Most string players wait far too long to rehair their bows. I see students playing on hair that is half missing, oily, and grabbing rosin like sandpaper, then wondering why their sound is rough and their articulation muddy. A rehair is one of the cheapest and highest impact things you can do for your playing. Here is everything I wish someone had taught me about bow hair before I started paying for it myself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Your bow needs a rehair when any of these are true: rosin won’t stick evenly, the sound feels glassy or refuses to grip, you’ve lost more than 15 to 20 hairs, the hair has darkened or feels oily, or the playing side of the hair has gone visibly limp at the tip.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
If you can answer yes to two of these, you’re already overdue.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Most professionals rehair every six months. Heavy players, especially cellists and bassists, rehair every three to four months. Students who play an hour a day can usually go nine to twelve months. The key is to commit to a schedule rather than waiting for the bow to fail you in a concert.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
I rehair both my bows on the same day twice a year. It costs the same as one decent dinner and saves my sound for months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bow hair comes mostly from horses in Mongolia, Siberia, and Canada. Mongolian stallion hair is the standard for high quality bows because it’s strong, even, and grips rosin well. Cheap rehairs often use mixed or shorter hair that breaks faster and grabs less evenly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask your luthier where their hair comes from. A good shop will tell you proudly.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A great rehair is invisible. A bad one is a nightmare. Find a luthier who specializes in your instrument family and stick with them. They will know your bow, your camber, and your preferences over time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Ask other players in your area who they trust. The same two or three names will keep coming up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Fresh hair needs rosin and time. The first 30 minutes after a rehair will feel slippery and unfamiliar. Don’t panic and over rosin. Apply rosin in small amounts, play scales for a few days, and let the hair settle into your stroke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By the end of the first week, you’ll wonder how you tolerated the old hair so long. That feeling is your reminder to schedule the next one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Join 31,000+ string players leveling up their orchestral career.<\/p>\nGet the Free Guide<\/a>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n Ethan Kim is the founder of Orchestra Kingdom<\/a>, helping string players win auditions and move up in their sections. Follow him on Instagram<\/a>, TikTok<\/a>, and YouTube<\/a> for daily tips.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Worn bow hair quietly destroys your sound. Here’s how to know when it’s time and what hair to choose.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-instrument-care-setup"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=319"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":349,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/319\/revisions\/349"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.orchestrakingdom.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}