Carbon fiber/synthetic hair (vegan-friendly bow) vs Traditional violin bow

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So in this video I take a look at a Coruss carbon fiber bow which uses synthetic hair that's meant to emulate and provide an alternative to traditional bows, which usually use pernambuco wood + horse hair.
I'll be comparing everything from: sound, price point, how it feels when played, among other things. This will be the first time I'm trying the bow so I'm pretty curious as to what it will sound like!
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Music:
Opening track: "Waltzing Matilda" by Stephan Koncz featured in "The Golden Age" album by Decca Classics
• Ray Chen - Waltzing Ma...
Closing track: "Story Time" by 11 Acorn Lane
• 11 Acorn Lane - Story ...

[@RayChenViolinist]

Stay motivated to practice! 🎵Join the community and practice together on Tonic tonicmusic.app/join-in

[@maellebonnin7698]

For reference, I did a quick Fourier analysis on the last A3 note of the intro of Tchaikovsky that you played. I chose that note because it's quite long so I could have enough time to sample. (Just for info, the note was measured at 445.3 Hz, and I had 43 ms of sampling with 2048 samples.) The results show that the synthetic bow has slightly fewer harmonics than the traditionnal one. The Fourier spectra are very similar but the traditionnal bow has a somewhat richer sound, with a couple of extra harmonics. This could come from the hair but also the vibration of the stick. Unfortunately, my quick homemade Fourier analysis wasn't able to detect any anharmonicity so I can't conclude on the coupling between the hair and the stick.

[@OtamatoneTony]

:O what software do you use to do that?

[@maellebonnin7698]

@@OtamatoneTony Because of the lockdown, I don't have my usual toys. So I could only use Phyphox on my phone. It's something I've been using with my students for the sound analysis of musical intruments. Since we are all on lockdown, it's quite practical because they can all do it from home.

[@maellebonnin7698]

@@grigoryevko1502 Yes, you would need to put different hair on the same stick and then different sticks with the same hair. And also you would need a better equipment and controled environment to detect the anharmonicity to see the coupling effect. I was just trying to see if the feeling that the traditionnal bow had "more charm" (to use Ray Chen's words) was based on something measurable. And it is, to a certain extent.

[@willb3698]

That could be the bow. Also This is after KZbin variable lossy Compression? I certainly HEAR a less rich sound, but would hesitate to make a call given the the systems involved. However would love a more controlled version. I might do this myself with double bass, through a decent setup.

[@vamvra5498]

Otamatone Tony wolfram desktop can do it

[@chloecrawford5426]

Sounds like Synthetic would be great for students, keeping the price more affordable, outdoor concerts or in places that are really hot and humid. Those who want to eliminate animal products etc then traditional great for indoor concerts, recordings etc. You're right that both have their place and good to have another option for creating sound.

[@willb3698]

Having lived in the tropics, I can tell you the ideal set up for a double bass is : Laminated (ply wood) instrument, CF bow, and now, Synthetic hair! And a radiation suit./

[@Burner.Account..]

@@willb3698 doesn't tropical climate murder lifespan of carbon fibre products coz the binding agent deteriorates much more?

[@rawmark]

Actually, some of the higher priced synthetic bows are flat out amazing. Coda Violin GX bow is lovely. And it's made in the U.S. The incredibow is also outstanding and is made in the U.S. But there are many others to choose from such as Arcus, Musing (Arcus' baby brother), Prestobows and more. Corus also makes a variety of bows and I'm sure they didn't send him their top of the line model.

[@rawmark]

@@Burner.Account.. No, not at all. That's why carbon fiber are ideal for hot or cold weather. Also, you're not going to leave your bow out in the blinding sun only to watch it melt, are you?

[@2Stepzupp]

For those just skipping through: 33:00 has an important revelation about the synthetic bow. Watch that part before you draw final conclusion on the synthetic.

[@bohuslavpavlyshynets]

I fully agree. It completely changed my mind to vegan bow

[@catitse2]

Wow!! It sounds soooo much better with less rosin

[@jb9652]

Indeed. Thank you. An instantaneously obvious improvement. And thank you for wording your statement without giving away whether the revelation was good or bad!! 🙂

[@Luumus]

To make this truly valid it should have been done with a double blinded test, both the violinist and the audience can't know which one is which and of course there should be a test with all combinations possible: synthetic hair + wooden bow horse hair + wooden bow synthetic hair + synthetic bow horse hair + synthetic bow But for what it's worth, that was interesting to see the comparison.

[@HanBurritoz]

A blind test for the violinist would be impossible to do as they are literally touching and using it. They will immediately know the difference.

[@arthurp.8499]

I've seen violin bows a lot but, as a double bassist, this was my first time really looking at them up close and... OMG THEYRE SOOO SKINNYYY. idek how I feel they're just so petite lol

[@spoderman3207]

Stop body shaming bows!!!😤 All bows are beautiful and have a purpose. if you're a bow reading this, I want you to know that I appreciate you with all your flaws😗❤

[@Isa-tn7ex]

Spoder Man a thank you from the octobass! ❤️

[@maria_animates]

They are ever so fragile, when compared to our bows, yeah XD

[@owdy3973]

@@maria_animates hey, this is just out of my own curiosity, what Is the major difference between the two bows? I've never seen the double bass btw

[@maria_animates]

@@owdy3973 There's actually a lot of bow types through the ages, but the two main nowadays, the German and the French, each are suited for a different bow hold. The German is an underhand bow hold, and the French is an overhand hold. As such, the German has a bigger frog, to allow the 2nd and 3rd to wrap around it.

[@masonhaskett3425]

The hair caught well, but the carbon fiber bow didn't have near the same resonance. Also comparing a $150 bow to an $80,000 that's not really a comparison. You get what you pay for

[@Dparrey]

He did compare the 3.5k bow towards the end. That's still a huge difference

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

That's mostly because the carbon fiber bow would be to expensive to produce in the same weight as the wooden one.

[@klotzinatorinho]

@@Dparrey also still a 200€ vs 3,5k difference

[@Dparrey]

@@klotzinatorinho Sorry thats what I meant when I said that's still a huge different in numbers. Even the 3.5k is going to crush the vegan bow. Personally I know I'll never spend even $3.5k on a bow. So I guess the comparison for most people still isn't as useful as it could have been

[@rudythecat7320]

I wonder how much the use of mammoth bone contributed to the cost of the $80,000 bow. Would there really be any difference between using mammoth bone and, say, cow bone? Also, the use of any part of a whale in a bow is, for me, repulsive. Isn't all the tonal quality really determined by the stick and the hair? I'd love Ray's opinion.

[@constanzaaltamirano9269]

Twoset: YOU DON'T WACK A BOW, ITS HOLY!!!! Ray: I think I could just wack it and bang it, look!!

[@bjoe74fm]

Hi, I am a luthier making bows and violins, I was questionable to the carbon fiber and pearlon synthetics , until I tried a bow made of synthetic composites, I was quite shocked to find it as responsive as pernambuco, and balanced well, and cheap, I think anything in the hands of Ray Chen has a great advantage lol, thanks for the upload, cheers mate

[@portraitbyelise2309]

The wooden one produces a honey sound I can't hear with the vegan one.

[@florentgroleau1118]

Cause honey ain’t vegan

[@portraitbyelise2309]

@@florentgroleau1118 😂👍

[@mathewgoquesan3322]

I hear plastic in the vegan one... Edit: I notice that there's a lot more friction and when he was doing spicattos, the synthetic is more catchy and sticky.

[@hilatchikkakul8980]

@@mathewgoquesan3322 Yes, I can also hear plastic, some roughness together with slippery kind of things. It sounds dry somehow.

[@owdy3973]

@@hilatchikkakul8980 i can hear it too, is it because of the stick or just the hair itself?

[@melanielee6944]

This was so interesting! I'm a flautist, not a violinist, so I'm definitely not an expert, but to me the synthetic bow sounded brighter, while the traditional bows had more depth of sound and were sweeter. Not sure if it was just me, but every time you played the synthetic bow I thought the middle range sounded nasally. I don't know if that makes sense or if that can even be a thing, but I thought it was interesting, anyway! Thank you for doing these livestreams during quarantine!

[@susius4211]

That's the general consensus.

[@spluvzu4eva]

I love hearing you play Ray! Those scales and techniques that you played just reminded me once again how phenomenal you are when you play. I look forward to Round 2. =)

[@evelynpfriem8499]

The little Ray in the intro is so cute with his pikachu hat!!!

[@nskimharris]

Love the opening song! I had to miss it live today, glad these videos stay up. Catch you next time.

[@worksasintended4997]

The bow makes a huge difference to the sound. The first time I realized how much was many years ago. I went to a violin studio with my own violin testing out a few bows. I tested a few at roughly the equivalent to somewhere around $1000-$2000 and thought of them sounding different, but all kind of in the same league. The shop owner than gave me a $30 000 bow and let me play. The fun part is, he mixed it into the others and did not tell me. When I played it, my old violin (a modernized baroque one) was nearly exploding out of energy. The whole instruments in the shop started ringing from the sound. Only back than I realized HOW MUCH of a difference to the sound the bow actually makes. Today I own both wooden and carbon fiber ones. The carbon fiber one is also about $5k, so not exactly cheap for a cf bow, but I do prefer my woodens one in general. I was thinking about trying this "new" hair out on one of my bows.

[@sebart9321]

5000 $ for a bow?? That's an insane amount of money

[@worksasintended4997]

@@sebart9321 For a beginner of course, but for a handmade master bow nothing too special. If I would look for a bow for professional use in an orchestra I would start looking at maybe 2k. My professors at conservatory talked about bows being about 1/4th the value of a violin, not considering historic instruments or bows, but this is quite some years back. The bow has such huge influence on your technical capabilities, your sound and the easiness of playing, it should not be neglected during purchase and contemporary master instruments are somewhere between 5k and 80k, so the bow is still a lot cheaper.

[@Aaron-Qman]

@@sebart9321 Lol Ray Chen spent $80,000 on his bow so...

[@sebart9321]

@@Aaron-Qman I'm very much aware that soloists go for such things. It's still undeniably an insane amount of money.

[@Aaron-Qman]

@@sebart9321 It is!!! I wouldn't spend nearly much on a instrument yet alone a bow!

[@Amanda_D]

I tried to comment before but YT decided to just eat my comment, so sorry if this is a double post. Just wanted to say thank you so much for making this video! I've tried comparing traditional bows to carbon fiber bows before, but nothing I've read or watched has been nearly as helpful as this. Thank you!

[@BlazingWolfNova]

You'd think mammoth ivory would be rarer than elephant on account of their being no more mammoths in existence...

[@lukasdon0007]

There's far more elephant ivory in the world. But at least with mammoth you know for sure you aren't supporting poaching. Every year, thousands of kilograms of ivory is poached and processed for the Asian market.

[@easyteh4getperson]

makes u wonder why they dont use bones cuz my bone folder (used for folding paper) is pretty sturdy and why do they specifically use ivory (from elephants/mammoths)

[@05nakhwalmain]

Nice vid ray! Lets get to 1 mil!

[@AG-mt3xs]

Great tip for the rosin! Going to do that! I got so mad at myself. Bought a brand new cake of rosin for the summer. Opened it up for the first time. Went to rosin my bow with it, and legit fumbled it. It dropped 6" onto my piano bench.....and broke. 🤦‍♀️ Talk about a sad day. As for the bow comparison, I can certainly tell the difference. The synthetic bow sounded a bit "tinny," especially with the higher notes. It reminded me of one of my previous, cheaper bows. It was always grainy and just sounded odd. There was a distinct warmth to the pernambuco that wasn't projecting with the synthetic bow.

[@alvinyu2424]

press f for your rosin

[@ylimexyz]

The production level of this stream is amazing

[@milchpuder]

Thanks for sharing. Awesome playing as usual! I definitely prefer the traditional bow. It has a more supple, smoother timbre.

[@picksalot1]

The synthetic bow was much louder to start off with, but that seems due to it having too much rosin on it. After you wiped it down, the volumes were similar. You also had a much easier time playing with it after that. It would be nice if you could spend some time playing the synthetic bow, getting used to how it feels and responds, and just exactly how much rosin is right for it. Then do the comparison test again. Maybe that will be possible in your follow-up video. Thanks for the interesting demo. I like the blue hair as well - looks cool.

[@JohnWick-fj8um]

Yep, I think the synthetic sounds pretty cool, specially in your hands, you should try a long piece and practice with it more, it's always good to have different textures

[@Hankbob_Hillpants]

Different pigments can actually change the properties of plastic quite significantly depending on what they’re composed of. The effect would likely be fairly minimal, but transparent strands would be better to get a feel for the base material.

[@xaladrez7811]

Ohhhhhhhhhhhhhh i missed it cuz i had to do the chores today 😢😢😭😭😭 I even got a notification 30 mins b4 the live saying Ray Chen will be cming live😭😭 Im SoRRy

[@drspyqwerty]

Thanks Ray, In starting Violin practice, I have been looking for a animal friendly alternative. Appreciate your work.

[@rosiestrawberry6359]

May experience without double bass carbon fiber bows is that's they often have a "plastic" like thing in their sound, you often hear a very soft shhh, especially when they are not extremely expensive, so that might have had an influence

[@bramsrockhopper3377]

Synthetic fibres, wooden bow would be an interesting blend of the two. As they stand, the difference in value and the lack of resonance in the carbon fibre just make this an unfair comparison. Having said that, the synthetic one was surprisingly good for the money 👍 and most players at beginner to intermediate level probably wouldn’t notice any difference.

[@resourcedragon]

Even more to the point, most people _listening_ to beginner and intermediate level players probably wouldn't notice any difference!

[@craig4811]

Great video! It's nice to hear your thoughts on producing tone. :)

[@craig4811]

I'm hoping you do part two!

[@notag_channel]

This is a great video! Thanks for sharing!!!

[@AstroPlays]

Captions at 6:35 : "didn't realize there are so many animal products in my butt"

[@oldbird4601]

Lmao

[@cupa6285]

in my Bow*

[@cupa6285]

But lmaoo

[@bdisalle]

You could get two carbon fiber sticks, one with horse hair and one synthetic, to have a more direct hair comparison.

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

It's not the the hair. Weight also plays a huge part in the sound. A wooden bow is naturally heavier. Carbon fiber is mostly used when you want rigidity and light weight at the cost of reliability. Once a carbon fiber part breaks, it becomes scrap.

[@jb9652]

I agree (with your idea of using two identical carbon fibre sticks, both freshly haired and rosined the same). Or indeed two identical wood sticks. (Edit: I see he sort of suggests this at 39:22). For the results to be useful to me, I would also like them each to be played in for several hours before a blind test. On first play, the synthetic one sounds to me like virgin hair after first rosining. There's a huge transformation at 33:00 IMO.

[@jenniferfitzpatrick2282]

Remember the horse hair does not come from a harmless haircut. Horses are bought by kill buyers, sent to feedlots where many get sick and all get stressed, then they are trucked often thousands of miles to the slaughter house where a bolt is shot in their brain and they are hung by their feet to bleed out and die. Just saying, this should factor in too. I have rescued several horses from feedlots, one of them was literally being put on the truck to go be killed. She has recovered well and just delivered a baby that she was pregnant with when she was on the lot and no one knew. Thanks for the honest review of a more humane option!!

[@owdy3973]

But the horsehair itself was bought from the slaughterhouse, so horses are still not purposely killed just for the horsehair, some also said that horsehair could be taken just from cutting the tail hair

[@easyteh4getperson]

as a person who doesnt play an instrument, the synthetic doesnt have a noticeable difference on the middle notes but once u hit the super high notes, it sounded like a triangle and on the low notes, it sounded weird. cant describe.

[@mateolucas8833]

you should send it to Twoset for them to try it.

[@ModernLady]

I am vegan and been thinking of getting a bow like this. But as long as my bow is good I don’t want to buy just for the sake of buying. But maybe in the future. I already use a carbon fibre bow, and it’s different but I prefer it.

[@michellec9063]

I like that the hair is blue… I’d want a neon pink one. And a neon green one… just a bunch of fun color options. LOL!!

[@arwo1143]

“You can whack it” *whacks it* *looks shocked at himself*

[@gimletrose1985]

I missed it bc I was busy making Taiyaki! Lol! Darn it! It was a decent time for Europe! 😆 oh wellllll

[@ablmrr8412]

This should lead to a part 2 video where you compare carbon fiber violins with traditional ones .

[@flwrchild]

he’s so cute like lowkey aw

[@TheVoitel]

Um ... you do not use Pernambucco for bows because it resonates well. You use it because it offers a combination of density and stiffness that is very beneficial for violin bows in terms of playability. The sound of a bow is mostly determined by the weight distribution and the amount of hair on the bow. The more expensive bows just use pernambucco because thus they will have better playability. They will sound better, because the bow maker will have put quite a lot of time into getting the weight just right, while the cheap bow is probably a mass produced, little refined bow. Actually the resonance of a bow stick is pretty unimportant, because the bow hair is far to soft to resonate the stick. Also about the setup: The tip is usually made from a certain type of plastic, because it does not really affect the sound. Very expensive bows might use mammoth ivory, but that’s mostly for the same reason ivory was used in the first place, and that is aesthetics (plus material properties, which were more or less unique until plastic came along). When the modern bow was invented, ivory was a sophisticated standard material, so a quality bow used ivory to underline the value of the bow.

[@maddiepilz5711]

That was interesting to read. Are you a luthier or how do you know all this about bows?

[@TheVoitel]

@@maddiepilz5711 No, I’m not. I just have some understaning of physics and devote quite some time to understand how musical instruments work. And the resonance of a bow stick is pretty much something people make up when they have some knowledge about instruments (such as ”resonance is something that happens and makes the instrument sound good“), but do not understand the physics behind them. (Similar to ideas like that an instrument built in golden ratio would sound better ...) Even if we’d factor out that the bow hair is far to soft to produce any considerable resonance in the bow stick, note that the stick has specific frequencies of resonance. So if there were a significant effect of coupled resonance, it would depend on the note that is played, so the bow would only resonate at very specific notes. This would then most likely be considered a negative effect.

[@starspeakerarts]

I'd suggest having editor-chan or however did you graphics at the start to do the glitch loading thing without the black and white light flashing. It was a bit much for people are sensitive or have epilepsy :(

[@albertnoven3305]

Great video! You should make a video where you try a carbon fiber violin! :)

[@mrmangoberry8394]

Ray Chen does a great Perlman impression without even trying.

[@rossthefiddler5890]

If you put the (new) bow across your knee the rosin can be rotated while rubbing on the rosin on without creating a worn groove in it.

[@lukasdon0007]

Without a blinded test, this is as good as useless. Countless studies have shown by now that our perception of an instrument is profoundly influenced by our biases and prejudices (especially violin, with its strong culture of prestige and price of instrument). That being said: I'd love to see you try a carbon fiber violin + carbon fiber bow.

[@mayoxx]

I strongly agree with you There must be differences, true, but can be tricky enough if musicians do blinded tests, some people might like the vegan bow better

[@ludwigvanbeethoven2805]

The synthetic bow sounds amazing because it’s Ray

[@germangarciamartinez4097]

Me: 45 minutes?! That´s too long. Also me after 45 minutes: Charming moment I had! The fact that this has by now 15k views (only) makes this interaction even warmer. (Sorry for the meme format)

[@u8qu1tis]

I have a wooden bow and a carbon fiber bow. I find that for my playing, the carbon fiber bow works better on one of my violins and not as well on my other instrument.

[@ivyssauro123]

as long as it's balanced and properly shaped the bow isn't much of a player on the sound as people think. There's a funny anecdote of Heifetz testing a bow once for 20 min straight, and thinking it was allright, until the luther told him that was a cello bow lol

[@joelkang7113]

Ivo Wilson 99% fake. Any amateur violinist could tell if they’re playing a cello or a violin bow. The thickness is literally like 50% more

[@vincentfritz599]

Have you ever tested many different bows? I was recently searching for a new bow and was really amazed by the difference the bow actually made in terms of sound (loudness, depth, clearness, brightness etc.)

[@ivyssauro123]

@@vincentfritz599 Yes I have, but a lot of it comes down to your body, your muscle memory not being used to this new bows tension, proportions, balance. Ideally you shouldn't test bows like this En Masse, you should tell your luthier what you're looking for, let's say easier espicatto, and he'd offer you a couple of option, and then you'd test the bow for at least a week before going for the next option etc, otherwise you'll never get a true sense of the bows capatibilities.

[@TomLeg]

fascinating to hear your experiences in the past. Seems the vegan bow is fine for beginner & intermediate players .... and if they learn with that bow, they might find it easier to go on to a professional level with that bow.

[@diegoserrato4016]

I use both a traditional bow and a carbon fiber bow and think it depends on situation. When performing outside, carbon fiber bows are a sure bet, especially if it's humid. I think indoors is the best time to break out the wooden bow. What do you guys do?

[@curiousman1672]

In your speed exercise, there was a notable difference. The synthetic sounded like it had more drag/bite, whatever you virtuosos call it.

[@cathygoltsoff9615]

I was gifted a cello and am playing a cello but I do miss playing the violin (played violin as a child). I hope to someday own a violin again and I need to know about violin bows.

[@MrFlibbleflobble]

In this video the synthetic "hair" seems to be a lot less flexible than horsehair. I found that with my synthetic, the tension in the hair was much higher compared to my wooden bow for the same gap between hair and stick. I think this might make it more difficult to get a good contact between the hair and the strings, particularly when shifting the bow towards or away from the bridge while playing.

[@TheMasterEngi]

I missed it because I was still asleep XD gotta love my sleep schedule

[@sinienglei6406]

Hey Ray😉 How do you choose a violin, I mean the label or about the price? or just only the preference of the sound? Thank you:) Greetings from Adelaide with love.

[@cecilia7259]

On fast notes, the horsehair one sounds softer, rounder, warmer while the synthetic has more tension.

[@amalkatrazz]

To my untrained plebeian pianist ears listening to YT-compressed audio, the eco-friendly bow produces good enough a sound to be used in a concert as a go-to bow.

[@BhavnaM]

Ray at the beginning: And and then then um um,, look look at at this this blue blue hair hair!!

[@samljer]

The difference is so so subtle, but the real hair one is just a bit better sounding.

[@orionmckenzie3009]

Ray chen, where can you get a synthetic bow? And also I love your channel keep up great work

[@chungsublee7520]

There are tons of cheap ones, but for quality you can go Codabow or ultimately Arcus. I know there are more quality ones but I dont have on top of my head

[@Mikacreative]

Thank you so much for bringing this up! We are vegan and my daughter is playing violin but always feel conflicted using animal products. Always wanted synthetic bow... I guess it will need improvement to the level of traditional bow but we are now 2020. We don’t need to exploit other beings😊 And please watch Dominion on KZbin Ray!!! It’s Australian footages that is from your country. I understand your feelings you’re don’t want to miss Korean barbecue but there are many delicious vegan foods there which you already know. Anyway watch the documentary Dominion 🙏

[@preciousjewelamor]

Mikacreative how about the violin? Do u use the solid body one? I heard that luthiers use hide glue because the other types will damage the wooden violin

[@Mikacreative]

Jewel yes I am aware of that. I hope there will be a glues not from animals available in the future😊 veganism is not perfection , avoid animal torture and exploitation as practical as possible.

[@solstice871]

Unfortunately I doubt that synthetic bows will ever become as quality as a proper bow. At an amateur level there won't be a big difference, almost negligible, but at the very most professional levels nothing can beat a proper pernambuco bow with horse hair. I understood this much better after going to Italy and getting a masterclass on bow making from THE current premium bow maker of Cremona.

[@mayoxx]

Don't underestimate the growth of veganism, it's the awareness of being ethical, cruelty free The instruments have been developed and improved by hundreds of years so of course the 'traditional' instruments hit the peaks already However, our mindsets are changing nowadays, techs are also improving, years ago, there weren't that many vegans in the whole world, but there are getting many many more

[@Mikacreative]

編號V0的浪浪VeganNomad yes!! I know!! Can you imagine how peaceful and beautiful world if we wouldn’t use and abuse animals? Then music from non animal used musical instruments will be more beautiful 🎶

[@curtwuollet2912]

I'm sure it would be good enough for me😊

[@jessicalin1521]

Thanks Ray

[@johnleung7286]

Nice cards of humanity on the shelf

[@cecilia7259]

These live streams are long but surprisingly "gripping". LOL So, which rosin smells better?

[@TommenIBaratheon]

PLEASE: As a note of precaution. Since I suffer from Epilepsy, the start of the video almost triggered an episode. For The Love Of God, INCLUDE A WARNING FFS. OR JUST EDIT IT OUT.

[@raniadahayu1412]

It wasn't on purpose

[@cathy921ontheradio]

Not sure if they can edit it out since it was live-streamed :/

[@mr.potatobread3421]

Oof

[@bramsrockhopper3377]

I thought that too as my sister has bad epilepsy and I immediately worried about how that kind of sudden bright light triggers seizures. Warnings should always be given when using that kind of flashing visual.

[@ethandetienne3279]

I don’t have epilepsy, but that part actually scared the poop out of me

[@tachyon3.14]

That blue hair got me raising questions on so many levels

[@Roma-kp4qg]

You could say it's a... hair-raising bow

[@hurrikane5562]

Stray Kids it’s the hair of a vegan

[@paulflute]

try the 'omnibow incredibow' another synthetic bow but quite radical. the bow is reverse tension more like a medieval bow and always in tension..

[@gatesurfer]

I know a cellist who took a river raft tour down the Colorado River. He had a carbon fiber cello along with him. I assume the bow was carbon fiber too.

[@SantaWithaViolin]

I can give Ray a broken tree branch and he can still play Tchaikovsky with that

[@claytonr.young-music912]

You should make a custom Drawful episode and play it over KZbin live.

[@amyrs2880]

Can you please share where I can buy this vegan bow? I've looked and looked and can't find it! I've seen other people asking too. Pretty please! Thanks!

[@frankjaeger7286]

So I'm also into archery and while drifting through my homepage, I saw "vegan bow" and thought A, most bows are already made with no more than maybe tallow(plus fletchings on arrows), and B, bows are at their core a hunting tool lol

[@suan_pan]

aren’t fletchings mostly plastic now even with traditional bows?

[@mayoxx]

Thank you so much for making this video!! I enjoy the beautiful music the instruments can create but the fact that a lot of animal products have been used really upsets me I hope the glue used on violins can be vegan too tho

[@sadhbhdelahunt]

What is the make brand and style of the 3500 bow? Please I like the carbon fibre also because it's so humid and hot when we play outside at markets and outdoor entertainment venues etc and it is a better bow for these purposes.

[@sadhbhdelahunt]

Also it appears to be less fragile which also assists when too many musicians and audiences hang around. Brass players can hit other instruments in their enthusiasm. A must have for hassel free.

[@ZachBelcher94]

the arpeggios from 18:05 were intense

[@daveklingler820]

I had a good time listening, and I appreciate the review. Thanks! But I don't understand. Who eats violin bows? Maybe "PETA-friendly"?

[@dicksplat2049]

I was with him until he mentioned the price point - now I'm a vegan!!

[@devttt4685]

Is it just me that the carbon fibre bow often put Ray on doubt of the tuning?

[@wllm4785]

Great. Do you know carbon fiber does not degrade at all? It will still be in the landfill 1000 years after all the horses are extinct.

[@DeathbyButterflies1]

because it doesn't degrade, the bows will last a very long time. and if it ever breaks, the carbon fiber can be recycled (while this is hard to do, it is possible). people that are buying these bows to be vegan are typically not the kind of people to carelessly throw things away that contribute to destroying the earth

[@naomibillings2828]

The irony is that plastics are MUCH less environmentally friendly than animal products, especially when they are being produced en masse

[@owdy3973]

Well, let's hope that horses wouldn't extinct 1000 years later And let's hope that synthetic bows will be better in the future

[@SandroRocchi]

I would love to see a double blind test for these. I feel like the traditional bow sounds better, but I'm also at a loss for words to explain why, so it may very well be that psychology is the main factor at play. Maybe we need a - Ray Chen, Hilary Hahn and TwoSetViolin guess which bow is vegan.

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

That wouldn't be hard to guess. The vegan bow would be lighter than the wooden one, as it's too expensive to make carbon fiber heavy, as that's not what carbon fiber was invented for.

[@SandroRocchi]

@@BrunodeSouzaLino one person plays, the others guess, of course.

[@BrunodeSouzaLino]

That's not a double blind test. By definition, a double blind test is one where neither the examiner nor the examined knows which is which, as the examiner can bias the examined even without noticing. Since the vegan bow would feel different, whoever is playing it will react to it differently. No such test can be performed with human executed samples, as humans are incapable of doing exact repetitions of tasks.

[@SandroRocchi]

@@BrunodeSouzaLino Aren't you the smartest cookie in the cookie jar.

[@steveblake5278]

Hey Ray! What mic you use for your sound?!

[@willb3698]

19:00 as a double bassist - (are we even allowed in here?) - I decided to shoot myself.

[@santicruz4012]

LayneTheEpic Well his silence settles it.

[@evanwhipple8387]

I was at my lesson

[@Artichoke4Head]

damn! this guy can play!!!

[@malixtv2415]

How many hours a day are you practicing and when in the day Ray ?

[@findom5566]

Will you do a video with the vegan hair on your 3k and 80k??

[@ll650]

This is really interesting. I would like to see the two kinds of hair under a microscope. Natural hair is not just a smooth strand; it has cuticles. Brushes made with synthetic hair don’t perform the same way as those made with natural hair. People go for natural hair when getting hair extensions and wigs. Vegan is animal friendly but not necessarily more environmentally friendly. Many vegan materials, I think including fiberglass, use plastics as one of their components.

[@AmandaViolinGirl]

My pernambuco bow was $418 NZD.

[@tipochris]

It is also necessary to take into account the price difference between your pernambuco bow and the synthetic bow.

[@ni2says]

I think the charm in the sounds are only when we see the bow playing. But when you close the eyes then both of them felt the same.

[@user-gs1yc7kl5z]

Synthetic one makes brighter sound.But I need some sad songs !

[@gabrielalmeida5047]

12:01 deixa eu ver se eu entendi, a medeira do arco que o Ray usa veio la do nordeste?

[@lauracristinamarin2459]

Pernambuco wood é pau-brasil em ingles, ent n necessariamente veio de la, mas é da arvore nativa daq do br msm

[@gabrielalmeida5047]

@@lauracristinamarin2459 o nossa, interessante. Obrigado pela informação.

[@woh834zhang9]

What if Ray actually played in a concert with the synthetic bow I would want to watch it!

[@owdy3973]

It's too risky, I don't think he'll use that bow for a concert, even if the carbon fiber bow is good, he's still not used to play with the bow which is pretty risky

[@Laitanie]

Please help - what is the name of the piece that Ray plays at 29:00 mins? It's driving me crazy!

[@marks9618]

Paganini concerto 1 mvmt 3

[@TimTranGuitar]

Change you name channel to Boomeray

[@NingasKugon09]

gosh! fell asleep while waiting!!! :(