With my electric cello I got a no-name cheapo bow which served me pretty well for about 5 months. Considering my skill level I probably would have gotten more mileage out of it, especially as it's still in very good playing condition. But, as it often happens with instrument and gear purchases, I tried out my teachers carbon bow and found that there was quite a huge difference in playability and sound. So I ordered a Viennabow.

The main difference is that Viennabow is lighter and the weight is more in the frog end, making it much easier to play. It somehow sounds smoother as well. In the very beginning I felt I could get more volume on the low strings with my old one but apparently it was only a matter of getting used to the bow. It took me about a week before the new bow started feeling natural to play but once that happened I haven't felt any need to try my old one again. It's now hanging on a wall as a spare bow.

Since the tip in Viennabow is lighter I was anticipating there could be some problems in getting a decent sound when playing near the tip but to my surprise it's the contrary! I can get more even sound in all parts of the bow with this one. How that works exactly is still a bit of a mystery to me. Maybe I'll remember to ask my teacher on Tuesday.