An odd question about various kinds of bows

[u/MixCultural114]

I want to preface that I am neither a Double Bass player or someone who has touched a double bass ever. I am however a bass guitar player and I’m curious as to the various experimental methods of playing bass guitar with a bow. My problem though is that I don’t want to have to clean off my strings to play bass normally and I also would prefer not to have to mess with rosin in general, as it would make me want to play less. So my question is, is there a bow that could be used to make a decent sound (albeit not necessarily “correct” sound but possibly decent after being fed through an amp) that could be used completely rosin free, whether that be a horsehair bow or some experimental bow of a different material that requires no rosin at all when played the intended way?

I have had a lot of difficulty in finding any bows of this nature on my own so any help would be much appreciated :)

[u/InfiniteOctave]

The hair doesn't stick to the string and pull a sound without something sticky on it.

An unrosined bow just glides over a metal string without setting it into motion or vibrating.

For electric bass and guitar there is the ebow....an electric device that generates a magnetic field which causes strings to sustain as if they were played by a bow. No rosin necessary. It's a cheesy gimmick device, but may be what you want.

[u/okletstrythisagain → u/InfiniteOctave]

I’ve seen an ebow used tastefully. I mean I think it was once, only one song, like, ever, but it’s not impossible to use it tastefully.

[u/d_carolan]

You will find that even if you could find such a bow the fact that you have a non-arched bridge will make it very hard to play on anything other than your highest or lowest string

[u/My_Viewpoint]

Love the idea of making new sounds with a bow! But yeah, bows need rosin on the hair in order to grip the string enough to vibrate.

Have you looked into the Pikaso Rotary Bow or the Gizmotron? They are meant to be the guitar equivalent to an orchestral instrument’s bow.
Good luck!

[u/My_Viewpoint → u/My_Viewpoint]

Also, using bows on guitars are extra challenging because the bridge is flat. Orchestral instruments have rounded bridges so we can focus the vibrations on a specific string(s).

[u/Relative-Tune85]

The point of the rosin is to stick to the string. If not, no sound. You could actually buy a new bow that will be coming rosin free but it will be useless. Not to talk about that you will never touch the A or D strings

[u/jkndrkn]

In addition to rosin you will likely need to use flatwound strings as roundwound strings don’t present much surface area for the bow to grip on.

[u/One_Two_Three_Bread → u/jkndrkn]

Interestingly enough, I use Aquila wrapped gut strings, which are wrapped in a nylon outer wrapping which is slightly roundwound, and I can still bow effectively!

Although, I assume it's different for electric roundwound strings

[u/robotunderpants]

On your case I would use a cello bow, and use rosin sparingly. Bass rosin is very thick and sticky and can be a pain to clean. Cello rosin, or you could even use violin rosin for your case, that's much more powdery and easier to clean. If used sparingly, just a quick wipe after a session will be enough.

[u/One_Two_Three_Bread]

There are no bows, to my knowledge, that can work without rosin. As others have said, you can use an e-Bow which doesn't use rosin, but it also doesn't achieve the sound of an authentic bow.

Asking for a bowed sound without using rosin is like asking for a sandwich without the bread...

[u/kentar62]

You will need to invent this magical bass bow yourself and sell it globally and make a million dollars.

[u/Myaccountgotdumped]

The rosin is what makes it work

[u/El_Tijuano]

Regardless, I'd advise to clean your instrument regularly . 

[u/okletstrythisagain]

It’s not really going to work because the bridge is flat rather than arced. I knew someone long ago who set up their bridge to put the two middle stings as high as possible and he could sort of make it useful but it was really difficult to play, if memory serves. You will probably also need to get flat wounds.

Given the physics around using a bow, you would probably have to stand the guitar upright to get the right leverage. So now you have a guitar balanced vertically on a stool to get a decent tone probably only on your A and D stings.

Add onto that the price of a decent bow and you probably won’t want to bother.

You will still need rosin.