THE JANSS BOW

The World’s First Affordable Self-Rehairable Bow

For Violin, Viola and Cello

PLEASE VISIT OUR WEBSITE AT

JANSSBOW.COM

THE STORY

I have been extremely lucky in my career as performing cellist to had toured and recorded with many of the world’s great musical artists. In the Spring of 2019, I was invited to record a live concert film with Bruce Springsteen for his album Western Stars. My stand partner for this session was the wonderful cellist Alan Stepansky, professor of cello at the esteemed Manhattan School of Music. As anyone who has been behind the scenes of a film shoot knows, there are long periods of waiting between shots, and as Alan and I got caught up on life and career, our discussion made its way to the difficulty of teaching students who have no access to instrument maintenance, and especially the all-important re-hairing of the bow! What many players don’t know in the beginning is that the quality of your bow-hair is paramount to your ability to produce a rich, beautiful sound, and your hair needs to be changed seasonally for the best results!

The process of getting one’s bow hair changed is a beautiful but antiquated process involving a master luthier, a few days of wait time, and usually a hefty wad of cash (professional bow re-hairing can cost nearly $100!). For those who live outside a major city center, this usually means hours of driving, or even worse, sending your bow away to a person whose quality is hard to determine from online reviews.

It began to occur to me with all of the advances in products we use everyday through new materials like carbon fiber composites and manufacturing processes like 3D printing, that there must be a better way. But google search after google search for a bow that could be re-haired by the player themself only revealed either unimpressive, confusing products, or gorgeous (but expensive!) collector’s pieces.

That was when I knew it was time to call an old friend from Middle School to put together the all-star team to launch the Janss Bow, the world’s first affordable self-rehairable bow!