Well... I guess it is more technically two bows in the mix. A little while back, I was writing about a shorter lighter bow that I was trying out as a good second Baroque bow. I've got a good spread of Classical-era and early Romantic bows for both the violin and viola, and I'm also pretty sorted at the moment for the viola baroque bows as well. However, on the violin baroque front... well, I'm sort of shy for a good second bow.

My main curse is that my main baroque violin bow is a really really good bow... agile, fast response whilst keeping a good seated tone. It is a dream bow... and others who have tried it have had a a similar positive response to it. But weirdly enough, I bought it decades ago as a student... and it had minor damage to the stick... nothing disastrous, but enough to warrant a decent discount... and a sort of "buyer beware" sort of label to it.

So, playing with it... especially when I fling it around on the violin... can sometimes feel like every concert might be its last one. But for some reason, it has survived for over two decades in my hands!

... but still, there is a nagging thought that I should probably get a second good general purpose baroque bow... especially as that is my main instrument and genre!

But the curse... the one I have is really good... and nothing else matches up easily against it... at least not in a reasonable price range! But still, I keep trying out different bows as they cross my path... in the hopes.

And technically, I'm not in a huge hurry... I do have fall back baroque bows for emergencies... but they are significantly less good. But they'd still do in a pinch...

So, I had this lighter bow... but I have been holding out to try out another bow by the same maker as my own bow... and the similar long Tourte model as well.

I recently came back from a tour where I picked it up... and now I have the two "new" bows on loan for the next couple of months whilst I come to a decision. And this means that I can also subject them to the critical ears of my wife as well!

So, the bow on the top is my own bow... and the second bow down is the same model, same maker one... but with slightly heavier ivory fittings which affects the balance somewhat. Only a few grams and little shift but I notice...

... and the last one on the bottom is the lighter shorter South American bow. Completely different weight, balance, and model. Again, probably only things that are really noticeable to a violinist... my wife is a harpsichordist, and she finds it hard to tell the difference in the hand... and I tell her it is huge!

So, the verdict so far... from my wife, myself, and also to a few other violinists who have tried and listened to the bows on my violin. Through blind tests as well...

My bow still wins... sigh... but the second one is a very very very close. It has a similar seated tone, but it is marginally less open and clear... but due to the balance and weight, it tends to be a little heavier to drive and sticks a bit more onto the string. The stick is also noticeably stiffer... slightly different, but it does mean that to get the best out of it, I do need to be aware that it will resist a bit more in the hand. And if I'm not careful, it starts to rebound a bit harder into my hand which tenses it up a little...

... meanwhile, the light bow... well, it is good, but it is high sounding, but crazy fast and agile. It would be the perfect dance bow... but alas, I'm not looking for one of those... I need another good general purpose long bow. And maybe at a different time, this would also be a keeper... but sadly, it doesn't look like it is going to it this time.

However, the ivory bow... it is a touch more expensive than I was wanting to spend... but it is the closest thing to my bow that I have found... and I'm reluctant to let it go. I've done two concerts on it this week whilst learning how to drive it... and it has served well, so I think I will keep using it in concerts over this next month and see how I feel by the end of it. But I'm leaning towards thinking that this might be it!

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