I really enjoy taking the time to talk to musicians when they bring their bows to the workshop.
I regularly observe that even some of the most prestigious bows are still played 'as is' despite the changes, however slight, that have occurred over time. These changes, affecting the camber or straightness of the stick, can cause irregularity or discomfort in the playing.

A musician is capable of detecting very quickly if there is a problem affecting the sound or comfort of playing his instrument (he will instinctively talk to his luthier about it because he knows something can be done).

This is not at all the case with bows.
Having never asked themselves the question and having no known alternative, the musician is convinced that any problem comes solely from his technique, that it's up to him to adapt, without really realising how much energy he's spending compensating for a problem that comes, in most cases, ... quite simply from his bow!

There are, however, very clear signs that indicate whether a bow needs adjustment.

- a lateral and/or vertical weakness in the middle of the stick, which you try to compensate for by tightening the bow more
the bow, making it uncomfortable to play at the point.
- the bow is a little too nervous and doesn't stay on the string.
- the bow has become too soft and it is difficult to find the right tension.
- The bow is too heavy or too light.

Once again, the musician, having no known alternative, has adapted to this discomfort and
compensates without realising it .

When I see a bow presenting a problem of this kind, I discuss it with the musician and his first reaction is:
"Now that you mention it, that's actually exactly what I've been feeling for years!
But how do you know? And is there anything we can do about it?

In most cases the answer is obviously YES.

It can be done mainly by adjusting the camber and/or straightness of the stick, the balance of the bow and the quality and thickness of the bit.

Bow adjustment is an operation that requires real expertise.
There is an obligation to achieve results from the moment I agree to adjust a bow.

The musician taking part in a bow adjustment has the unique opportunity to feel and validate each change made to the bow. It's also an opportunity to :
- to explore and understand the relationship between the technical characteristics of the bow and how it feels to play, by comparing impressions and intimate convictions with precise measurements and explanations.
- develop a vocabulary for expressing these needs.
- make the link between playing sensations and the technical characteristics of the bow being played.
- be able to define your needs in terms of comfort, playing qualities and sound.
- gain valuable new information about your bow.

If all this sounds interesting to you come and knock on the right door.

In our day-to-day work, we come up against technical obstacles that are not necessarily due to our own limitations.
The fine-tuning work I did with Jean Grunberger enabled me to feel more acutely what might be coming from me or my bow. Adjusting the balance, the weight, the tension, a curvature at a particular point on the bow is sometimes crucial to solving a problem of spiccato, sonority, detachment or projection.
Once this work was done, the musical gesture became simpler and more obvious, and it really made my day-to-day work easier.

Thanks to Jean, I've discovered that it's possible to adjust a bow in the same way as you adjust a violin!
By fine-tuning a number of very delicate parameters, he manages to meet the musician's exact expectations.

Working with Jean was a truly wonderful and positive experience.
He was a magician at work and could do anything I asked until we got the result I wanted with my bow.
It was a pleasure to meet Jean and his wife Claudia who together opened up a world to me with their knowledge and art of the bow. I warmly suggest that any musician who has problems with his bow should go and see them.

As a cellist, I was familiar with the terms camber, weight, balance point, nervousness and flexibility of the bow, but I didn't understand their mechanical meaning.
The most striking thing for me was what we call deflection, in other words the flexibility of the stick. I wrongly associated powerful sound and precise attack with a rigid stick that was very resistant to pressure.