About Arcus
Is there such a thing as the perfect bow? If so, we would like to build it. If not, we would at least like to come as close as possible to this ideal. Without compromising.
When Bernd Müsing began researching bows in 1995, there appeared to be no literature at all on how a bow actually works - neither in terms of playing technique nor in terms of sound. The evolution of bows themselves seemed to have come to a standstill about 150 years ago. At the same time, modern science, technology and materials offer completely new possibilities.
Today, we no longer travel with stagecoach and sailing ship, but with high-speed trains or air planes; we no longer write with a quill pen but with an iPad. And we play on highly developed strings made from fantastic materials instead of bare sheep gut.
That's why the inspiration for our bow development is closely linked to the development of strings. There we can see exactly how the smallest changes in structure, materials, tension, mass etc. affect sound and playing. We were able to learn a lot from that, especially with regard to the ‘tuning’ of our bows and the shaping of their tone colours. On the other hand, when it comes to optimizing the playing characteristics, we have learned a lot from the development of suspension technology for bicycles - especially full-suspension mountain bikes. As far as the processing of our beloved miracle material carbon fibre is concerned, however, we had to think up, research and test most of it ourselves, because the bows made of carbon fiber up to now could unfortunately only serve as a deterrent example.
If you compare an Arcus bow with a Tourte or Peccatte bow, you will find only few similarities. Is that okay? some will ask. Isn't it a betrayal of classical music if it sounds different (or actually better), if it is easier to play and articulates more precisely?
We don't think so. Otherwise we would still have to play Beethoven's piano music on a fortepiano instead of a grand piano, for example. Likewise the sound and playing of string instruments has evolved considerably with the rise of modern strings, shoulder rests, chinrests and cello endpins.
So what is our intention? Simply put: to build bows that give you all the musical freedom you need, that bring out an even more beautiful sound from your instrument and that make playing more enjoyable and versatile at the same time. Bows without any weak or quivering spots, that are as comfortable as possible and noticeably relieve your bow arm. And on top of that, bows that are sustainable and last virtually forever.
Is that even possible? -Absolutely. Today, many thousands of musicians all over the world, countless orchestral musicians, students and soloists play an Arcus bow - and almost all of them as their main bow.
For you, too, we would like to build the perfect bow. There's a good chance that it's already on one of our shelfs or in your luthier's cabinet.
And if you find anything to improve, please let us know.
Over the years, we have assembled an excellent team of talented craftsmen, musicians and technicians. Whether it's the research, development and manufacture of the bows or the consulting and service we provide, everyone is highly dedicated to their work.
In our showroom in Würzburg you will find the entire range of our bows. In addition, we offer a beautiful selection of excellent instruments, strings, cases and accessories.
We also repair and restore wooden bows. This includes rehairing the bow and putting a new thumb leather or optimizing the stick, especially its camber. With many wooden bows, the camber has never been optimal in the first place, or has changed over time.
Bernd Müsing:
My Arcus Story
How does one actually come to found a company that manufactures carbon fiber bows? The stars must be in a very special constellation.:)
I originally started my career in the bicycle industry and was head of development at a major bicycle manufacturer in the 1990s. The big issue back then was the development of suspension systems for mountain bikes, so I was constantly working on spring rates, vibration damping, elasticity, preload and similar things. In addition, I was also working with all kinds of materials, from steel to aluminum to carbon fiber.
During this time, I picked up playing the violin again, both in the orchestra and for my own personal entertainment. However, I had big problems with my bow - especially when playing Mozart.
On a shopping trip through various violin stores, I then bought a new bow, which was slightly better, but still didn't really make me happy, especially as I found it too heavy and too soft. I started taking a closer look at the matter: What forces are actually at work in a bow, in piano or forte, with double stops or spiccato, at the tip or at the frog? How are wooden bows constructed, how is the elasticity distributed over the stick, the mass distribution, the center of gravity and, above all, what's the exact effect of different camber profiles and depths?
In my series of measurements on wooden bows, I was unable to find a clear construction principle for even a single bow and came to the conclusion that the “unpredictable” material wood simply does not allow it, or that up to now no one really knows how a bow works.
So I tried to construct an ideal bow myself. I was aware that it had to have a much higher tension than a wooden bow, if only to utilize the potential of modern strings. But if it also had to be lighter, it could only be made of carbon fiber. My solution was a very thin-walled, hollow stick with a slightly reduced camber and, of course, a solid head in a one-piece construction. With that I then went to the manufacturers of carbon fiber components in the hope of finding a company that could produce such a stick for me. It turned out, however, that it was quite impossible to produce something like this. Conical, curved, extremely thin-walled, with a massive head - no chance.
So I founded my own company - once again. At the age of 21, I had already opened a bicycle store with two friends, at 24 a small bicycle factory where we produced the world's best aluminum frames at the time (they were actually called MÜSING) and after a brief intermezzo as an employee, I had started my new business consultancy. But it took a few years, until 1999 to be precise, before we were able to sell our first bows. And that's when things actually got exciting, because we not only had to build up an entire company with people, tools, suppliers and a dealer network. We also had to reach out to musicians, we had to keep developing the bows, keep researching them, keep traveling the world, keep learning.
By the way, ‘my’ bows have had the nice side effect that I enjoy making music even more. I have been playing diligently ever since, especially in the orchestra and string quartet. Not just the violin, but meanwhile also the viola. Which in turn led to me fundamentally researching the viola bow. But that's another story. :)
Making our bows requires quite a bit of machinery but even more craftsmanship of the highest level. Only the use of the finest materials and close co-operation between all our bowmakers allows us to achieve the level of perfection the Arcus bows are renown for.