The Evolution of the ARCUS Bows - 20 Years of Research and Development

How did the ARCUS violin bows evolve? Which development and improvement have they been through since their first creation 20 years ago?

In this video, Bernd Müsing is presenting the numerous stages in the evolution of the ARCUS carbon fiber bows:

- first experimental prototype (1997)
- first "official" ARCUS bow for sale (1999)
- Sinfonia and Cadenza (2001)
- Concerto (2002)
- Cadenza Gold and Cadenza Silver (2002)
- Veloce
- Allegro (2006)
- Vega / E-Series
- X-Series
- S-Series and M-Series
- P-Series
- 9s of every series (2011)
- A-Series (2012)
- Anniversary bow (2019)

Websites:

A big thank you to the fabulous Alexander String Quartet for letting us use their fantastic performance of the Dvořák Piano Quintet in A Major, Op 81 - III. Scherzo:

[normanfreund]

Being a mechanical engineer - stress and vibration analysis, and also by hobby a violinist, I found this a fascinating video, thanks for sharing.

[rawmark]

You're from the land of my great-grandparents. Great bows. Currently testing some of your Muse bows right now.

[chimbiepaladin]

I would love a video on the difference between octagonal behavior vs circular bow behavior :) I am so interested!

[truth]

Absolutely fascinating video! Thank you so much for making it and sharing. Just wondering, is the tip made as one piece with the stick or is it bonded on later? I would love to see a factory tour video some day! Thanks so much.

[FiddlerSteve]

I own a Sinfonia which I like a lot! Do you have a resource for dating from the serial #?

[calmsouls]

"while our bows got better, they also got a 'little bit' more expensive and not everybody was happy about that"

Meanwhile I currently am looking at 8k for a bow and definitely not happy so I can relate, lol. On the flip side, it's nice you all have been successful. However imo accessibility is part of healthy success.

[brianh]

Does Arcus have any plans on making a bow with a more traditional wood look? I love the sound, but would prefer something that blended in with other wood bows.

[michaels]

Very interesting to know how this arrived at what I now have! But how come you speak Antipodean accent English?