Above and Beyond
Since our founding 25 years ago, we have seen thousands and thousands of musicians completely surprised and amazed, once they discovered the infinite possibilities of an Arcus bow. And once they found out about the supreme sound quality and playing characteristics! When the right bow model has been found, the oh-so-familiar instrument suddenly shines in a whole new light. Also, ergonomic and technical problems disappear at once - and never come back.
If you take a closer look, you will notice the perfect workmanship, the finest materials used and a design that is not only modern but also very elegant and beautiful to look at. And last but not least, the unique durability and climate insensitivity of an Arcus bow means you have less to worry about. There will be no restrictions on your travels, neither now nor in the future.
Music - Technology - Craftsmanship
String instruments have been constantly evolving since their creation. For example, a three-hundred-year-old Stradivarius today has completely different sound and playing characteristics than when it was made - due to a stronger bass bar, a new neck, fingerboard, bridge, tailpiece, chinrest, shoulder rest, bow and strings (!). All these “newfangled” things had to evolve and establish themselves over time. Especially with regard to the development of strings, there's a strong correlation between the technological progress, innovative materials, the extensive research and development by diligent engineers, and - as a result - new sound qualities of strings.
For developing our revolutionary bows, we have to do pioneering work in three completely different areas: Firstly, we have to analyze the musicians and their playing technique, as well as the music they play and the general conditions. However, not just the current state, but how everything should ideally be. Secondly, we need to study the physics of string instruments and define new, ideal solutions based on today's materials and technologies. Thirdly, we need to implement these solutions, which in turn requires us to actually learn and perfect the necessary craftsmanship.
Carbon versus Pernambuco
When we first developed our concept of the Arcus bows in 1996, we had no idea that pernambuco would soon be declared an endangered species. For us, wooden bows were simply too soft, too heavy and unnecessarily difficult to play and produce sound with. According to our calculations, the new magic material, carbon fiber, should make it possible to build excellent bows, with the aim of making them not only much stronger, but also lighter and more robust.
It was a big surprise how gigantic the bow's influence on the sound really was. Some of our prototypes sounded terrible, but others sounded great. Fortunately, we soon understood the factors which were responsible for the different outcomes. By the time we finished the first bows in 1999, other carbon fiber models by other bow manufacturers had also appeared on the market. Their design was based on wooden bows and they were no improvement in terms of sound or playing technique, but fell behind their role models. Little has changed to this day.
The differences between Arcus bows and other carbon fiber bows are very complex. It starts with the choice of fibers and extends to the quality of the hair. It's probably like comparing a simple instrument with a very good instrument: Both may look similar at first glance and both are made from spruce and maple. But when you play them, they are worlds apart!
Perfection and Classification
The construction of our bows has different requirements depending on the instrument. Feedback from thousands of musicians has helped us to perfect our bows, as has our own research and experimentation. That's why we are pleased to say that today every Arcus bow is perfect in terms of elasticity, weight, balance, tuning, jumping characteristics etc. (We are not saying that every bow is perfect for every player and every instrument. You can find more on this topic on our respective product pages.)
But there is one thing we cannot completely control: The sound quality of our bow sticks. Up to now, we are not able to totally control the orientation of the carbon fibers or the internal structures of the sticks. It is probably not even possible. What we can do, however, is to test and classify the sticks accordingly. This is how our categories are created. Our eternal bestseller, the category 6 bows, represents the magnificent center, with a sound that matches the very best and priceless old pernambuco bows. The categories below are more comparable to modern master bows, while the bows higher than category 6 are in a league of their own.
Safe and Sound
The ergonomics of string instruments are quite a challenge for most musicians. As a result, many string players sooner or later develop problems with their bow arm, ranging from fatigue to unbearable pain. These can affect individual fingers, the entire hand, the elbow and the shoulder. The cause of these problems is usually the basic vibration frequency of classic bows, which is in the 50 Hz range. The vibration frequency of the Arcus bows, on the other hand, is an octave higher at around 100 Hz - due to their lower weight and greater rigidity - and is therefore outside the problematic frequency band.
Numerous musicians have already discovered that there’s a solution for their problems, and have been playing with an Arcus bow almost or even entirely free of fatigue and discomfort ever since. There might be musicians among your colleagues and friends with similar problems, please talk to them and refer them to this information.
Forever and ever
We build our bows for eternity. A fascinating feature of carbon fiber is that it never wears out or tires. Any other object made of metal or wood will suffer a fatigue fracture sooner or later under constant stress (such as vibrations). Most musicians know this from their own experience with instruments and bows.
The carbon fibers of Arcus bows, on the other hand, never fatigue because they are single crystals of pure carbon, just like diamonds, which extend from one end of the stick to the other. If we've done everything right in production, the bow sticks are not only incredibly strong and robust, they also last almost forever. They never lose their bend, never become soft and never fall apart. For this reason, we offer a 30-year guarantee on the sticks. They would probably even last 300 years or more, but only our great-great-great-great-great-grandchildren or their descendants will know for sure :)
Oh yes, and of course our bows are completely immune to climatic changes. Even sweaty hands do not harm them. You can play “col-legno” for hours without scratching the stick or making ugly dents, because it is harder and stronger than any string.
Arcus Bows Explained
On our Youtube channel you can find useful information about Arcus and bows in general. For instance, tips for bow cleaning, the physics of bowed instruments, how we classify our bows, comparing the sound of carbon and wood bows and much more.