers other areas of worthy interests such as what to expect from typical early student bows, factors to consider when moving up a grade, and possibly having a bow commissioned to be made.

An Arcos Visit and Nitrating Violin Bows

The other day we had Brian, the sales rep from Arcos Brasil come by. Good timing since we needed a few extra cakes of those carved rosin boxes with refills and some good solid bows. These bows are solid commercial bows being from Brazil. It's tough being a bow maker when Les has to compete against top notch guys down South.
Les got a chance to show some of his bows and Brian them. He said he'll put in a good word for him. Afterwards, he got to work on his latest violin bow outside with his bottle of Nitric Acid.
Colorless when pure, older samples of Nitric Acid tend to acquire a yellow cast due to the accumulation of oxides of nitrogen.
The solution that Les has is 70% which isn't considered fuming but toxic enough to sting your skin and burn your eyes. Hence the need for air to disperse outside and work done with goggles and gloves.
A swab of the Nitric Acid is dipped in and rubbed up and down, all along the stick. the Acid helps bring out the dark red pernambucco color.

Maker's Spotlight: German Bow Maker Otto Pfretzschner

It seems like our online auction has experienced a resurgence with a slew of great makers' works coming into our hands. This week, we are privileged to offer a very fine bow probably made by Otto Pfretzschner.

The Pfretzschner family was one of the most prolific and well known bow making families in the late 19th to twentieth centuries. Otto Pfretzschner is one of the lesser known members of that family, referred to in the Roda "Bows for Musical Instruments" as the son of Hermann Richard. The workmanship of this bow is top caliber, with lovely graduation and a elegant "swans" head. The wood in these older bows is often unrivaled for strength and response. We estimate this bow to be made around 1950 and has all of the original parts.

This bow has a solid feel in the hand, producing a rich colorful tone, and is warm and resonant in sound quality. It is a very quick and agile bow that sacrifices no strength in the stick for lightness of touch. It would make a great Mendelssohn or Bach bow for the artist.

This bow has a beautiful octagonal pernambuco stick that has perfect camber. It is set in silver and ebony, with a plain eye and divided button. It weighs 74 grams when haired. This bow is in excellent condition, with no issues to be concerned about!

Once again, it was brought to us for consignment by a very serious amateur cellist who loves it but is ready to move on to a different type of stick. German silver mounted master made violin bows of this quality are seldom seen on eBay. Bows like this are often offered at $3,000.00 and above routinely. There will be a great home for this outstanding bow with a lucky cellist somewhere!

Fresh Hank of Horse Hair for All the Rehairs We Need

hank [hangk]:

In the textile industry, a hank refers to a unit of yarn or twine that is in a coiled form. This is often the best form for use with hand looms, compared to the cone form needed for power looms. Hanks come in a fixed length depending on the type of material, so the term hank is sometimes used as a unit of measure. For instance, a hank of linen is 270 meters, and a hank of cotton or silk is 770 meters. In beads, 1 hank = 3.333 fathoms = 6.667 yards = 20 feet = 6096mm = 609.6cm = 6.096 meters.

Wikipedia.org (hank)

Fresh out of our usual stock of hair, Lester slashes open a new "hank" of horse hair for all our bow rehairing needs. Finding good horse hair for string instrument rehairs are hard to come by.
We use Mongolian Stalien Horse hair.

The hank of hair arrived in the mail. Boxed up in a long rectangular box, the hair was tightly bound with lashings of rope and a metal clip fastened the head of the hank. I couldn't help but think of images of Cousin Itt from the Adams Family.

Les has to be real careful about handling the hair, since he doesn't want any of his oils from his fingers to spread on the hair.
Ready for rehair, hung and stored in one of Les' bags behind his bench.

Random trivia that I learned from my time working here: apparently, hair is taken from male horses instead of female horses. Why? Females tend to ruin theirs overtime whenever they go to the bathroom. I have no idea if this is true or not, but it sounds hilarious. Fact check please.

Maker's Spotlight: English Bow Maker Arthur Bultitude

This month, on our online auction, we are privileged to offer this very fine bow probably made by one of the finest English makers of 20th Century. Arthur Bultitude (1908-1990) was an English musical instrument bow-maker, who was one of the best known makes that worked for W.E. Hill & Sons.His bows were known to be marked with a number 6 on the tip under the bow hair and the frog decorated with a silver Tudor Rose.

[Tudor Rose]

Gold Mounted master made violin bows of this quality are seldom seen. A fine professional violinist brought us this bow for consignment. You can always help out a starving musician by bidding on this bow for him:)

The workmanship of this bow is top caliber, with lovely graduation and a elegant head. We estimate this bow to be made around 1950 and has all of the original parts.

This bow has a solid feel in the hand, producing a rich colorful tone, and is warm and resonant in sound quality. Sautille and Spiccato a breeze with this beautiful stick. It would make a great all around bow for the artist.

This bow has a beautiful octagonal pernambuco stick that has perfect camber. It is set in gold and shell, with a French eye and divided button. It has a unique faux whalebone winding. It weighs 61 grams when haired. This bow is in excellent condition, with no issues to be concerned about!

Bows like this are often offered at $5,000.00 and above routinely.

Custom Made Woodwork: Tool Box and Violin Bow Display Cabinet

[Lester's New Toy Box]

A chance to invest after the holiday sales. Les just received a fine tool box kit from his family as Christmas present. His bench space had to be rearranged a bit but he some how managed. Now, he can be even more efficient with his work bench space! I've nicknamed it his new toy box.

[Rummaging the Tool Box]

Yesterday, our bow display case finally arrived. I may have mentioned in a previous post that violin shops have a tough time keeping track of bows, let alone where to keep them for quick display and storage. We came up with some various ideas like installing a peg display rack on the wall or buying a table. Unfortunately, we don't have a whole lot of useful walls with drywall left, since much of the wall space is either concrete or glass. Getting a new table was a problem as well besides the cost of furniture but the floor space it took away from our nice open shop look.
We've been getting by this storage and display problem by shuffling the display trays from one table to another chair. They've migrated from the back room to the front on many occasions.

[Fresh Smelling Stained Cabinet]

The solution? Commission a custom made display cabinet with drawers for bows! Alex asked Fremont, Nebraska based cabinet maker Art Sorenson to help us out. He's been very helpful in the past with other display solutions such as the violin racks and cello racks.

[ Unwrapping ]

We unwrapped our freshly stained cabinet and quickly loaded each drawer our display trays. The display cabinet is a compact stacking system with easy access to bows that takes up very little of our precious floor space. The table top has a small area but can still function as a standalone table to stack bow trays on top.

[Load them up!]

Thank you for a wonderful job Sorensons! If any of you readers are interested in his works, give us a call. We can get you in touch with him.

German Violin Bow Stamped "Marie"

We are privileged to offer this very fine bow probably made by one of the finest German makers of 20th Century. This bow was a custom made bow for a mysterious "Marie." The reason we know that is that the ferrule was beautifully engraved with her name to commemorate this probably lovely and dynamic violinist!

This work of art was brought to us by a professional violinist who has many bows. It was played in several professional orchestras, and has been professionally restored to excellent condition by a fine professional restorer.

In our opinion this bow is possibly from the shop of Nuremburger. it is stamped "Alex Hermann" on one side and "Germany" on the other. Nuremburger's shop produced many bows for different commercial establishments. The workmanship of this bow is top caliber, with lovely graduation and a elegantly turned up nose to the head. We estimate this bow to be made around 1910 and has all of the original parts except probably the button. Pre-World War One bows like this in this condition are a rarity.

This bow has a solid feel in the hand, producing a rich colorful tone, and is lively and responsive for all strokes. Sautille and Spiccato a breeze with this beautiful stick. It would make a great all around bow for the artist.

This bow has a beautiful round pernambuco stick that has perfect camber. It is set in silver and ebony, with a plain eye and solid silver button. It has a unique rounded front ferrule and stunning three color silk winding with and ostrich skin thumb leather. It weighs 61 grams when haired. This bow is in excellent condition, with no issues to be concerned about!

Fine Violin Bow M.O Beilke in Excellent Condition

Antique French Violin Bow

Cracked Violin Bow Repair

This is a repair I haven't seen performed. A customer brought in one of his bows for rehair and we discovered there was a small crack in the middle of his stick. With the customer's permission, we proceeded to mend what had already been damaged.

Normally, I'm the one that blogs about the repairs and projects but I'm certainly no expert on this subject. Leave it to the repair man Lester to explain. However, he's always tied up with repairs and still computer illiterate;) That's why I thought it might be better for this entry to have some selected excerpts from our conversations at the bench.

LK: I'm going to be wrapping it with this silk. What you do is keep do is wrap it with this silk and try to keep it nice and tight...wrap it a little before and past the crack. That will help it and... help it, prevent it, the crack from growing, and getting worse and breaking the stick.

CHG: Where did you learn how to do this repair, up in New Hampshire?
LK: Well, not formally in a class but I learned it from a girl up in school. Yeah, it's a very basic simple repair.

CHG: So you have all the silk winding on here holding the crack in place, but I mean what's that going to really do? Are you going to put a splinter in it? Or are you going to heat it?
LK: You wrap it up and then you glue it.
CHG: That's it?
LK: That's it.

AR: $495 bucks! $495 bucks!"(At this point, I get distracted as Alex is in the background raving about an eBay item that just sold. We both just ignore him.)

LK: Now the cracks have no where to go, if you tie up the cracks.
CHG: Does it really strengthen it?
LK: It doesn't but it prevents it from breaking it. (At this point, Lester has glued his fingers together.)

LK: Oh that one's glued.
CHG: Now is it impossible to get any of that off?
LK: What?
CHG: The glue
LK: Nah.
Debonder fluid to the rescue.
LK See now Chris, what I'll do to make it "pretty" (in a high pitched voice) is once the super glue dries and then I can get I'll take a file, a fine file, and then a sandpaper and take a micromesh, and it will be really polished, really smooth.

Horn Violin Frog: it's done

Horn Violin Frog:
-Handmade horn frog and silver button.
-Snakeskin thumb leather
-Whalebone winding
-L. Korus stamp

That's not all he's finished. A viola bow he finished last week, and a cello bow to come.

Horn Violin Frog: Almost Done...

The finishing touches and polishes to the horn frog are almost done. I plopped myself down on a chair, hit the studio lights, and took some better photos of his work.

Wait a minute...Lester just came in as I was blogging. He tells me that the frog I photographed has the wrong button and screw- he'd like to also note that it's too big and he wouldn't make something like that from scratch.

The coolest thing with this frog is that you can actually see the inner mechanical workings. It's a bit opaque but you can make out where the screw, mortise, and plug is.
I know that him Les and other bow makers would object to this, but wouldn't be cool to try out some other materials for the frog? I always wanted to see a clear see through frog attached to bow. Quartz, silicon, maybe even diamonds? Unpractical since these materials would throw off the balance of the stick:)

And we have contact: frog and bow

At last we have the critical pieces in place: silver button, silver lined horn frog, and silver tip at the other end of the bow. Lester was hoping to enter this into a bow making competition when this would be finished. The chance to compete though is looking smaller when I heard they may not have enough entrants. Plus, he would need more time to really fine tune this piece of work.

[Horn Violin Frog with Silver Fittings, Work in Progress]

If he ever does get around to finishing the bow, we'll sure to let you know. Come by the shop and give the bow a try ;)

Horn Violin Frog: Adding the Underslide

The horn frog now has its underslide & eyelet.

[Horn Frog for Violin, Eyelet & Underslide View]

How did he fit the underslide on the frog? While I can't tell the specs he uses, I can show you some of the tools he uses to to help answer that question.

[Fomer, Sterling Silver Sheet, Hammer]

The big hunk of metal on the left is called the "former". The geometric piece next to it is part of it as well. The sheet of sterling silver on the right is sandwiched between those two pieces and its hammered away create angles of the underslide. Any excess of the folded silver sheet is cut away. As for the eyelet, a hole is drilled for frog so the eyelet can then be screwed in.

Related Posts:

• Frog Making for a Violin Bow
• Making Frogs for a Cello Bow
• Frog Repair
• Violin Bow Making II: Screw & Button
• Bowmaking
  

violin

Frog Making for a Violin Bow

More headway on the horn frog bow today. The Sartory model frog now has its slide glued on with silver.

What you're seeing in the second photo is called the "heel plate". The two dimple looking things are the pins that are used to hold the sterling silver in place. Eventually, these will get filed down and will blend in with the heel plate. More work in progress to come:)

Making Frogs for a Cello Bow

Lester keeps going at it with his new line of bows. This time, he's gearing up to enter some bows for a competition in October. Many bow makers often order parts from manufacturers and fit them on to the stick. I was flipping through their catalog the other day, and I had no idea that there are over a hundred different kinds of frogs. Lester tells me though that while basic frog templates by Sartory are studied and published in books, bow makers are always reinterpreting these traditional master makers in their own style.

[Ebony Frog, Pattern]

However, Les' training since this summer has taught how to make even the small things from scratch. Screw and button making was a first for him, but so was frog making. This cello bow he's making are by far the most hand made thing he's made.

[Ebony Frong for Cello, slide]

The photo below shows his latest work in horn. I'm not sure if this comes from water buffalo but there's a bunch of other materials such as snake wood or ivory (the latter now being illegal). Usually though, he works in good dry ebony blanks.

[Horn Frog for Violin, Cutting Stage]

The length of time it takes to make a frog can range from 12 hours to a day. Realize though that these frogs are often made as the bows are carved. Frog making isn't a step-by-step process. It's a series of fine cutting, chiseling, and filing are done with adjustments to the stick.

I asked Les why he still bothers to make frogs by hand when he can order pre-cut frogs. For one, he says it increases the value of the bow. He also says that he adds an artistic value that he can customize for the player. It may not seem like much but he can control the feel of the frog in the player's hand with slight nuances of the ferrule or curves of the frog's body.

Older Related Posts:

• Frog Repair
• Violin Bow Making II: Screw & Button
  
• Bow Making
  

Violin Bow Making II: Screw and Button

When I was a kid, I thought it was fun to crank the heck out of the violin bow's button to the point of warping the whole stick. I might as well have taken wrench or pair of pliers afterwards to unscrew this little guy (don't actually do this by the way).

After seeing Lester fix so many repairs of kids with tension tightening disorders, I've gotten a better appreciation for his skill and this tiny but critical feature of the bow.

This button and screw is what fits into the frog of the violin bow. With a turn of this mechanism, it creats the needed playing tension for string instruments. The button can be made from different materials such as gold, silver, or nickel.

[Silver Button & Screw for Violin Bow, 2007]

Lester has compared this aspect of bow making to jewelry making. The process requires patience, a steady hand, and fine attention to detail. He works with a lathe first to carve out a small cylindrical piece of ebony that's less than 1 centimeter in diameter. A hole has to be drilled into it as well for the screw's place. The button's silver exterior needs to be bent into shape, welded, hammered, and finally polished to give it that octagonal look.

I got a chance to see him make one of these little mechanical designs into a smooth operating piece of art. I couldn't help but think to myself that the kind of things Les was doing was very similar to today's Industrial Designer. He was working from rough conceptual sketches, carefully prepared templates, calculating the correct proportions, and working with the modern tools & techniques that the old world's craftsmen never had.

Certainly he wasn't mass producing like a factory or had the digital precision & accuracy but the similarities were there. Lester though could care less about the comparison. He'd be happy any day if some one would call his work an artistry.