Introduction

Gainesville Violins is a premier violin, viola and cello bow shop. Repairs
and rehairs are done through its associate, Gainesville Bow Works (see below). Prices for pernambuco wood bows range from an amazingly low $99 to $5,000 and more. Brazilwood bows cost much less, while classic antique bows such as Tourte, Voirin, Peccate, Sartory, Tubbs, Hill and Sons go for much more. Baroque pernambuco bows are available for as little as $120!

LEFT: Back-and-forth note between Jan and Lauren Pollock, violin teacher in Gainesville. Our bows with faux tortoise-shell frogs are simply gorgeous and tonally completely superior in their class. Prices range from an amazing and unbeatable $650. Gainesville Violins has access to and can supply bows from the world's best bow- makers and bow-making companies. European and American-made bows are relatively expensive: Supplies, materials, overheads, hourly wages etc are costly. The same or better quality handmade professional bows made in Brazil, the source of pernambuco wood, are considerably less expensive.

Snakeskin grip, snakewood frog.

Gold-mounted with snakeskin grip.

Pernambuco wood

The pau-brasil tree (Caesalpinia echinata) is the national tree of Brazil. Pernambuco wood comes from this tree. The tree is native to a coastal strip of Brazil called the Mata Atlantica. The bad news is that the Mata Atlantica forest has been cleared to about 5% of its original extent.

TOP: Pau-brasil flowers. LEFT: Pau-brasil tree.

TOP: Pau-brasil seed pods.

What is the difference between brazilwood
and pernambuco wood?

Brazilwood and pernambuco wood do not come from different species of trees. Both come from the pau-brasil tree. The only real difference is density. Pernambuco comes from the innermost part of the tree. Accordingly, it is much more dense and the grain is visibly tighter than that of its counterpart. In addition, pernambuco is much stiffer than brazilwood which enables bowmakers to create exquisitely lightweight bows that have great strength.

Brazilwood bows are great entry-level bows. Gainesville Violins offers fine brazilwood bows from $35 to $200.

FAR LEFT: Part of Gainesville Violins's fine bow collection. Pernambuco bows from as little as $99! LEFT: Top quality gold-mounted pernambuco bows range from $900 to $3,000+.

Composite bows

The arrival of carbon-graphite bows marks yet another step in the evolution of the violin. It is similar to the shift from sheepgut strings (called "catgut") to modern strings with a nylon ("perlon") core, such as Thomastik Dominant strings.

Note that carbon-graphite is not the same as fiberglass! Gainesville
Violins does not sell fiberglass bows, except on special order.

IPCI postcard: Inter- national Pernambuco Conservation Initia- tive. See "Links" page.

Many serious and thinking players choose modern carbon fiber bows instead of pernambuco bows for reasons of their ecological conscience, in view of the fate of the pernambuco forests. They see this as part of their moral duty of environmental stewardship or "creation care". The CodaBow brand is the premier family of carbon fiber bows for violin, viola, cello and string bass. Its complete line of bows enhances all levels of performance from student to professional. Gainesville Violins is a major CodaBow dealer. (Visit the "CodaBow" page on this website.) CodaBow unites the time-honored traditions of bowmaking with the use of advanced materials.

FAR LEFT: Bowmaking headquarters in the misty mountains of Brazil. LEFT: Semi-finished pernambuco bows.

2. GAINESVILLE BOW WORKS

In the summer of 2004 Gainesville Violins sent Daniel Muni (who by then had worked with them for seven years as apprentice, assistant and associate) to the University of New Hampshire Summer Institute to study bow rehair and repair. In New Hampshire he studied with the world-famous bowmaker and instructor Lynn Hannings and completed his hands-on studies with flying colours. Lynn had studied with the renowned New York bowmaker William Salchow who also developed the fine Salchow rosin stocked by Gainesville Violins, and with world-expert Bernard Millant in France.

Lynn Hannings and Daniel Muni (2004).

With the encouragement of Gainesville Violins, Daniel started
his own business called Gainesville Bow Works ("in association with Gainesville Violins").

Daniel has completed a huge amount of repair, restoration and rehair work and does it in an exemplary way. Gainesville Violins recommends him very strongly!

Daniel can be reached by email at gainesvillebow@yahoo.com
or by phone on 352-278-0525. Bows can also be left and picked
up at Gainesville Violins. Daniel charges $40 for a bow rehair. Contact him directly for estimates on French polishing, new thumb-leather, re-cambering and straightening, new tip, pearl slide, pearl eye, heel plate, screw/eyelet, head spline, repairing a cracked stick or frog and more.

In 2007, Daniel graduated from the Business School of the University of Florida in Gainesville, in addition to working for Gainesville Violins and in his own bow workshop. In 2008 he married Allison Black, who also works for Gainesville Violins. Daniel is currently Manager of Gainesville Violins.

Daniel in his bow workshop.	Bundle of horsetail hair.
Measuring bow hair.	Cutting thumb leather.
Damaged frog from an important classic gold-mounted bow.	Same frog, restored by Daniel for a Jacksonville FL maestro (2005).

In the summer of 2005 Anna went to the University of New Hampshire (UNH) for the same bow repair and rehair courses that Daniel had taken. Once again Lynn Hannings was the instructor. (For more information about Lynn Hannings, see our "Links" page.)

Anna at her workbench.	Lynn Hannings demonstrating.
Anna and Lynn.	Summer 2005 students.

Salchow.

Millant.

Salchow rosin.

Jade rosin.

Guillaume rosin.