$400 - $4000 double bass bows - can you HEAR a difference?

Check out Les Korus bows - korusbows.com
Other bows used in this video:
Bernd Dolling - www.stringemporium.com/dollin...
Finale - www.stringemporium.com/finale...
all things double bass - doublebasshq.com
double bass merch - shop.doublebasshq.com/merch
double bass sheet music - shop.doublebasshq.com
TIMESTAMPS:
0:00 - intro
0:17 - unboxing and initial thoughts
1:43 - comparison of Finale, Dolling, Eastman, and Korus bows
8:29 - thoughts on Les' bows from other bassists
9:12 - sound test comparison for all these bows

[@crocholiday]

As someone new to double bass, it's fascinating to hear the difference in tone between the different bows. I wouldn't have guessed they made that much of a difference. Love the Korus bows. Just need them to drop a zero on the price and I'm in! lol.

[@doublebasshq]

Thanks for checking this out! Les’ bows are great for sure.

[@pdbass]

BRILLIANT, my friend!! Love this one! 👏

[@doublebasshq]

Thanks, Paul!!

[@joshuamittendorf6470]

I had the pleasure to trial two of Les’s Pernambuco French Bows this last summer. They were so wonderful and an incredible improvement to the bow I had been using. An immediately noticeable change in depth and complexity of tone and felt like I could achieve more without working as hard. I ended up purchasing one and I couldn’t be happier. The pernambuco you tested looks and sounds a lot like the other one I tested. I had quite a time deciding which one to go with! Thanks for sharing this!!!

[@doublebasshq]

You bet! It has been a real pleasure trying out Les’ bows for me as well!

[@jamesrichardson3322]

0:36 Your dog is cute!!! William chilling out watching his dad playing.

[@doublebasshq]

Thanks! William is a sweetie for sure.

[@jamesrichardson3322]

@@doublebasshq Welcome, you got watch out William might steal your channel lol

[@davidbteague]

Great article. Thanks! My bow is of Iron wood, by Hink te Heitbrink. 220 gm French bow. Wonderful!

[@doublebasshq]

Sounds great!

[@gordonm2870]

Jason, Thanks for your videos! You have a wealth of info available to us. One thing I didn't see in your bow videos was about the hair. It would seem that would make more of a difference in sound vs. the type of wood or material in the stick for a given hair tension and set of strings. Please share your thoughts. Bear with me. I played some years ago then got away from it. I restarted this past year so there is still some learning curve. Thanks.

[@doublebasshq]

Great suggestion!

[@I.O.M.]

Best advice I got early on was get a good bow ($400 -$800) range when starting out. No need to struggle with a poor quality bow. You can always upgrade as needed. I appreciate that advice to this day.

[@doublebasshq]

I always used to recommend to my students that they get a decent bow first-it makes everything so much easier!

[@I.O.M.]

@@doublebasshq It really does.

[@metanoia9490]

What if I have no loney

[@SteveAbrahall]

Darn you Jason! You have just confirmed that I have very expensive taste in Double Bass bows! LOL Very interesting work thank you!

[@doublebasshq]

Ha! Me too. 😃 Thanks for checking this out.

[@Utyoubyouzer]

Thanks Jason. My fave was the German Korus Jatoba. I liked Korus Pernambuco too but in the fast runs the one with more low-mid frequency dominance and less white noise (string friction sound) sounds more pure and musical so Korus German Jatoba. The French is good too but less speaking which could be the effect of some of the resonation improvement by heftier Herman bow frog area. Thanks again. 👍🏽

[@doublebasshq]

Nice! My German bow technique isn’t anything to write home about 🤣 - glad that the tone of that Jatoba bow came through. I really like that one as well.

[@MacTeee]

Love your tee shirt...where can I get one? Great vid BTW. The more expensive bows are much richer sounding particularly in the bottom register.

[@doublebasshq]

Thanks! We’ve got shirts and more available at shop.doublebasshq.com/collections/merch

[@LeeroyJanky]

I wanted to give German bows a try and got a brown weave Finale bow. I hate to say it but, after a bit of practice, I actually love it over my spare French bow that's valued twice as much 😅

[@fabiogilcar9955]

Por supuesto que se nota la diferencia! Ese Korus Pernambuco hace sonar el instrumento con mayor calidad

[@deniferia3016]

Que opinas de los bingo bow, o mellor de AliExpress? Probé los dos modelos y actualmente tengo un mellor p30 de pernambuco

[@calmination]

As I listen to these sound test comparisons, i feel like we would need a blind test (playing AND listening) to see if all of this is just snake oil ;P. I understand that the feel is different on different bows, and sustain and attack are better on a "better" bow. And that the feel is what musicians go for mostly. A test without the influence of knowing what you're playing or listening to would be interesting. :)

[@StephaniePatterson359]

Great demo. My ears tell me it’s a tie between your bow and the pernambuco. Both drive your instrument beautifully. Thanks for your research on this video.

[@doublebasshq]

You bet-thanks for checking this out!

[@satoration]

Les Korus Pernambuco sounds the nicest to me... other Korus bows, too... Dolling was also nice... (speaking as a listener, not bass player) If I were the producer of some double bass record and different bows were offered - I would suggest the Les Korus Pernambuco if the player would be comfortable with it, too.

[@larrykaufman768]

Can anyone explain the sound tool that is being used, what exactly are we looking for? Is that a program that is run through your computer?

[@puff808]

TE Tuner on iPad

[@doublebasshq]

It’s an app called Tonal Energy-I’ve got a video about it coming out soon!

[@hifreq-therapy1058]

Very interesting to hear these different price points in the hand of the same skilled musician. It is quite the experience to see that while there is a difference (especially facilitating sound production with faster playing as price point goes up) it is quite hard to say that the 4k bow is as much better (10x) as an inexperienced player might think. What are you thoughts on how they differ? Best wishes from Germany!

[@jamesmarkham7489]

I believe I heard about a 10% difference going from $400 to $4000. And then when in the context of an orchestra…would anyone else notice?

[@leifdering3600]

@@jamesmarkham7489 The wood bows were all noticeably nicer sounding than the carbon fiber finale, but from then, the tonal differences are a lot more miniscule than one would think, especially as prices get higher and higher. The overall craftsmanship though will generally be higher, offering a better feeling, well balanced bow that will do what you want it to do without having to work so hard.

[@soundslikeben]

Could you please make a video showing how various bow strokes are notated and played? It would be a huge help for players like myself, who don’t know the difference between a portato and a potato!

[@doublebasshq]

For sure-good idea!

[@DAngelotti]

I need to know where you got that t-shirt

[@doublebasshq]

You bet! You can get one here: shop.doublebasshq.com/collections/merch

[@DAngelotti]

@@doublebasshq bummer. Don’t see it there

[@Supergod526]

For me it’s about the hair and the grip

[@bassnsax]

@7:24 Yes...yes...excellent... Join the dark side... "Emperor Palpatine, you're needed in the throne room. Emperor Palpatine, throne room, please. Thank you. 😁 No shade, I find the French bow intriguing, and players should play what feels most comfortable for them. That said, all of these bows sound AMAZING! I'm glad to see Jatoba making it's way into the double bass world - Ibanez has been using Jatoba for a few years now, over on the bass guitar side of the "wall".

[@doublebasshq]

Ha! Thanks for checking this out. I’ve really been digging Les’ bows.

[@martarenardowitsch3634]

For me, your 3000-, Dölling was best! 😀 All the others much less good.

[@leifdering3600]

It's a shame that it's so much harder to tell the differences over video, even with nice equipment. The bow really is a large part of the sound, and I didn't realize that until my teacher told me "go save up a thousand bucks and get yourself a decent bow"

[@doublebasshq]

There’s also a “feel” to each bow that’s tricky to convey over video.

[@NSBarnett]

What is your dog wearing !?!?! Is it a sort of dog nappy?

[@doublebasshq]

That’s basically what he’s wearing. He has a problem with his bladder, so the belly band ensures that there’s no peeing in the house. He’s a very sweet boy!