Codabow Diamond Series

[Wazoo]

Have any of you tried these bows yet. Just wondering how they might

compare to the Classic/ConservatoryThanks in advance

[mcarufe]

Given that bow selection is very personal, I will answer your question based on my experience. It is a different animal altogether grom the Classic or Conservatory. The Diamond is much more adapted to off the string styles of play. I would say that the Diamond feels more like a sport car and the Conservatory and Classic like big sedans. Also it is a well crafted and nicely finished bow.

Mike

[Wazoo]

Thanks Mike, That's the kind of analogy I was looking for.

Sounds like I should give one a test-drive. Steve

[Andrew Victor]

I've tried the Coda Diamond SX and GX cello bows.

I think the GX is a fine bow that will satisfy many players for its responsiveness, balance and feel. It brings out cello's tonal characteristics much like fine pernambuco bows costing 4 times more.

I'd be interested to try the violin bows too, but I'm not prepared to pay the postage to do so.

Andy

[Fellow]

Hi all,

I love to have a good bow. Many shops in my area they do not have them (diamond series). Very

few bows of any kind (period). Strange! (busy in doing repairs of instruemnts)

[Woodland]

I had one of my professional clients come in and try the SX and GX violin bows last month. He thought that they played very well (especially for the price). He said they even had playing characteristics reminiscent of fine old French bows that he's tried (and owned). Definitely a better bow than the Classic...

[Fellow]

What are the differences between Conservatory and Diamond (lower end)? I have one

Conservatory Coda bow. I wish they will be lighter in feel and thiner.

[mcarufe]

Hi Yuen,

I have both of these bows. The Conservatory and Classic are very similar. The Diamond series are completly different. If you enjoy bouncing bow, spicatto any off the string type of play, you should try this bow. It is very lively and quick and may take some time to get use to. As I mentioned, it is MUCH different than the Classic or Conservatory.

Mike

[Andrew Victor]

Lighter bow? A bow can be made to feel considerably lighter by making the frog end heavier relative to the tip. Heavier winding will do that.

But be careful what you wish for. A bow that feels like it is not there - just an extension of your hand - will not perform well on off-string strokes. It needs the tip weight to work with the dynamics of playing and the flexibility of the stick and hair to do what the best bows are designed for.

Andy

[Seth_Leigh]

I'm not much of a violinist at all, but after a trip to Southwest Strings with my wife and daughter (to look at an inexpensive cello for a friend) I ended up bringing home a Diamond GX, a Conservatory, and an Aspire on approval. The GX feels in your hand a lot lighter when playing than the original Brazilwood bow that came in the outfit I bought before I started making my own violins. Everyone who tried it, including me, my wife, and a saleslady at SW Strings who is a good violinist, said "it's lighter". Well, I weighed it on my scale when we got home last night, and it is in fact lighter, to the tune of a whopping 1 gram. This diamond GX comes in between 60 and 61 grams (my scale is a kitchen scale only good to about a gram accuracy), while my Brazilwood bow comes in at 61 to 62. The big difference is that the Diamond GX happens to balance on my finger a whole 15mm closer to the end of the frog than the brazilwood bow does. It's enough that my brazilwood bow now feels like a blunt instrument, like I'm playing with a clunky, fat, heavy stick after playing with the Diamond GX.

As far as the difference between the Diamond GX (the most expensive one), the Aspire (the cheapest), and the Conservatory (in between the Aspire and the GX), I really haven't got enough experience with them since yesterday to say. I think I like the GX better, but that could just be bias because since it's a new model and costs more, I'd expect it to be better. What I really need to do is hear my sister-in-laws, who are good violinists, play with all of these bows, and to practice a whole ton with them all over the next two weeks and see if I can get some kind of feel for them, and an ear for their sound.

But if anyone has any questions about length or weight between these three bows, or how far from the end of the frog they balane, just ask, because I have them for the next two weeks.

[violintipsy]

quote:

---

Originally posted by:

yuen

What are the differences between Conservatory and Diamond (lower end)? I have one

Conservatory Coda bow. I wish they will be lighter in feel and thiner.

---

I have a diamond and it is exactly that feels lighter and thinner its great for bounce bowing but unlike other bows i own it also has an awesome sound when it comes to long slow romantic notes it has a wide rang that it can play and it works great i will be using this bow for a very long time!!

[Fellow]

That is exactly what I expect, the (diamond series).

My $1000 pernambuco (old German, silver mount) is 59 grams (which draws much better sound,

does seem other is playing)

My Coda Consevatory is actually also 59 gram but I feel it is heavy ( I have to fight or get mad to

get the sound).

My Becker ($590) pernambuco bow is just an okay bow , I don't know its weight ?

Definitely feel heavy. Some people may like it . a modern bow

Carbon fiber bow is almost indestructible. It is great joy if you find one you like. No kidding

[fiddler59]

I have a Coda Diamond GX and really like it.....a lot !! I've owned JonPaul Avanti, Coda Classic, Musicary and have tried many other CF bows at length and this is the first CF bow that lets me keep my $2500 pernambuco bow at home when I am playing in places I don't feel comfy taking my wooden bow.....

David Blackmon

[Steve_W]

I played a friend's new Diamond SX over the weekend and liked it a lot. I prefer my Arcus Sinfonia, which is basically the only bow I've used since I got it about 3 years ago (I love that bow; you'd have an easier time getting me to give up any of my fiddles than the Arcus), but I found the Coda to be immediately comfortable which was a bit of a surprise since I usually have a momentary adjustment period with a different bow (because of the light weight and slightly different balance point of the Arcus). The Diamond was a little springier than the Arcus; it took a fraction longer to settle down on the strings when going from off- to on-string bowing, but it was very controllable and I knew I'd have no trouble performing with it. It had a really nice response and gave a great sound. Considering it was less than half the price of the Arcus I thought it was a good deal; I'd definitely consider one of these for a backup bow.

[rcc]

I tried the Coda Diamond bows a while back.

I think they're good for the price. I didn't like it as much as the Spiccato Premiere (sadly no longer made) that I use as my "when I don't want to risk my $3K wood bow" bow.

But they're a lot cheaper than the Spiccato Premiere was also.

[Seth_Leigh]

I was liking the Diamond GX more than the Conservatory or the Aspire. We took my violin, with the three Coda bows and my brazilwood bow, over to my sister-in-law's house and had her play them. I said nothing to her about the models, and how much they cost or anything. She latched onto the Diamond GX in very short order and said it was clearly better than the other two carbon bows, both in terms of playability, and in terms of the richness of the sound generated. She said it was noticeable, and not even close. I could hear the difference watching her play. My wife really didn't want to fork out for it, but in the end we did, and that's just going to have to count as an early Christmas present or something. My view is that it's probably the only bow I'm going to buy for a long, long time and so it may well be as good as it can be, if the price isn't outrageous.

She liked the Diamond GX better on her violin too, but she preferred her own $2000 Pernamuco bow to the diamond GX. I think her bow was a Nurnberger.

[Jacob]

It's good that you mention the sound aspect. I think many (not "all") players look for the playability aspect without giving enough consideration to tone. Even with carbon bows - and even in the "budget" category - there are big enough tonal differences to pay attention to that feature.

[Seth_Leigh]

Actually, the sound is the primary thing I have to go by, since my actual playing skill isn't really advanced enough to be able to tell a huge amount regarding the playability. I do know that the Diamond GX, with its significantly closer to the frog c.g., feels lighter and after playing with it, my brazilwood bow felt like I was playing with a club by comparison. But I was listening to the tone, and the Diamond GX produced a more musical tone than my brazilwood bow, or the Conservatory or Aspire bows. I noticed it, and my sister-in-law noticed it, and it was pretty clear.

[davidablair]

I demo'd the Coda conservatory and Arcus sinfonia, round and octagonal. I kept the round Arcus. The next week my teacher presented me with a Cardoza bow (wood) for $400 retail. It's a perfect 60g, and my main squeeze.

Bernstein violins in Boulder will send those out to you to sample for a while.

[GMM22]

I have not tried the bow in question but I have tried most others, and have yet to hear a carbon fiber bow that sounds as good as just about any wood bow. It stands to reason, carbon fiber has a modulus of elasticity that is an order of magnitude greater than wood. At the simplest relationship to bow physics, such a stiff material will more efficiently transmit high frequencies and overtones, making for bows with a lack of warmth and complexity. Analogously speaking, they sound like a violin in need of re-graduation, but then maybe I am tone deaf

[fiddler59]

What I love about the Coda Diamond GX is that it does sound VERY close to my very expensive pernambuco

wooden bow.....much closer than any of the other carbon sicks I have tried.......IMHO

David B

[mcarufe]

George writes:

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"I have not tried the bow in question but I have tried most others, and have yet to hear a carbon fiber bow that sounds as good as just about any wood bow. "

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I have to say that the diamond sounds as good or better than anything in my modest collection of sticks.

________________________________________________________________________________

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"It stands to reason, carbon fiber has a modulus of elasticity that is an order of magnitude greater than wood. At the simplest relationship to bow physics, such a stiff material will more efficiently transmit high frequencies and overtones, making for bows with a lack of warmth and complexity."

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Carbon fiber bows are mixture of materials making them difficult to generalize with simple physics.

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"Analogously speaking, they sound like a violin in need of re-graduation, but then maybe I am tone deaf"

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George maybe I am the one who is tone deaf.

Mike

[KSelbach]

Does anybody know the difference between Codabow Diamond NX, SX and GX (besides the metals they are made of)?

 

(Hope this old thread will be read ...)

 

I just got a NX and am surprised how good and easy I can handle it.

 

KSelbach

[Mike_Danielson]

KSelbach, I like Codabow.  Several years ago, I purchased an Aspire cello bow--it was defective and they replaced it with an NX model.  This was a very good bow--it took a lot of effort to find a wood bow that was better. 

 

In my pursuit of knowledge on carbon fiber bows, I called them up and asked questions about their bows.  They consider everything to be proprietary.  I could not even get such basic data as bow weight and balance point.  Per my own measurements, the NX bow had a weight of 79.0 grams and a balance point of 234 mm from the CF nipple (add 17 mm if measured from the end of the bow adjustment knob or screw).

 

Mike D

[fiddler59]

KSelbach, I like Codabow.  Several years ago, I purchased an Aspire cello bow--it was defective and they replaced it with an NX model.  This was a very good bow--it took a lot of effort to find a wood bow that was better. 

 

In my pursuit of knowledge on carbon fiber bows, I called them up and asked questions about their bows.  They consider everything to be proprietary.  I could not even get such basic data as bow weight and balance point.  Per my own measurements, the NX bow had a weight of 79.0 grams and a balance point of 234 mm from the CF nipple (add 17 mm if measured from the end of the bow adjustment knob or screw).

 

Mike D

Take this for what it is worth, but my impression of the different models are that the off string performance improves as the price goes up as well as the projection. It all boils down to what you like. Some very good players prefer the less expensive models and vise versa.

 

David Blackmon