playing guitar/bass with a bow?

buffjam9011 · Post by **buffjam9011** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 12:28 am

i was lookin at sigur ros's myspace and i saw a pic of the dude playing his guitar with a bow, and i've heard of someone else doing this but can't remember who... what kind of sound does this produce?

filmdude100cms · Post by **filmdude100cms** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 12:51 am

jimmy page used to a lot, tim did at the concert in my town... but goddamnit i couldnt go...

bassman462 · Post by **bassman462** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 1:34 am

also james iha, from smashing pumpkins. but himmy page, is the most famous for it.

EDIT- by the way your signature is too long, shrink the picture.

buffjam9011 · Post by **buffjam9011** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 3:00 am

do yall have any audio clips to what it sounds like?

sig fixed. let me know if its still too large

sunglassesatnight · Post by **sunglassesatnight** » Sat Mar 25, 2006 7:09 am

It sounds like Sigur Ros sounds.

carter29 · Post by **carter29** » Sun Mar 26, 2006 9:51 pm

Save Me byt the Tea Party, great tune, guitar is played with a bow

a1075dd63aa12 · Post by **a1075dd63aa12** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 2:24 am

i really want to try that out

Jenns4Ever9501 · Post by **Jenns4Ever9501** » Mon Mar 27, 2006 3:14 am

wkpggrvn2001 wrote:i really want to try that out

That's bizarre, I'd love to try it, but unfortunately I don't have any spare bows laying around.

EnFuego · Post by **EnFuego** » Sun May 14, 2006 9:29 pm

I tried it out with one of my wife's bows. It actually got somewhat loud, and had a pretty cool effect. I can't see myself ever doing it again, but amusing or the minute it lasted.

aleceiffel · Post by **aleceiffel** » Fri May 19, 2006 1:19 am

I've always wanted to try it out. jeff martin (from the previously mentioned save me tune) raises his action on the high e to make jamming on that string easier. I imagine just raising your action in general would help.

I've heard that it's not good for the strings though... or was the bow? or both? I'm not sure how different guitar strings are from violin strings, but that's just what I've heard.

i like tictacs · Post by **i like tictacs** » Fri May 19, 2006 1:59 pm

Sounds like an electric violin.

Jenna41 · Post by **Jenna41** » Fri May 19, 2006 2:04 pm

I have a 45 minutes concert of Sigur Ros and he was playing the bow on his guitar.

Sciaracastro · Post by **Sciaracastro** » Fri May 19, 2006 3:32 pm

is there any chance to break strings?

i like tictacs · Post by **i like tictacs** » Fri May 19, 2006 7:00 pm

Not really. It's not like it's grinding down on the strings, it's the other way around

Phiddler · Post by **Phiddler** » Wed May 30, 2007 4:35 pm

The sound is really cool, ranging from very deep to very shrill. Either way, it always retains this very ambient aura. I love it...

...but...

most of the time they are not using a violin bow. Im a violinist and guitarist, so I have all the shit lying around my house, and try it out alot. It never sounded that great, so I figured I didn't have enough reverb, delay etc. Then I tried to use a cello bow. The hair is much thicker, and you get a fuller sound. I know Jonsi (from Sigur Ros) uses a cello bow, but if not sure about Page, Eddie Phillips ect.

Sounds great though, and try the cello bow too.