12 best string bass bows
A string bass bow, also known as a double bass bow, is an essential accessory for playing the double bass, which is the largest and lowest-pitched instrument in the violin family. These bows are a crucial part of the double bassist's toolkit, and they play a significant role in producing the instrument's unique sound.
Key features and information about string bass bows:
Materials: String bass bows are typically made from a combination of wood and horsehair. The bow's stick is commonly crafted from high-quality pernambuco wood or other materials like carbon fiber.The choice of wood can significantly affect the bow's weight, balance, and playability.
Bow Hair: The horsehair on the bow is an essential component. It is strung tightly between the tip and the frog of the bow, creating tension when the bow is drawn across the strings. Bow hair can be either natural or synthetic, with most professional players preferring high-quality, unbleached horsehair for its excellent grip and tone production.
Frog and Button: The frog is the part of the bow near the player's hand, while the button is located at the opposite end. The frog usually has an adjustable mechanism for changing the bow's tension and curvature. High-quality bows feature intricate craftsmanship in their frogs, often made from materials like ebony or other exotic woods.
Bow Length: String bass bows are longer than those used for smaller string instruments. A standard double bass bow is typically around 29 to 31 inches (73 to 79 cm) in length, allowing for greater control and resonance on the larger strings.
Weight and Balance: The weight and balance of a string bass bow are critical factors influencing a player's technique and sound production. Different players may prefer bows with varying weights and balances, depending on their playing style and musical preferences.
Bow Makers: There are renowned bow makers worldwide who craft exceptional string bass bows. Names like François Tourte, Jean-Pierre Marie Persoit, and Eugène Sartory are highly regarded in the world of bow making, and their creations are often considered works of art.
Price Range: String bass bows can vary widely in price, from relatively affordable options for beginners to exceptionally expensive bows created by master bow makers. The cost is often reflective of the materials used, craftsmanship, and reputation of the maker.
Maintenance: Proper maintenance of a string bass bow is essential to ensure its longevity and performance. This includes regular rehairing, cleaning the bow stick, and maintaining proper tension to prevent warping.
In summary, string bass bows are crucial accessories for double bass players, contributing significantly to the instrument's sound and playability. They come in various materials, lengths, and weights, catering to the preferences of individual players and their musical requirements. Renowned bow makers have left a lasting legacy in the world of double bass bows, with their creations being sought after by professional musicians.
Below you can find our editor's choice of the best string bass bows on the market
Black Horse Hair 4/4 Size Double Bass Bow French Model Wild Tone VINGOBOW 300BFB 72.5cm Brazilwood Stick Ebony Frog Straight Stick Smooth Tuner Easy Rosin Neat Works for High Level Student
VINGOBOW
- BLACK HORSEHAIR - We use natural black Mongolian horsehair with great resilience, easier to rosin. Black horsehair is thicker than white hair, you will get louder and wild tone surprisingly.
- BRAZILWOOD - The bow is Brazilwood stick, air dried more than five years. Round stick shape, great wooden bow hand feeling. The bow is approx. 72.5cm including screw.
- GREAT STUDENT BASS BOW - The bow is made by experienced bow-maker. It will provide you nice sound. A high cost performace bow for student.
- GOOD BALANCE POINT - Great balance point makes the bow easier to control. Our maker always adjusts it for several times to ensure its point is in the right range.
- HANDMADE - The bow is totally made with traditional handcraft. Straight stick, clean work, ready to play.
Product features
Fine craftsmanship
We spent much efforts to make bow screw adjustment smooth also ensure stabilize frog. Please kindly note that it may still not so easy to tighten bow screw as the stick of bass bow is much thicker and stronger than violin bow. You may find there is a very small gap (about 1mm) between stick and screw. That’s our tips to reduce the friction between bow screw and stick end to make screw adjustment easier.
Clean work
The bow hairs are neatly installed. We tried to smooth horsehair from the frog side to bow tip side and avoid hair cross, which brings you smooth tone and playing feeling. The frog and screw are polished by hand work.
Winding & grip
Winding and grip are not just for beautiful looking but also for proper balancing the bow. The genuine leather grip will provide you comfortable practise.
Neat workout
The bow is totally made with traditional handcrafted skills. Straight stick, clean work, ready to play. It is a good strong bow with exceptional bounce stability.
Well-selected Brazilwood
We cost more to use well-selected Brazilwood for the model. You will find its strong stick and powerful sound when you play with it.
Black horsehair
Many players tried our bows with black horsehair and suprisingly found its loud, wild and powerful tone.
VINGOBOW 4/4 Size Brazilwood German Double Bass Bow Pernambuco Performance Unbleached Horse Hair 300BG 76cm Full 4 4 Straight Stick Smooth Tuner Easy Rosin Neat Works for High Level Student
- GREAT STUDENT BASS BOW - The bow is made by experienced bow-maker. It will provide you nice sound. A high cost performace bow for student.
- BRAZILWOOD - The bow has Brazilwood stick, air dried more than five years. Round stick shape, great wooden bow hand feeling. 4/4 Size - approx. 76 cm (including 6 cm screw), 150 grams.
- NATURAL HORSEHAIR - We use unbleached Mongolian horsehair for the bow, making it to have great resilience, be easier to rosin.
- GOOD BALANCE POINT - Great balance point makes the bow easier to control. Our maker always adjusts it for several times to ensure its point is in the right range.
- HANDMADE - The bow is totally made with traditional handcraft skills. Straight stick, clean work, ready to play.
Product features
Fine craftsmanship
We spent much efforts to make bow screw adjustment smooth also ensure stabilize frog. Please kindly note that it may still not so easy to tighten bow screw as the stick of bass bow is much thicker and stronger than violin bow. You may find there is a very small gap (about 1mm) between stick and screw. That’s our tips to reduce the friction between bow screw and stick end to make screw adjustment easier.
Clean work
The bow hairs are neatly installed. We tried to smooth horsehair from the frog side to bow tip side and avoid hair cross, which brings you smooth tone and playing feeling. The frog and screw are polished by hand work.
Winding & grip
Winding and grip are not just for beautiful looking but also for proper balancing the bow. The genuine leather grip will provide you comfortable practise.
Handmade
The bow is totally made with traditional handcraft skills. Straight stick, clean work, ready to play.
Brazilwood stick
The bow has Brazilwood stick, air dried more than five years. Round stick shape, great wooden bow hand feeling. The bow is approx. 150g, 76cm including screw (6cm).
Natural horsehair
We use unbleached Mongolian horsehair for the bow, making it to have great resilience, be easier to rosin.
Double Bass Bow 3/4 Size French Model Natural Horsehair VINGOBOW 300BF 70.5cm Brazilwood Stick Ebony Frog Well Balanced Sweet Sound Natural Horse Hair Straight Stick Smooth Tuner Easy Rosin
VINGOBOW
- GREAT STUDENT BASS BOW - The bow is made by experienced bow-maker. It will provide you nice sound. A high cost performace bow for student.
- BRAZILWOOD - The bow is Brazilwood stick, air dried more than five years. Round stick shape, great wooden bow hand feeling. The bow is approx. 70.5cm including screw.
- NATURAL HORSEHAIR - We use unbleached Mongolian horsehair for the bow, making it to have great resilience, be easier to rosin.
- GOOD BALANCE POINT - Great balance point makes the bow easier to control. Our maker always adjusts it for several times to ensure its point is in the right range.
- HANDMADE - The bow is totally made with traditional handcraft. Straight stick, clean work, ready to play.
Product features
Fine craftsmanship
We spent much efforts to make bow screw adjustment smooth also ensure stabilize frog. Please kindly note that it may still not so easy to tighten bow screw as the stick of bass bow is much thicker and stronger than violin bow. You may find there is a very small gap (about 1mm) between stick and screw. That’s our tips to reduce the friction between bow screw and stick end to make screw adjustment easier.
Clean work
The bow hairs are neatly installed. We tried to smooth horsehair from the frog side to bow tip side and avoid hair cross, which brings you smooth tone and playing feeling. The frog and screw are polished by hand work.
WINDING & GRIP
Winding and grip are not just for beautiful looking but also for proper balancing the bow. The genuine leather grip will provide you comfortable practise.
Neat work
The bow is totally made with traditional handcrafted skills. Straight stick, clean work, ready to play. It is a good strong bow with exceptional bounce stability.
Well-selected Brazilwood
We cost more to use well-selected Brazilwood for the model. You will find its strong stick and powerful sound when you play with it.
Natural horsehair
We use better quality and expensive horsehair for the model to enable its longer lifetime. Hope it can bring you more funny
Upright Double Bass Bow 4/4 Size German Model Brazilwood Stick 76cm Straight Smooth Tuner Full 4 4 Ebony Frog Unbleached Black Horse Hair Deep Powerful and Wild Tone Straight Smooth Screw
- BLACK HORSEHAIR - We use unbleached black Mongolian horsehair with great resilience, easier to rosin. Black horsehair is thicker than white hair, it will provide you louder and wild tone surprisingly.
- GREAT BASS BOW - The bow is made by experienced bow-maker. It will provide you nice sound. A high cost performance bow for student.
- BRAZILWOOD - The bow has Brazilwood stick, air dried more than five years. Round stick shape, great wooden bow hand feeling.
- GOOD BALANCE POINT - Great balance point makes the bow easier to control. Our maker always adjusts it for several times to ensure its point is in the right range.
- HANDMADE - The bow is totally made with traditional handcraft skills. Straight stick, clean work, ready to play.
Product features
Fine craftsmanship
We spent much efforts to make bow screw adjustment smooth also ensure stabilize frog. Please kindly note that it may still not so easy to tighten bow screw as the stick of bass bow is much thicker and stronger than violin bow. You may find there is a very small gap (about 1mm) between stick and screw. That’s our tips to reduce the friction between bow screw and stick end to make screw adjustment easier.
Winding & grip
Comfortable genuine leather grip, elegant winding. Winding and grip are not just for beautiful looking but also for proper balancing of a bow.
Clean work
The bow hairs are neatly installed. We tried to smooth horsehair from the frog side to bow tip side and avoid hair cross, which brings you smooth tone and playing feeling. The frog and screw are polished by hand work.
Neat workout
The bow is totally made with traditional handcrafted skills. Straight stick, clean work, ready to play. It is a good strong bow with exceptional bounce stability.
Well-selected Brazilwood
The bow has Brazilwood stick, air dried more than five years. Round stick shape, great wooden bow hand feeling.
Black horsehair
Many players tried our bows with black horsehair and suprisingly found its loud, wild and powerful tone.
Vio Music #403 3/4 Bass Bow,brazilwood, Ebony Frog, French Style, Black Horsehair
Product description
Quality Brazil-wood Bass Bow with Natural Black Horsehair and Ebony Frog, Parisian eye, French Style, Completely Hand-made; Straight, Strong and Well Balanced. Around 725 mms (28.5") end to end in length;. Weight: ~143 grams.
- 3/4 Bass Bow, Quality guarantee from Vio Music
- Brazilwood
- Ebony Frog
- Natural Mongolian Horse hair, Black Hair
- French Style
User questions & answers
| Question: | What is the country of origin |
| Answer: | I honestly don't know. I don't recall it coming with a description. |
Yinfente 3/4 Upright double bass Bow Brazilwood German Bow Natural Bow Hair Well balanced
Product description
Yinfente Brand Musical Instrument Company produce & sell string instruments for many years Include violin, cello, double bass, bows, parts & accessory . www.yinfente.com , Hand made all product. Sell to many country, many seller like it very much.
- 3/4 German Style Double bass Bow ,Ebony Frog, Eyes Pearl inlay
- Brazil wood Stick, Natural Mongolia Horse hair,
- Weight: about 140+/-2g, Length:75+/-1cm
- Well Balanced fast Response
GERMAN BASS BOW FIBERGLASS HALF-LINED FROG LEATHERETTE GRIP - 3/4
Glasser
Product description
Glasser 3/4 German bass bow - fiberglass.
- Glasser Model#G501H34
User questions & answers
| Question: | does it come with a case |
| Answer: | Hi Miriam, Glasser Bows does also make bow cases for single bows, two bows, and more. The bow is usually sold separately. Often someone buying the bow and the case can get a lower price buying them together than buying each independently. |
| Question: | Is the bow carbon fiber, wood, or plastic |
| Answer: | It is supposed to be carbon fiber. Right now I don't have a reason to think it's not. It works good. |
Advanced 4/4 French Upright Double Bass Bow Natural Horsehair String
CUTICATE
Product description
Description:
- 1 Pieces 4/4 upright double bass iron wire wound bow.
- Brazilwood stick, horse hair string and ebony frog fisheye.
- Full handmade, exquisite workmanship.
- Nice sound and well balanced.
- Great replacement for your old or broken bow.
Size Chart:
Length: Approx.71cm/27.95inch
Package Includes:
1 Piece Upright Double Bass Bow
- 1 Pieces 4/4 upright double bass iron wire wound bow.
- Brazilwood stick, horse hair string and ebony frog fisheye.
- Full handmade, exquisite workmanship.
- Nice sound and well balanced.
- Great replacement for your old or broken bow.
Upright Double Bass Bow Case String Bass Case for Bass Bow German French Style Hole 2pcs Bow Bag Box
- Lightweight shock absorbing wood frame with rugged 600D nylon exterior Accommodates French or German bows and has soft non-abrasive velvet lining Adjustable shoulder strap and ID tag included Dual handle design
- Long lasting custom molded zippers
User questions & answers
| Question: | Las dos unidades cuestan 49? No puedo comprar solo una unidad |
| Answer: | hello dear friend, it is 1pcs bow case, The one bow case can put 2 pcs bass bow. thank you very much |
| Question: | Would a french bow move a lot inside? Does a rosin fits the bag |
| Answer: | the french will hole well too. and it dose not support the rosin |
Product features
Strong Bow Holder Can protect your bow very well
Strong Bow Holder Can protect your bow very well
Thick Padding insider protect cello more better
Thick Padding insider protect cello more better
Bass Bow Bag With back Strap Easy to carry
Bass Bow Bag With back Strap Easy to carry
YKK Zipper Strong & Long time to Use
YKK Zipper Strong & Long time to Use
Baosity 4/4 Size Upright Double Bass Brazilwood Fisheye Bow French Style
Baosity
Product description
Welcome to our store. If you love Sports and Outdoor Activities ,we will provide what you want, and give your much surprise.
Description:
- 1 Pieces 4/4 upright double bass iron wire wound bow.
- Brazilwood stick, horse hair string and ebony frog fisheye.
- Full handmade, exquisite workmanship.
- Nice sound and well balanced.
- Great replacement for your old or broken bow.
Size Chart:
Length: Approx.71cm/27.95inch
Package Includes:
1 Piece Upright Double Bass Bow
- 1 Pieces 4/4 upright double bass iron wire wound bow.
- Brazilwood stick, horse hair string and ebony frog fisheye.
- Full handmade, exquisite workmanship.
- Nice sound and well balanced.
- Great replacement for your old or broken bow.
Full 4/4 Size 72.5cm Natural White Horse Hair Upright French Bass Bow VINGOBOW 310BF Colorful Abalone Shell Straight for Advanced Player Strong and Great Bounce Pernambuco Performance Warm Clear Tone
Product features
Fine craftsmanship
We spent much efforts to make bow screw adjustment smooth also ensure stabilize frog. Please kindly note that it may still not so easy to tighten bow screw as the stick of bass bow is much thicker and stronger than violin bow. You may find there is a very small gap (about 1mm) between stick and screw. That’s our tips to reduce the friction between bow screw and stick end to make screw adjustment easier.
Clean work
The bow hairs are neatly installed. We tried to smooth horsehair from the frog side to bow tip side and avoid hair cross, which brings you smooth tone and playing feeling. The frog and screw are polished by hand work.
Winding & grip
Winding and grip are not just for beautiful looking but also for proper balancing of a bow. Genuine leather grip will bring you comfortable playing exepriences.
Neat workout
The bow is totally made with traditional handcrafted skills. Straight stick, clean work, ready to play. It is a good strong bow with exceptional bounce stability.
Selected Brazilwood stick
The bow has selected Brazilwood stick, air dried more than eight years. Round stick shape, great wooden bow hand feeling.
Handmade
The bow is totally made through traditional handcraft skills. Straight stick, clean work, ready to play.
Model DM2629 Double Bass Bow Size 4/4 Full Size Top Brazil Wood German Type … (4/4 - Size)
Product description
The D Z Strad double bass bow is fully silver-lined and made of select, dense Brazilwood. Featuring an octagonal stick and Ebony frog with Parisian eye inlay and abalone slide, the bow is properly balanced for an even response. The thumb grip is wrapped leather over silver lapping. Equipped with genuine white, unbleached Mongolian Grade AA horsehair, it is a great choice for any player. Using advanced technology, it has excellent balance, powerful tone and gives a professional performance. Traditional Frog made from Polished Premium Ebony. This bass bow boasts exceptional performance for intermediate to advanced players.
- Brazilwood, fully silver-lined, octagonal stick with Ebony frog with Parisian eye inlay
- Equipped with genuine white, unbleached Mongolian Grade AA horsehair
- Properly balanced for even response and consistent projection
- Size: 4/4 Full Size
- Each bow is inspected in our own workshop in the United States
User questions & answers
| Question: | what is it the diference between the 3/4 and 4/4 size. Is it the length |
| Answer: | 3/4 is the standard size for adult basses. A 4/4 bow might be slightly longer, but with double bass in particular things aren't quite as standardized as other string instruments |
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