Bests & Worsts Reviews from Amazon

Okay, first of all I have to admit I ordered this bow with a great deal of skepticism. I've been playing the violin for...gosh, over thirty years now, and my degree is in music ed. Bows, while admittedly a mixed lot, tend to be a "you get what you pay for" kind of thing, and a decent bow at this price range tends to be scarce as hen's teeth, as they say. I was pleased when I first pulled this bow from the box with its appearance--the black carbon fiber is very sharp-looking, especially with the clean fittings. But when it comes to bows, looks aren't everything--or even the most important thing. I compared this bow to three other bows, and admittedly some of the comparisons weren't fair. I used a student-level Erich Steiner bow, an intermediate Josef Schuster pernambuco bow, and a fine pernambuco bow. The results were not what I expected. This bow outperformed the Steiner bow, hands down. What surprised me was when it outperformed the Schuster bow as well--I did not expect that. This bow had less bow hiss, and better handling. While a good bite could be gotten from either bow, it was easier with this bow. The fine bow did outperform this bow. That I would have expected. I was surprised to realize that, unless you are willing to spend several times what this bow costs, you are probably better off with this bow. I used this bow only for several days' worth of practice, and found that when I returned to my fine bow, I could handle it better, and it was easier to achieve the sound and techniques I wanted. The only negative I found with this bow was that it arrived with broken hairs--somewhere between 3 and 6 if memory serves. I just clipped them close to the ends and didn't worry too much about them. If the bow continues to lose hair, I'll adjust my review accordingly. For any student, this bow is a step up from what likely came with your instrument. This also makes a great backup bow, practice bow, or bow for outdoor or otherwise unpredictable performance venues where you wouldn't want to take your fine bow. Update 6/10/2016--This bow has been in daily use since its arrival, and has become my go-to bow for most practice sessions. I haven't had any further trouble with hair loss. I have also noticed that the bow tends to hold rosin longer than my other bows; it doesn't need to be rosined as often and produces less dust when it does. Still happy!