TPG Sharp Bow Review – Ziggy

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Ziggy ROCKS!

There are a lot of gimmicky bows out there. Ziggy feels different to me in that its styling and quality are complimentary, especially for certain playing conditions. Ziggy definitely stands out in a crowd. Its styling is the most extreme of the TPG Sharp Bows. Students (and teachers) will either love it or hate it! The video and pictures don’t really catch the shimmer that comes off this stick. It has what they call a “Red Barracuda Skin.” It’s not really glitter in the covering but it sort of looks like fish scales that shimmer in the light. Combine that shimmering red stick with bright red hair and the custom inlaid ebony frog, and you’ve got a bow that will definitely get noticed at your next ensemble rehearsal! 

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, Bruce Lee, 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.

Ziggy is a very responsive, softer stick. It is well-balanced and pulls smoothly across the string. It has high quality, not overly coarse hair. All of this adds up to an agile, lighting-quick, clean sounding stick. Steven Sharp Nelson uses this bow exclusively on his electric cellos both in live concerts and in recording sessions. After playing this stick, I have to tell you that I am sold on this bow for my electric. On the electric cello, Ziggy outperformed my wood bow valued at 10 times Ziggy’s pricetag. Electric cellos require a more delicate touch and with Ziggy I didn’t get the pops or accidental scratches I often get with other bows. Its balanced, responsive connection with the string really exceeded my expectations. Plus the bright red looks pretty cool with the electric. 

Ziggy pulled an even, mellow tone out of my wood instrument and has an excellent bounce (see video above). While Ziggy is in my opinion the most responsive of the TPG Sharp Bows, it is not as strong as the other offerings. The bow bends more easily so it maxes out more quickly. Even with an aggressive rosin, I felt like Ziggy didn’t offer me as big of a sound or as strong articulations as I would like on my wood instrument. 

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. 

Ziggy stats:

  • 78 grams (on my unofficial scale)
  • Proprietary Texalium™ carbon fiber/premium composite blend
  • Silver plated winding
  • Custom red Barracuda Skin stick
  • Custom red slide and mother of pearl signature
  • Custom fully-lined ebony frog
  • Three-part button with red eye
  • Monogrammed ferrule
  • Lizard grip
  • Colorized natural aduu horsehair (red)

2 thoughts on “TPG Sharp Bow Review – Ziggy”

  2. Bill Gates :)

    My sister bookmarked this webpage for me and I have been going through it for the past several hours. This is really going to benefit me and my friends for our class project. By the way, I like the way you write.

    Reply

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