Arcus T-Series Violin Bow

Great bow

Love the sound and playability.

As a hobbyist, I believe the Arcus T6 is a good bow in that it is lightweight, produces a pleasing tone, is comfortable in the hand, and just looks cool (good workmanship). Of note, my first impression was I like the bow, very nimble, but short of power. As I played it more, the slightly lower volume was not noticeable and not even a thought in my mind. Also, the T6 is not wood. I was hoping for a little bit more warmth for a $2,500 carbon fiber bow. I do play the T6 more than my other bows, so the joy is there and I'm happy to keep it. Best advice is to buy it if you want, play it for a week or two, and return it if it doesn't meet your expectations. I also purchased the Holstein 3 star pernambuco at $500 because of it's good reviews. I rather like that one because of its tone and stability (extra weight in the frog). Going from the Holstein 3 star, to the T6, and to a Codabow Marquise, I feel I have some bowing options, with each having their own certain strengths. Perhaps naive, but based on what I can afford and presently own, the bows are subtly different and no bow that I own really has it all. Each one I'm happy to have. Hey, if you've got a $25k bow, maybe that's all you need, but that's out of my league. Anyway, it's fun switching bows and comparing/contrasting the feel and sound. Ultimately, if you are a great player, you will sound great on just about anything. I recommend a buy. It may be exactly what you are looking for. The return policy is favorable if your personal appraisal falls short. Thanks to Fiddlerman and 7 years of playing, I'm especially enjoying the violin and its challenges more than ever. Good luck in your bow hunting!

Best bow by far

I was long overdue for upgrading my bow, as I was playing on a $700 W. Seifert bow for the past 10 years. I tried many bows with my Ming Jiang Zhu 925 - 19 wooden bows from my local shop (2 of which I took home to try further by D. Chagas and T. Pampolin), the Codabow Marquis, Codabow Diamond Gx, Arcus T6, and Arcus S6. It was a relatively easy choice to go for the T6. I was looking for a lightweight bow that could produce a beautiful and powerful sound with ease. The T6 fulfilled both of these wishes in a stellar way. Although it's very lightweight, it gets a full and rich sound out of my violin without having to press or put too much effort in. Many bowing techniques which were a struggle in the past have become much easier and cleaner - particularly upbow staccato and off the string techniques. Overall, it's very easy to maneuver. The two Codabows, while they produced a great sound, were more difficult to work with for off the string techniques and were too heavy for my taste. The two wooden bows I tried from the shop were strong contenders (especially the $2000 Pampolin). They were more playable than the Codabows and though I would have been quite happy with them, they were still on the heavier side. Both of the Arcus bows were amazing - I decided to go for the T6 over the S6 because it had a sweeter sound on my instrument. The S6 was too bright/harsh because my instrument is already on the brighter side.