Arcus bows – What do the different letters mean?
Arcus bows are divided in 4 different categories, depending on their characteristics:
Arcus S-series bows
The Arcus S-series bows are the lightest and strongest of the Arcus bows. Their sound is big, brilliant, powerful and round, but more bright than warm. They are the perfect choice for most soloists and also great for jazz, rock and folk music. The S-bows are a great match for all dark sounding instruments. They are available with round sticks that play more steady and feel very steady and octagonal sticks that play rather agile and lively. For many years the S-series bows are the Arcus bestsellers and you can find them in all the great orchestras around the world.
Arcus T-series bows
The Arcus T-series bows are the most universal bows, as they cover a huge spectrum of sound colours and playing styles. They offer great warmth and brilliance at the same time, which make them suitable for a majority of instruments. And while they significantly improve the sound of many difficult instruments, their ideal range of overtones allow the player to determine the perfect setup and best strings for every instrument easier than with any other bow.
Their weight is around 51 grams and sticks have a round shape. Their balance is normal, but their mass is distributed towards both ends, giving them much more stability than you would expect in such a lightweight bow.
Arcus P-series bows
Many powerful sounding violins are also a bit on the bright side. For those, we have developed our Arcus P-series bows. Their especially resilient stick allows to easily catch any heavy G-string and to play double stops in fortissimo without the stick touching down on the strings. To make them draw a warmer, deeper sound, more weight has been added which lowers the tuning of the bow. They are still significantly lighter than traditional bows, so they keep their advantage in agility and speed. The P-bows with octagonal sticks are especially lively and bounce almost automatically while the round version is especially steady and follow the hand precisely.
Arcus M-series bows
The Arcus M-series bows combine a slightly more flexible stick with a beautiful, modern looking frog. Its higher, slanted front provides the thumb with an especially comfortable rest and improved control. Its sound is perfectly balanced and especially open, which takes the lid of most rather closed sounding instruments. Its more flexible stick feels especially great to players that prefer a light bow hold and smoother bowings.
If you need any assistance just contact our knowledgeable team on 01280 707 140 or email sales@caswellstrings.com
