We first heard about the IncrediBows at the 2007 Galax Old Fiddlers’ Convention. Quite a few people asked if we carried those “funny bows that are bent backwards and don’t need rosin”. A little research revealed that people were talking about the IncrediBow, designed and manufactured by Ed Wilcox in Batesville, AR. We got some samples from Ed immediately. After extensive testing on every type of instrument in our studio, we decided to carry them. Here is some information about IncrediBows:

1. Even though many IncrediBows look like natural wood, they are all made from tapered Carbon Fiber tubing.
2. IncrediBows use a proprietary synthetic “hair” that is made of a tough polymer filament designed to “grab” the strings extremely well when lightly rosined (IncrediBows do use rosin…but just a little).
3. All IncrediBows bows curve "outward", kind of like an exaggerated Baroque bow, and the hair is permanently tensioned.  They are NOT designed for rehairing - if one wears out before three years, IncrediBow will replace the bow.
4. Bow Length and Weight: IncrediBows are available in traditional 29" length - balanced, weight approximate 50 -55 grams or in featherweight style - about 30 - 35 grams (barely one ounce!). Any length or weight (constrained by the laws of physics, or course) is available by special order.
5. Grip: IncrediBows have a modified octagonal grip, which has 4 flat surfaces (top, bottom, both sides) and 4 rounded surfaces (on diagonals). The non-adjustable frog is integrated into the grip, covered with a comfortably hard rubber (black unless specified otherwise in a special order).

We have interviewed a lot of musicians and bow suppliers about the IncrediBow and we found people’s reaction to be analogous to the bagpipes... people either love them or they don't 

Our belief is that this polarized reaction is due not so much to the traditional conservatism (relating to instrument and bow design) of the bowed strings community, but rather to the fact that IncrediBows make some instruments sound much better, but not all instruments.

1. Here are our preliminary research findings:
   IncrediBows work very well on electric violins, allowing bowing acrobatics beyond what we thought possible.
2. Acoustically weak instruments such as the Rickert & Ringholz small Travel/Practice Violins (naturally ‘weak’ due to their small size) sound substantially better with an IncrediBow.
3. High quality instruments, which already have brilliance, power and projection, can sound a bit “brassy” with an IncrediBow.
4. Our most interesting observation had to do with the use of a Viola IncrediBow on one of our Octave Violins. The IncrediBow produced greater volume and required less effort than either a pernambuco or carbon fiber bow, but at the expense of deep, dark timbre. We can think of situations where the Octave Violin player might want to cut through and be heard rather than providing rich depth. We’re going to research this some more and will post findings on our blog.