Arcus bassbows explained - In comparison to traditional wood and carbon bows

Bernd Müsing is always looking for that perfect bow.
The latest generation of our bass bows is pretty close to it, or has even cracked it.
The Arcus bass bow delivers a very easy response, on all strings and all notes. No matter if you play pianissimo or need to make a real big sound (like in a Beethoven symphony), it always sounds incredibly open and free, almost like singing, and produces almost no noise.
Its playing characteristics are also absolutely convincing: no wobbling or "dancing" while playing an effortless spiccato.
Compared to a very good traditional wooden bow and carbon bow, the Arcus bow still performs and sounds much better.
So go out there and try some Arcus bass bows.
Find out more about our bass bows on our website:
www.arcus-mues...
Dealers:
www.arcus-mues...
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A big thank you to the fabulous Alexander String Quartet for letting us use their fantastic performance of the Dvořák Piano Quintet in A Major, Op 81 - III. Scherzo:
/ @alexanderquartet

[@LuisMunozPR]

What type of bass rosin do you recommend with Arcus Bass bows? I find I don’t like the super sticky (Pop’s)rosin with my S6 french bow which is the type I use with my wood bows mostly. It makes the attacks too harsh in the the first and second strings particularly so I switched to the Swedish Nyman rosin for now.

[@ARCUSMuesing]

Hi Luis, you are 100% right - the regular rosin for wood bows is far too sticky for our bows and makes them sound unnecessarily harsh. Pops rosin is indeed extremely soft and sticky and should really only be applied very sparingly, if at all. But a harder rosin would definitely be better! If you are happy with the Swedish Nyman so far, then this is probably the best choice. 👍

[@LuisMunozPR]

@@ARCUSMuesing I find even the Nyman functions better if applied rather sparingly. It’s just hard to wrap the brain around being able to obtain sound without a lot of rosin. It’s lead me to reconsider the whole technique, for the better

[@ARCUSMuesing]

@@LuisMunozPR This is similar to other glue joints. Generally, the less glue you need, the better and more stable the bond. If there is too much glue the result will be less strong. Of course the same is true with too little glue, so to get to the best result you must find the golden middle. :)

[@michaelblaney4461]

What is the price range for those German bows?

[@ARCUSMuesing]

Hi Michael, you can find the prices for German bass bows here on our website: www.arcus-muesing.de/en/products/bassbows.html

[@nickarran5221]

I have an S3 bass bow. I love it; not just the sound and feel, but it's beautifully made and pretty much indestructible too. But the S3 is discontinued ... because of the Musing line of bows or because Arcus are now so good at making the sticks that none fall as low as S3 ??

[@BogenmacherD]

Hello Nick, I'm very happy to hear you are happy with your S3 bow. You are correct with your assumptions that indeed we have managed to improve the resonance quality of our bows over the years so much that it has become a rare event for a bass stick to come out as a 3. The Müsing bows are meant to cover the medium price range and they are getting great feedback from players.

[@ARCUSMuesing]

@Jacob Moses So you are trying some Müsing bows or some new Arcus bows?

[@Opus766]

It would be nice to hear a professional compare the bows

[@ARCUSMuesing]

Yes, that would be a good addition. All Arcus bass bow owners (or those who want to be) are invited to do so.