Hybrid Double Bass Bow, Up and Down®

A more in depth look

Up&Down permit playing with both German and French bass techniques.
The frog is design in collaboration with Eric Chapelle, bass player with the Orchestra Philarmonique de Monte-Carlo

The player’s point of view:

“After many years’ of orchestral and solo playing and after many discussions with my colleagues, it is undeniable that both techniques have their own advantages. When a bass player decides to alternate between the two techniques, the major disadvantage he faces is that it is sometimes difficult to choose between them. And that not only requires two different bows but means changing bows while playing…
I was finding this impossible and a distraction from my most important concern which is to feel sufficiently comfortable to give my full attention to the music.

The concept of a ‘combined’ bow involved designing the most ergonomic frog. Working closely with Olivier we developed the "Up&Down" bow. Its technical qualities are equivalent to those of my best wooden bows and I can change style in an instant when playing.

Thanks to Carbow’s know-how, I just needed a short period of adjustment before I could take full advantage of the benefits of this bow that I use daily. I suggest you try it. »

— Eric Chapelle, bass player with the Orchestre Philharmonique de Monte-Carlo

The engineer’s point of view:

“We were immediately taken by Eric Chapelle’s idea. The shape imagined for the combined frog made it impossible to produce with traditional bow-handmaking techniques. Computer-Aided Design allowed us to combine the geometric functions of both techniques. Paulus’ know-how and computer-controlled machines allowed us to sculpt in ebony complex shapes that had previously been impossible to make.

We then had to design the entire bow around this new and slightly heavier frog and carefully master the position of the centre of gravity to combine agility and the power of great bows.

In addition to validating its technical and acoustic performance, tests with prototypes revealed an unexpected advantage of the Up&Down bow: switching between the two techniques appears at times to reduce the muscle tensions produced by intensively playing only one way.”