Sebastian Dirr Pernambuco Sterling Silver Mounted Ouchard Bow - CELLO

Weight: 82.8g, Balance: 9"

This bow is incredibly smooth - maintaining an even tone and contact with the string feels effortless. The higher register is silky and sweet, the lower register broad and rich. It is light and airy in the hand; string crossings and quick passages feel weightless. This bow pairs well with a darker, heavier cello - it brightens and expands its resonance to help the instrument soar. Overall, this bow has a shimmery, syrupy character. 

German bowmaker Sebastian Dirr crafts artisan cello, viola, and violin bows entirely by hand in his studio in Erlangen, Germany. He apprenticed in the workshop of Roderich Paesold from 1988 to 1990 and continued to work in his workshop for seven years; during that time, he passed the master craftsman examination in bow making administered by the Chamber of Crafts and Trades in Nuremburg. He has maintained his own studio since 2001 and has been showered with professional bowmaking awards throughout his career.

This bow is of the "Ouchard" variety, which Mr. Dirr models after a bow by the great French bowmaker Émile Auguste Ouchard. The metal fittings are of sterling silver and are reproduced from the original bow, while the stick is pernambuco wood finely crafted into an ocatagonal shape. Although it is a fairly heavy bow, the balance point is closer to the tip than that of the average bow, which makes it still feel very light to hold!