BRUCE LEE Has Some Serious KICK
The styling on this bow is subtle enough to fit in on the concert hall stage but unique enough to set you apart from the fray. You sort of feel like the understated Batman of the cello section. The black nut and reflective black slide in the frog are especially cool touches. The Piano Guys have an excellent re-hair program but one perk of the Bruce Lee is that black hair is not that hard to find. Much easier to find than red or green hair at any rate. That means you would not be limited to The Piano Guys re-hair program. Also, this bow may look equally cool with standard white hair. It may even improve the responsiveness.
When you are considering upgrading your bow do your homework on the construction, materials, and comparable products in that price range, but what is most important is how the bow feels and responds when you play. Where these bows are hard to find in stores, I’m going to do my best to help! Thankfully, The Piano Guys website says that they offer a money back guarantee so if you purchase the bow and do not like its performance you aren’t stuck with it!
I spent several days playing each bow. I had a long conversation with Steven Sharp Nelson on what went into bringing these bows to market. I highly suggest you checkout the back to back review where I play all 4 bows back to back and compare them to my two wood bows. Also check out the review videos for Luke, Ziggy and Carmen before you go all in on any of these bows. Each bow has different strengths and excels in different playing styles and playing situations.
The Bruce Lee bow is a heavier, stronger, less-responsive, more powerful bow. The Bruce Lee and Luke shafts are built of identical materials just in different colors. Of course the styling of the Luke and the Bruce Lee are very different, but it is the difference in the hair that really affects the sound. The Bruce Lee has a coarser hair that pulls a deep and powerful sound out of the cello. At first pull the sound was too coarse to my ear. After a long conversation with Steve he suggested I try a different brand of rosin. Generally, I use Kolstein Medium which is quite a sticky, natural rosin. Steve suggested I use Jade or another synthetic rosin on Bruce Lee which helped mellow out the connection to the instrument considerably. After a week or two of playing Bruce Lee I got more accustomed to its brute force and learned to work around the rough edges. Bruce Lee is sure to get a big sound out of your instrument, but probably isn’t the best choice for professionals. Compared against other bows in this price range, I think the Bruce Lee is competitive. Personally, I prefer the Luke because of its agility. For players looking for more umphf out of their instrument and with the right rosin I could see Bruce Lee being a good purchase, but it’s not a stick I would recommend for most of my students.
Pro Tip
Try to find equipment that offsets your weaknesses. If you are a naturally coarse, aggressive player look for equipment to mellow your sound. If you are always being coaxed to play out more, seek out equipment that really amplifies your sound.
BRUCE LEE stats:
- Weight 80 grams (on my onofficial scale)
- Lightweight and robust carbon fiber/composite blend
- Black nickel winding
- Matte black stick
- Custom ebony slide and simulated pearl signature
- Custom half-lined ebony frog
- Monogrammed ferrule
- Lizard grip
- Black natural aduu horsehair
He ist dieses ein großer Pfosten. Kann ich einen Teil auf ihm auf meinem Aufstellungsort benutzen? Ich würde selbstverständlich mit Ihrem Aufstellungsort verbinden, also konnten Leute den vollen Artikel lesen, wenn sie zu wünschten. Dankt jeder Weise.