Hi Mr Vann! It was a pleasure. Your bow has made milestones through my career and has played a huge on stage role to important collaborations with orchestras and iconic stages around the world. The best!
To me, you sounded best with the third bow. I thought maybe that was the most expensive one, but turns out that's the one you've played with the longest!
Violins and bows seem to increase in sound and performance quality incrementally with large disproportionate increases in cost. There’s a big jump in quality from the $30 to the $500 bow. But a more subtle difference from the $500 to the $5000 bow. I’m sure the player can feel the difference more apparently. It is amazing how a talented professional can make almost any instrument sound great.
Definitely. So much of it is more about our own comfort of the bow in our own hands. I use the $500 and $5000 constantly and find that they serve their purposes. Thanks for your comment!
It's the Paganini Caprice 24 that shows the difference the most. The first bow is like skating the ice with perfect fresh ice, the two others are with some grass and snow on the ice. Thank you so much for the upload, learned a lot.
Still one of my favourite concerts I’ve gone to was when you performed Tchaikovsky at the NAC. That was the first time I’d ever seen a standing ovation after a first movement 😂
Exactly my thoughts! I guess lighter bows work best in the kind of indoor settings he recorded these videos in. He mentions that he uses the first, heavy bow in large concert halls, to get the sound projected.
I thought the first one was the mid-range bow, followed by the nasally second and finally the most expensive. I think because you've played that last one so much you made it sound like a million dollars! Well done!
Thanks for sharing. For me, I heard the quality of no. 1 immediately, then came 3, then 2. However I can relate why people like no. 3 as well. There is a slight unsteadyness in long notes compared to no. 1, but since Timothy can control it so well it just adds a little bit to the liveliness.
From behind the scene I could not tell the difference between the $30 and $500 bow, but I guessed the $5000 bow correctly. The simple reason being I watched how hard you had to work with your bow arm, and also how easy the bows produced certain special kinds of articulations. The Vann bow handled that Sibelius superbly.
Yeah, I guessed correctly! Thank you so much for posting this video, I've been considering upgrading my bow for a while, but wasn't sure how much it would actually influence the actual sound or experience while playing.
Hi! It was a pleasure to film this video, and I hope it was informative. Good luck with upgrading your bow. I think the bow is more about the player's personal comfort more than anything. Let me know if you ever have any questions!
Same here. The first had the most amazing resonance, and the second was noticeably damped and muted. The second bow was obviously less stable and bounced roughly. I was surprised how lovely the third bow sounded, knowing it was relatively inexpensive.
Happy to see some focus on bows, as opposed to just the violins. I was friendly with a number of violin and bow makers from the 60s, 70s, 80s and it gave me an appreciation of the art of bowmaking I otherwise might never have acquired. BTW, your intonation is just spectacular.
I must say that you are a truly masterful violinist. I have been playing on cheap $25 Chinese mass produced bows (because I didn't know any better). Then my teacher let me try her bows... I couldn't believe the difference! I had no idea how much difference a bow could make in my ability to play.
Watching you play with each bow seems to be the best way to tell the difference. I could definitely see and hear the affection you have for your $500 bow.
Tim, so many positive comments from your viewers! First, YOU make each sound great. What I learned about bows, though, has been so informative. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and looking forward to many more such videos by you!👊
Quite difficult to tell on phone and laptop speakers. Put my HD6XX on and the the 1st and 3rd bow had a much clearer, precise sound. The 2nd doesn't even bite the string properly! I must say in the blind test I preferred the sound of the 3rd bow though :P
Thanks Timothy. The 3rd bow sounded the best and the cleanest sound - and I see many people thought the same. Maybe in a concert hall No. 1 projects better.
Michael taught me bow making at the Victoria Conservatory about 12 or so years ago. Very generous man with his knowledge. Because of his course I've had a great retirement hobby job and spent many pleasant hours in my woodshop. I still talk to Michael from time to time. I think he is retired now and his daughter has taken over the business.
So I did all my commenting down below in real time while watching the video. This comment is now to say: holy cow.... I prefer the $30 bow in both tone and function (function being that you don't look like you're fighting it to get it to work, as a low-priced bow would suggest). That is incredible. As for my input and why I hope you can appreciate it - I myself am a professional violist, luthier (10 years), bow maker (3 years) and sound engineer (10 years)! So I'm not just some guy who works at a Target store and plays shoot-em-up video games all night, I *am* experienced! I'm familiar with Vann's work - he made a bow for a friend of mine and it is brilliant: both tonally and to look at! I believe the frog is made from a type of buffalo horn and there are synthetic (or real) opal accents? Anyway, it is a gorgeous bow. Lovely playing Timothy!
I guessed your "old faithful" was the most expensive one, because I could see a smile on your face when you used it! I could tell it was LOVE. So cool to find out how it really is a part of you! Great playing btw.
You play so well. I couldn't hear a difference. I guessed the 3rd bow was the cheapest based on the color of the varnish. I had absolutely no idea based on sound alone.
I want to see a comparison with the same hair and rosin used on all. And then compare hair, and then rosin. Like a proper “change one thing at a time” comparison.
Bows are generally hard to differentiate from one another because so much of it revolves around how it feels to the performer. Still, the first one seemed to catch the string much better than the other two, and the up bow staccato in the Paganini had less bow noise than I heard in the other two. The sound of it was also more consistent overall (probably a function of grabbing the string better), but it really takes a trained ear to hear that level of detail. I think that telling bows apart is usually not as much about the sound as is the case for violins (and when it is, it's hard to capture that over video) but more about how easy it is for the player to consistently get a golden tone. Cheaper bows tend to produce uneven tone quality, and I definitely heard more of that in the second and third bows.
I could hear the difference. Woh. Mind blown! I thought it was all the same, as long as it’s comfortable for your hand. The hair can be changed to the quality you want and all.
Wonderful compilation. You play all the pieces extraordinarily well with all three. I really needed your personal perspective to appreciate the differences. Thanks for doing this!
I think you made all the bows sound great I’m embarrassed because I thought the first bow was the cheapest. The middle bow was the most expensive and the third bow. I got right.
I was thinking of getting a new bow to improve responsiveness, but after watching this maybe I just need to practice more and stick to my $100 cheapy. 😅 you are amazing.
Great video Timothy! Tony Muir recommended I check out some of your videos and I'm glad he did! Very well done. I was able to tell the second bow was the cheapest one. But wasn't sure about 1 and 3. Best of luck and hope to see you again in the future!
My first guess was correct. On the last piece I though I was wrong with the order of #2 and #3. I never has doubt with the #1 because it just looked so stable and produces very clear sound. The other 2 are kinda wobbling.
Well just today I've bought my first carbon fibre bow I think for anyone starting out £500 is a lot of coin because the £30 did sound good so it's a case of finding the right bow for the player glad to hear you have had the £500 for a long time though let's not have a throw away society
Nice comparison! I guessed the first and third bow wrong, thought that bow #3 was the most expensive and bow #1 the $500 one. But I was right in thinking that the first one looked like a tank and sounded so powerful, and the third one looked most comfortable in your hand. The second one just looked so hard to control, the spiccatos looked all over the place and it must've been so hard for you to control it for the rep your played. You made them all sound amazing though. Thanks for this video!
Amazing playing that you made the cheap bow sound acceptable! It sounds weak compared to the other two, and I did prefer the first bow, but it’s a surprisingly close call between the first and the third to my ears.
I can hear and even see the difference of the second one comparing to the other two. Looks heavier and it reacts differently when u play staccato Merry Xmas btw! Great video!!!
That's a fun video, though it's hard to tell which bow's better when you're playing a violin so great that all of them sound good! ;) I did get the most expensive one right, but I was way more certain about which one was the cheap one and was wrong. Great playing with all of them!
Thank you so much for your insight. I agree, it can be hard to tell, because it isn't the sound producer, but more about control. The more control I have, the more variety of sounds and colors I produce :D
@@timmychooi Yeah, the giveaway should've been how the bows handled on the Paganini, despite the seemingly fuller sound on the Elgar. The tone felt just slightly flatter, but that's not the most important thing. The handling is definitely what I miss most when I have to give my good bow away for rehairs ^^
I D I D notice the $5K bow had more dynamic clarity and smoother MORE brilliant projection to it ... You're pretty awesome with that violin by the way ! 😁👍
Sound the same but that's TH-cam for you. As an ameteur I have a cheesey $20 bow that holds up close to my main $200 bow. But I am going to try some bows up to a $1000 to see what's the best match for my violin. I played an old German bow once ($1000) and it made my $1200 violin sound like a $5k violin. M cheaper $20 bow sounds solid core surprisily good tone and consistent, my $200 pernumbucco bow has more depth especially when you lean into it. A local violin shop owners wife plays for the Los Angeles philharmonic and just spent $30k on her bow! The bow really does make a huge difference in tone IMHO. This guy makes a noodle sound good! ;-)
The $30 sounded clearly different, but like you said, the $500 was lively, but the $5k was rich, and I couldn't figure out which characteristic was the expensive one in this case. I think your comfort with handling the $500 made me think it was the more expensive one!
Hi Timothy, your first bow had the fullest tone and brought warmth to the violin. It felt satisfying and rich like a good meal. The second was also pleasing and resonant with more of an intermezzo timbre. A bit of clear spritzing to the table, Both seemed well suited to staccato. The 3rd sounded fine though not as responsive to staccato and fairly one dimensional by comparison with less resonance. Still good to listen to which is a tribute to your bowing.
It was actually pretty easy to guess which bow was which. The difference was detectable because of the amount of control you had with each one. You sound great with any bow. But it appeared that the better the bow the less effort you were having to expend.
Enjoyed this very much! I did guess the $30 bow, but not the other two. Please keep up your great work. Hope to see more of your videos and learn some of your insights. Thank you!
I thought the first one sounded best, followed by number three. Second one sounded worse to me. So my hearing was right 😊 I hope this will help me when I buy a new bow...
Thank you for making and sharing this video contribution... My inclination is to agree that individual music pieces are requiring a specifically (low or high priced) chosen bow to accentuate the unique style of each composition... I am most curious if someone had an opportunity to play with a P. Simon bow as a popular opinion is that the Pau Brasil species, used for making most of the 19th century bows became extinct in the 20th century.... Have a nice day everyone.... ☮️
Before you revealed the prices, I guessed the order as $5000, $30 and $500. The giveaway was Paganini. #1 was the most clear and seemed to come easy, and #2 seemed like you were laboring more to produce the clarity.
I guessed right about the price levels, but what surprised me most was the small difference between 30 and 500 dollar sound. The 5000 dollar sound was easy to pick up.
I thought the 3rd one was better on the first piece but there was less of a difference on the Sabelius. Thank you for this, you are just too great and adjust to get the best tone as you play.
I just recently lost my bow I've had since age 15 (old age/humidity). The replacement inflation at age 40 is unfortunate 😄- I had a German-made pernambuco bow. I replaced it with a German-made pernambuco bow (my viola is old, picky, and stubborn on a good day, but I love her).
1 is brighter than 2 but 2 is cleaner than 1(when I heard you play Sibelius,especially) , and the sound of 3 is the cleanest bow I think(when I heard you play paganini) ,2 is the sweetest bow.
I'd love to be able to afford an expensive bow. My German violin is worth about $3000.00au and I do need a new bow which I'll get soon, probably spending around $1000.00au. A $5000.00 American dollar violin bow would be really nice. I'd be thinking of getting around a 60-odd-gram bow for that bit of extra weight without being too heavy. Anyway, good video, Timothy. I enjoyed it.
HI, MY NAME IS CHRIS. THE ONLY NUANCES I CAN DETECT WITH MY FEEBLE EARS IS THAT ONE OF THE BOWS SOUNDS MORE DEEP, MORE LUSH. IN FACT THERE MAY BE TWO BOWS THAT HAVE THAT WARM WOODY LUSHNESS TO MY EARS. OTHER THAN THAT I CANT HONESTLY DETECT MUCH DIFFERENCE. YOU ARE A COMMENSURATE PLAYER! I WISH I COULD PLAY AS WELL AS YOU. I AM CURRENTLY RE HYDRATING AN OLD CHEC. BOW. I DID NOT HAVE THE SEALING WAX NOR THE SILK THREAD WHEN I THREW IT TOGETHER. I HAVE ONLY REHAIRED A VIOLIN BOW ONCE BEFORE WITH NATURAL BLACK HORSE HAIR, IT PLAYED WITH MUCH MORE POWER AND RESONANCE. THAT WAS BACK IN 1990S. I WORKED FROM A BOOK CALLED BASIC STRING REPAIRS AND IT WAS VERY HELPFUL. I JUST READ AND FOLLOWED THE PICTURES AND I COUNTED OUT 288 HAIRS AND STUCK THEM TO MASKING TAPE TO BEGIN. I HAD A BEATIFUL FULL HAIRED 1850S BOW, I MISS IT NOW IT WAS MY GREAT GRANDFATHERS. I AM USING TEAK OIL AND HAVE 5 COATS RUBBED IN. I MAY TAKE SOME QUADRUPLE AUGHT STEEL WOOL AND SMOOTH DOWN THE RAISED GRAIN. IM CONVINCED ITS PERNAUMBUCO BUT OF A COARSE VARIETY. LOVE YOUR VIDIO, MAKES ME THINK, AN THAT IS GOOD.
Dude I can’t believe I actually got them all right, at first I thought the first was 30$ but then I heard the middle lacking character and the last one was just that little bit less, keep in mind I play a 70$ Australian violin which is like 50$ American, so I assumed I would be hopeless
$5k, $30 then $500... Thanks for making this video, I wanted to check if I could tell as an amateur violinist/violist/cellist and it's definitely clear. You have excellent technique so of course all 3 sound impressive when you play your professional violin with any of them. However, you can see you have more control and you can hear a sweeter sound with the $5k bow. I can't justify top-dollar purchases as music isn't my day job, I like to believe that it's possible to sound professional by buying the best I can afford and investing the rest of my time in practising. I've been able to acquire professional quality instruments/bows by approaching living makers or at the start of their careers, top tip for bargain hunters - cut-out the middleperson and go direct, networking is everything!
I actually I got all three right, my findings; the resonance are different. The first one has more fuller and vibrates with a crisp sound. The 2nd one has more of a rigid tone when played, like it was trying to hold back. And lastly the last one has some vibration, but not so much with the 1st one so I assume it's the middle price one.
Wood will have density variants due to it being a natrual and pourous etc no 2 will balance or resinate evenly or the same. Carbon fibre woukd be even in weight and density. However its limit of resonation would shape the sound with a more even E.Q. But technique is the most important
Very interesting video! For Sibelius I could hear almost no difference between the bows, but I felt like the more heavy bows had better bouncing qualities in the Paganini and a sweeter sound for Elgar. 🤔
I liked the third bow the most, I thought it was the most expensive one because it had more bounce, but thats likely cuz i have never used anything more expensive than 500
The middle was really obvious that it was a $30 bow. It sounded clunky and not as clean. But I thought the 3rd one was the $5000 bow because it just sounded much cleaner, better. Maybe it is because you are so comfortable with that bow growing up and playing with it. It sounded like a $1Million. But I can hear how much more powerful the first bow sounded. I do prefer the way the 3rd bow sounded
Of course none of that would matter if it wasn't for your wonderful technique 😅. Thanks for the content by the way. Im looking after buying a better bow and this video will be of great help. I wasn't expecting to guess them correctly, neither to hear such a difference between each one of the bows (specially through a video). Bows are very personal to the player's taste and technique, and the listener will most likely hear little to no difference between different bows. The bow should be comfortable and pleasing to the player, and we do very much feel a huge difference in our hands from one bow to another.
I've just discovered your channel and was very interested to hear the comparisons of different bows, being an amateur bow maker myself. I managed to spot the best quality bow being in video 1 but got the other two wrong.
Thank you for stopping by to watch my videos. I’m so happy that it provided value for you to learn something. Huge appreciation for commenting on here :)
I'm a seasoned guitar player but totally new to the violin world, started leaning just a month ago. To my ears, the first one sounded dynamic as a Corvette, the third one's smooth like a Jaguar, and the second one was something like driving a rented Camry for the fist time. Anyway, you showed me that it's not the price, but the player's skill matters to make a beautiful music. Thanks a lot
Video 1 > videos 2 and 3 I would have said quite clearly, but the 3 are good... the sound is amazing. Between 2 and 3 it's hard to say, feel like there are some kkkr with the 3rd so I would say it's the cheapest but not sure at all. 1st is a lot better, deeper sound and more powerful. Once again, you make the cheapest sound great Edit : my bad it was the opposite x) I must listen to it with headphones
The cheaper one gets exposed in the spiccatos, because it does not respond as clearly as the other ones. The most expensive one gets exposed in the slower melodies because it projects more, it sounds deeper in that style.
Powerful Stability Well Balanced Mad respect for this informative vid but does those words really mean? When you say powerful, is it because it has more weight than the other bow? If they are made of the same material then it comes down to the thickness. When you say stability, how does resist change? The only change i notice when playing is the camber when playing loudly. Perhaps, the only word i'm close to understanding is "well-balanced", does this talk about the gradual tapered thickness of the bow? I guess this has more to do with the camber, isn't it?
Thank you for the informative video! Violin matters, but playing it with a proper bow really matters too. There're stark differences among the three! Is a heavier bow more prefered usually? Then when a lighter bow is used?😲
I think the heavier bow is better overall. It can be used for a variety of pieces, and even though when it's not ideal, it can still work. I use the lighter bow because it takes less energy from my arm to hold when I play smaller chamber music and for certain pieces that require specific techniques like in Paganini, I use the lighter one. It will be able to respond quicker and with less effort :) Thank you for stopping by!
@@timmychooi Wow..The more i learn about the string insturments, the more it gots me wowed with its sensitivity. Up to each bow, the tone changes hugely even same tunes are played with thesame violin!😱 I didn't know that it'd make such big differences.😂 I learned a lot watching your video. Thanks again.👍 For me, 1st one is clear, deep, lively, reminding me of a lord or king. 2nd sounds rough like a strict soldier. 3rd is light like a feather reminding me of a small fairy, and sounds less attatched to the string overall compared to the former two! I prefer the first bow personally.😀 Thank you profusely for your kind reply and explanation!!
Brilliant as usual Timmy. My wife and I have known him for two decades. He and his brother showed their extraordinary talent from a very early age.
Hi Mr Vann! It was a pleasure. Your bow has made milestones through my career and has played a huge on stage role to important collaborations with orchestras and iconic stages around the world. The best!
instablaster...
To me, you sounded best with the third bow. I thought maybe that was the most expensive one, but turns out that's the one you've played with the longest!
I liked number 1 and 3 best. Three almost felt too soft, not enough edge. Hard to describe. 2 was a bit too…shallow?
exactly my thoughts :)
Violins and bows seem to increase in sound and performance quality incrementally with large disproportionate increases in cost. There’s a big jump in quality from the $30 to the $500 bow. But a more subtle difference from the $500 to the $5000 bow. I’m sure the player can feel the difference more apparently. It is amazing how a talented professional can make almost any instrument sound great.
Definitely. So much of it is more about our own comfort of the bow in our own hands. I use the $500 and $5000 constantly and find that they serve their purposes. Thanks for your comment!
@ahh thats just grand 🤔 hmm...
It takes a very good player to play a lower end instrument or bow well. I think a less skilled player the difference in quality may be more obvious.
It's the Paganini Caprice 24 that shows the difference the most. The first bow is like skating the ice with perfect fresh ice, the two others are with some grass and snow on the ice. Thank you so much for the upload, learned a lot.
My pleasure. Thanks for stopping by!
Dude, you made a bow that's not even half or even a third of the cost of a professional rehair and ... you made it sound amazing. Bravo!!!!
Still one of my favourite concerts I’ve gone to was when you performed Tchaikovsky at the NAC. That was the first time I’d ever seen a standing ovation after a first movement 😂
That’s amazing. I still remember that concert. One of the best ones yet. Thanks for watching again :)
Wish I could’ve been there for that!❤️
Timothy is such an awesome violinist, and I’ve only ever seen his video’s!❤️👏🏼👏🏼👏🏼
I like the last one best 😅😅
(I’ve always prefer lighter bows though😶
I’ve used that one a lot and I keep coming back to that one as well. :)
Exactly my thoughts! I guess lighter bows work best in the kind of indoor settings he recorded these videos in. He mentions that he uses the first, heavy bow in large concert halls, to get the sound projected.
I too liked #3 the best. It seemed like you were the most comfortable with that bow.
I thought the first one was the mid-range bow, followed by the nasally second and finally the most expensive. I think because you've played that last one so much you made it sound like a million dollars! Well done!
Thanks for sharing. For me, I heard the quality of no. 1 immediately, then came 3, then 2. However I can relate why people like no. 3 as well. There is a slight unsteadyness in long notes compared to no. 1, but since Timothy can control it so well it just adds a little bit to the liveliness.
As a musician of 30 years, fantastic playing!
Wonderful listening to you.
You gave me cold chills dude. Your hand movements are so fluid.
From behind the scene I could not tell the difference between the $30 and $500 bow, but I guessed the $5000 bow correctly. The simple reason being I watched how hard you had to work with your bow arm, and also how easy the bows produced certain special kinds of articulations. The Vann bow handled that Sibelius superbly.
Yeah, I guessed correctly! Thank you so much for posting this video, I've been considering upgrading my bow for a while, but wasn't sure how much it would actually influence the actual sound or experience while playing.
Hi! It was a pleasure to film this video, and I hope it was informative. Good luck with upgrading your bow. I think the bow is more about the player's personal comfort more than anything. Let me know if you ever have any questions!
I couldn't tell with my phone speaker about the bow, but your violin sounds amazing!!
Thanks for watching :) it can be hard to hear sometimes
Haha I guess it's because of you I got this video recommendation
I got it right! I liked the first and third bows-they sound the best,.The first one had the biggest sound!
Yay! Congratulations. That's amazing :)
Same here. The first had the most amazing resonance, and the second was noticeably damped and muted. The second bow was obviously less stable and bounced roughly. I was surprised how lovely the third bow sounded, knowing it was relatively inexpensive.
@@NaturalthinkerNet0 I might be able to buy a bow like the third one. I’m sure tempted!
@@wendyshell8679 Me too. I would like to know the brand and model and rosin.
Happy to see some focus on bows, as opposed to just the violins. I was friendly with a number of violin and bow makers from the 60s, 70s, 80s and it gave me an appreciation of the art of bowmaking I otherwise might never have acquired. BTW, your intonation is just spectacular.
Yay I was right!! 🥳 But, wow, I think I need to work on my bow strokes. Off to practice... 😅
Congratulations! You can do it. :)
So it's not the bow or the violin, but the man who play it.
I must say that you are a truly masterful violinist.
I have been playing on cheap $25 Chinese mass produced bows (because I didn't know any better). Then my teacher let me try her bows... I couldn't believe the difference!
I had no idea how much difference a bow could make in my ability to play.
Watching you play with each bow seems to be the best way to tell the difference. I could definitely see and hear the affection you have for your $500 bow.
Tim, so many positive comments from your viewers! First, YOU make each sound great. What I learned about bows, though, has been so informative. Thank you for sharing your knowledge and looking forward to many more such videos by you!👊
Hi Bob! I also agree. We have a very positive community here now :) thanks for stopping by.
Quite difficult to tell on phone and laptop speakers. Put my HD6XX on and the the 1st and 3rd bow had a much clearer, precise sound. The 2nd doesn't even bite the string properly! I must say in the blind test I preferred the sound of the 3rd bow though :P
Thanks for the analysis. I have been playing on the third bow for the longest, so maybe that explains why.
Boy, you sound terrific with ALL of those bows! Chapeau!!!
Thanks Timothy. The 3rd bow sounded the best and the cleanest sound - and I see many people thought the same. Maybe in a concert hall No. 1 projects better.
Michael taught me bow making at the Victoria Conservatory about 12 or so years ago. Very generous man with his knowledge. Because of his course I've had a great retirement hobby job and spent many pleasant hours in my woodshop. I still talk to Michael from time to time. I think he is retired now and his daughter has taken over the business.
So I did all my commenting down below in real time while watching the video. This comment is now to say: holy cow.... I prefer the $30 bow in both tone and function (function being that you don't look like you're fighting it to get it to work, as a low-priced bow would suggest).
That is incredible.
As for my input and why I hope you can appreciate it - I myself am a professional violist, luthier (10 years), bow maker (3 years) and sound engineer (10 years)! So I'm not just some guy who works at a Target store and plays shoot-em-up video games all night, I *am* experienced!
I'm familiar with Vann's work - he made a bow for a friend of mine and it is brilliant: both tonally and to look at! I believe the frog is made from a type of buffalo horn and there are synthetic (or real) opal accents?
Anyway, it is a gorgeous bow.
Lovely playing Timothy!
I guessed your "old faithful" was the most expensive one, because I could see a smile on your face when you used it! I could tell it was LOVE. So cool to find out how it really is a part of you! Great playing btw.
I don’t play the violin but I watch ur videos anyways hehe
That means a lot! Thanks for watching my content :)
You play so well. I couldn't hear a difference. I guessed the 3rd bow was the cheapest based on the color of the varnish. I had absolutely no idea based on sound alone.
Fantastic video! Yes, I heard the difference exactly as you described. Michael Vann makes incredible bows. Well done!
Yes! He’s the best
Wonderful video, very informative! At first I thought the third bow was the most expensive, because it's livelier. Thanks for this!
They all sounded great. Perhaps the skill of the artist is most important.
I want to see a comparison with the same hair and rosin used on all. And then compare hair, and then rosin. Like a proper “change one thing at a time” comparison.
Bows are generally hard to differentiate from one another because so much of it revolves around how it feels to the performer. Still, the first one seemed to catch the string much better than the other two, and the up bow staccato in the Paganini had less bow noise than I heard in the other two. The sound of it was also more consistent overall (probably a function of grabbing the string better), but it really takes a trained ear to hear that level of detail. I think that telling bows apart is usually not as much about the sound as is the case for violins (and when it is, it's hard to capture that over video) but more about how easy it is for the player to consistently get a golden tone. Cheaper bows tend to produce uneven tone quality, and I definitely heard more of that in the second and third bows.
I could hear the difference. Woh. Mind blown! I thought it was all the same, as long as it’s comfortable for your hand. The hair can be changed to the quality you want and all.
First has bestest sound! Thank you for your videos! I like to see them much!!!
I agree! Thank you for taking the time to watch my videos. It means so much :)
@@timmychooi Can I ask you about violin bow which made from IPE wood, have you ever use it and what is your perception? Thank you!
It's all about the bounce! 1st most controlled and responsive. 2nd less controlled. 3rd in between the other two.
Wonderful compilation. You play all the pieces extraordinarily well with all three. I really needed your personal perspective to appreciate the differences. Thanks for doing this!
Excellent review, Timothy. Thanks for sharing.
I think you made all the bows sound great I’m embarrassed because I thought the first bow was the cheapest. The middle bow was the most expensive and the third bow. I got right.
I was thinking of getting a new bow to improve responsiveness, but after watching this maybe I just need to practice more and stick to my $100 cheapy. 😅 you are amazing.
Great video Timothy! Tony Muir recommended I check out some of your videos and I'm glad he did! Very well done. I was able to tell the second bow was the cheapest one. But wasn't sure about 1 and 3. Best of luck and hope to see you again in the future!
Hi Al! Very nice to see you here too! I hope that you're staying safe. Thanks for watching my content :)
I guessed it right hahaha....the first one sounded very smooth....second has a lot of harsh sounds....3rd has a great sound as well
I liked the 2nd and third bow the best, I would even say the 2nd and 3rd sounded the cleanest. I would choose the third one for myself.
My first guess was correct. On the last piece I though I was wrong with the order of #2 and #3. I never has doubt with the #1 because it just looked so stable and produces very clear sound. The other 2 are kinda wobbling.
Well just today I've bought my first carbon fibre bow I think for anyone starting out £500 is a lot of coin because the £30 did sound good so it's a case of finding the right bow for the player glad to hear you have had the £500 for a long time though let's not have a throw away society
Nice comparison! I guessed the first and third bow wrong, thought that bow #3 was the most expensive and bow #1 the $500 one. But I was right in thinking that the first one looked like a tank and sounded so powerful, and the third one looked most comfortable in your hand. The second one just looked so hard to control, the spiccatos looked all over the place and it must've been so hard for you to control it for the rep your played. You made them all sound amazing though. Thanks for this video!
and the double-stops? I think it would be a good option to listen in the different bows 😁
Amazing playing that you made the cheap bow sound acceptable! It sounds weak compared to the other two, and I did prefer the first bow, but it’s a surprisingly close call between the first and the third to my ears.
I can hear and even see the difference of the second one comparing to the other two. Looks heavier and it reacts differently when u play staccato
Merry Xmas btw! Great video!!!
Indeed! You got it correct. Happy New Year!
Great playing, but honestly could not tell the difference between the bows. Nice job with Caprice 24, BTW!
$500 bow was what I liked the sound of for every song you played
My favourite bow was something that came with the violin itself 😭 It's almost 12am in Hong Kong now!
😅😂 thanks for watching. Good night!
That's a fun video, though it's hard to tell which bow's better when you're playing a violin so great that all of them sound good! ;) I did get the most expensive one right, but I was way more certain about which one was the cheap one and was wrong. Great playing with all of them!
Thank you so much for your insight. I agree, it can be hard to tell, because it isn't the sound producer, but more about control. The more control I have, the more variety of sounds and colors I produce :D
@@timmychooi Yeah, the giveaway should've been how the bows handled on the Paganini, despite the seemingly fuller sound on the Elgar. The tone felt just slightly flatter, but that's not the most important thing. The handling is definitely what I miss most when I have to give my good bow away for rehairs ^^
My judgement was #3 > #1 > #2. I like how well you handled the 3rd (not surprisingly).
I D I D notice the $5K bow had more dynamic clarity and smoother MORE brilliant projection to it ... You're pretty awesome with that violin by the way ! 😁👍
The editing (and playing of course) was on point! Would be interesting to see you try carbon fibre bows :)
Challenge accepted
Sound the same but that's TH-cam for you. As an ameteur I have a cheesey $20 bow that holds up close to my main $200 bow. But I am going to try some bows up to a $1000 to see what's the best match for my violin. I played an old German bow once ($1000) and it made my $1200 violin sound like a $5k violin. M cheaper $20 bow sounds solid core surprisily good tone and consistent, my $200 pernumbucco bow has more depth especially when you lean into it. A local violin shop owners wife plays for the Los Angeles philharmonic and just spent $30k on her bow! The bow really does make a huge difference in tone IMHO. This guy makes a noodle sound good! ;-)
The $30 sounded clearly different, but like you said, the $500 was lively, but the $5k was rich, and I couldn't figure out which characteristic was the expensive one in this case. I think your comfort with handling the $500 made me think it was the more expensive one!
I guessed correctly but you sounded fantastic with all of them.
Hi Timothy, your first bow had the fullest tone and brought warmth to the violin. It felt satisfying and rich like a good meal. The second was also pleasing and resonant with more of an intermezzo timbre. A bit of clear spritzing to the table, Both seemed well suited to staccato. The 3rd sounded fine though not as responsive to staccato and fairly one dimensional by comparison with less resonance. Still good to listen to which is a tribute to your bowing.
It was actually pretty easy to guess which bow was which. The difference was detectable because of the amount of control you had with each one. You sound great with any bow. But it appeared that the better the bow the less effort you were having to expend.
Enjoyed this very much! I did guess the $30 bow, but not the other two. Please keep up your great work. Hope to see more of your videos and learn some of your insights. Thank you!
You play so beautifully; it seems the bow does not matter!!!
I thought the first one sounded best, followed by number three. Second one sounded worse to me. So my hearing was right 😊 I hope this will help me when I buy a new bow...
Thank you for making and sharing this video contribution... My inclination is to agree that individual music pieces are requiring a specifically (low or high priced) chosen bow to accentuate the unique style of each composition... I am most curious if someone had an opportunity to play with a P. Simon bow as a popular opinion is that the Pau Brasil species, used for making most of the 19th century bows became extinct in the 20th century.... Have a nice day everyone.... ☮️
Thanks for sharing! I haven't had a chance, but perhaps I'll try it out one day. Thanks for commenting on here and hope this video helped :)
@@timmychooi Pleasure as always... 🎻
Before you revealed the prices, I guessed the order as $5000, $30 and $500. The giveaway was Paganini. #1 was the most clear and seemed to come easy, and #2 seemed like you were laboring more to produce the clarity.
I guessed right about the price levels, but what surprised me most was the small difference between 30 and 500 dollar sound. The 5000 dollar sound was easy to pick up.
I thought the 3rd one was better on the first piece but there was less of a difference on the Sabelius. Thank you for this, you are just too great and adjust to get the best tone as you play.
I just recently lost my bow I've had since age 15 (old age/humidity). The replacement inflation at age 40 is unfortunate 😄- I had a German-made pernambuco bow. I replaced it with a German-made pernambuco bow (my viola is old, picky, and stubborn on a good day, but I love her).
1 is brighter than 2 but 2 is cleaner than 1(when I heard you play Sibelius,especially) , and the sound of 3 is the cleanest bow I think(when I heard you play paganini) ,2 is the sweetest bow.
Yo are such a high level performer that any bow and any violin will sound great in your hands.Wonderful video though.
I'd love to be able to afford an expensive bow. My German violin is worth about $3000.00au and I do need a new bow which I'll get soon, probably spending around $1000.00au. A $5000.00 American dollar violin bow would be really nice. I'd be thinking of getting around a 60-odd-gram bow for that bit of extra weight without being too heavy. Anyway, good video, Timothy. I enjoyed it.
I have a carbon fibre bow. I like it. If I ever get to your standard, then I think I can upgrade.
Chaikovsky concerto - just wow😮
HI, MY NAME IS CHRIS. THE ONLY NUANCES I CAN DETECT WITH MY FEEBLE EARS IS THAT ONE OF THE BOWS SOUNDS MORE DEEP, MORE LUSH. IN FACT THERE MAY BE TWO BOWS THAT HAVE THAT WARM WOODY LUSHNESS TO MY EARS. OTHER THAN THAT I CANT HONESTLY DETECT MUCH DIFFERENCE. YOU ARE A COMMENSURATE PLAYER! I WISH I COULD PLAY AS WELL AS YOU. I AM CURRENTLY RE HYDRATING AN OLD CHEC. BOW. I DID NOT HAVE THE SEALING WAX NOR THE SILK THREAD WHEN I THREW IT TOGETHER. I HAVE ONLY REHAIRED A VIOLIN BOW ONCE BEFORE WITH NATURAL BLACK HORSE HAIR, IT PLAYED WITH MUCH MORE POWER AND RESONANCE. THAT WAS BACK IN 1990S. I WORKED FROM A BOOK CALLED BASIC STRING REPAIRS AND IT WAS VERY HELPFUL. I JUST READ AND FOLLOWED THE PICTURES AND I COUNTED OUT 288 HAIRS AND STUCK THEM TO MASKING TAPE TO BEGIN. I HAD A BEATIFUL FULL HAIRED 1850S BOW, I MISS IT NOW IT WAS MY GREAT GRANDFATHERS. I AM USING TEAK OIL AND HAVE 5 COATS RUBBED IN. I MAY TAKE SOME QUADRUPLE AUGHT STEEL WOOL AND SMOOTH DOWN THE RAISED GRAIN. IM CONVINCED ITS PERNAUMBUCO BUT OF A COARSE VARIETY. LOVE YOUR VIDIO, MAKES ME THINK, AN THAT IS GOOD.
Dude I can’t believe I actually got them all right, at first I thought the first was 30$ but then I heard the middle lacking character and the last one was just that little bit less, keep in mind I play a 70$ Australian violin which is like 50$ American, so I assumed I would be hopeless
$5k, $30 then $500... Thanks for making this video, I wanted to check if I could tell as an amateur violinist/violist/cellist and it's definitely clear. You have excellent technique so of course all 3 sound impressive when you play your professional violin with any of them. However, you can see you have more control and you can hear a sweeter sound with the $5k bow.
I can't justify top-dollar purchases as music isn't my day job, I like to believe that it's possible to sound professional by buying the best I can afford and investing the rest of my time in practising. I've been able to acquire professional quality instruments/bows by approaching living makers or at the start of their careers, top tip for bargain hunters - cut-out the middleperson and go direct, networking is everything!
I actually I got all three right, my findings; the resonance are different. The first one has more fuller and vibrates with a crisp sound. The 2nd one has more of a rigid tone when played, like it was trying to hold back. And lastly the last one has some vibration, but not so much with the 1st one so I assume it's the middle price one.
Wood will have density variants due to it being a natrual and pourous etc no 2 will balance or resinate evenly or the same. Carbon fibre woukd be even in weight and density. However its limit of resonation would shape the sound with a more even E.Q. But technique is the most important
You are very respectful! Did you start to learn violin at 12 YO?
Very interesting video! For Sibelius I could hear almost no difference between the bows, but I felt like the more heavy bows had better bouncing qualities in the Paganini and a sweeter sound for Elgar. 🤔
I liked the third bow the most, I thought it was the most expensive one because it had more bounce, but thats likely cuz i have never used anything more expensive than 500
The middle was really obvious that it was a $30 bow. It sounded clunky and not as clean. But I thought the 3rd one was the $5000 bow because it just sounded much cleaner, better. Maybe it is because you are so comfortable with that bow growing up and playing with it. It sounded like a $1Million. But I can hear how much more powerful the first bow sounded. I do prefer the way the 3rd bow sounded
For me I think the third is better than the first one , maybe because you are more familiar with it and it has better elasticity
I agree. In some ways the last one has the most familiarity for me as I’ve been using it for all most 2 decades now.
Of course none of that would matter if it wasn't for your wonderful technique 😅. Thanks for the content by the way. Im looking after buying a better bow and this video will be of great help. I wasn't expecting to guess them correctly, neither to hear such a difference between each one of the bows (specially through a video). Bows are very personal to the player's taste and technique, and the listener will most likely hear little to no difference between different bows. The bow should be comfortable and pleasing to the player, and we do very much feel a huge difference in our hands from one bow to another.
I've just discovered your channel and was very interested to hear the comparisons of different bows, being an amateur bow maker myself. I managed to spot the best quality bow being in video 1 but got the other two wrong.
Thank you for stopping by to watch my videos. I’m so happy that it provided value for you to learn something. Huge appreciation for commenting on here :)
I thought the last one was the most expensive preferred the sound. Got the second was cheapo. Surprised myself
I'm a seasoned guitar player but totally new to the violin world, started leaning just a month ago. To my ears, the first one sounded dynamic as a Corvette, the third one's smooth like a Jaguar, and the second one was something like driving a rented Camry for the fist time. Anyway, you showed me that it's not the price, but the player's skill matters to make a beautiful music. Thanks a lot
Video 1 > videos 2 and 3 I would have said quite clearly, but the 3 are good... the sound is amazing. Between 2 and 3 it's hard to say, feel like there are some kkkr with the 3rd so I would say it's the cheapest but not sure at all. 1st is a lot better, deeper sound and more powerful.
Once again, you make the cheapest sound great
Edit : my bad it was the opposite x)
I must listen to it with headphones
The cheaper one gets exposed in the spiccatos, because it does not respond as clearly as the other ones. The most expensive one gets exposed in the slower melodies because it projects more, it sounds deeper in that style.
Powerful
Stability
Well Balanced
Mad respect for this informative vid but does those words really mean?
When you say powerful, is it because it has more weight than the other bow? If they are made of the same material then it comes down to the thickness.
When you say stability, how does resist change? The only change i notice when playing is the camber when playing loudly.
Perhaps, the only word i'm close to understanding is "well-balanced", does this talk about the gradual tapered thickness of the bow? I guess this has more to do with the camber, isn't it?
yayyyy! so happy to see this! btw, this is I-Jung's channel, but speaking in mandarin. hahah
Oh hi! I had no idea you had a channel. Can't wait to watch more videos of yours soon!
@@timmychooi Yes! I just started!! Hope I can have you on one day!! (maybe speaking in Mandarin haha)
I couldn't hear the difference. However if one was playing it might be easier to discern the difference. Interesting on heavy v light bow info
It is impossible to feel the difference through YT compression: being there with you would make a big difference for perceiving quality.
I guessed them right 💪😉
I had a hard time distinguishing between the $500 and $5000 bow, much bigger of a difference between those and the $30 bow.
Thank you for the informative video! Violin matters, but playing it with a proper bow really matters too. There're stark differences among the three! Is a heavier bow more prefered usually? Then when a lighter bow is used?😲
I think the heavier bow is better overall. It can be used for a variety of pieces, and even though when it's not ideal, it can still work. I use the lighter bow because it takes less energy from my arm to hold when I play smaller chamber music and for certain pieces that require specific techniques like in Paganini, I use the lighter one. It will be able to respond quicker and with less effort :) Thank you for stopping by!
@@timmychooi Wow..The more i learn about the string insturments, the more it gots me wowed with its sensitivity. Up to each bow, the tone changes hugely even same tunes are played with thesame violin!😱 I didn't know that it'd make such big differences.😂 I learned a lot watching your video. Thanks again.👍 For me, 1st one is clear, deep, lively, reminding me of a lord or king. 2nd sounds rough like a strict soldier. 3rd is light like a feather reminding me of a small fairy, and sounds less attatched to the string overall compared to the former two! I prefer the first bow personally.😀 Thank you profusely for your kind reply and explanation!!
My bow was free! Lol. Came with my cheap violin. It’s more the fact some hairs are loose that annoys me.