The better carbon bows are made according to strict engineering principles, and are intended to reproduce the best characteristics of high-quality wooden bows: a great deal of research and measurement has gone into this.

The carbon bow I have is as good as I will ever need; it solved all the problems I had that resulted from having previously been obliged to use cheap wooden jobs, though it isn't as good as a bow I once tried that a friend had got with an unexceptional fiddle he bought out of someone's attic: it was worth far more than the instrument, and did all the work for you.

Players who are used to good quality wooden bows often dislike carbon because it doesn't vibrate in the way they are used to; although it may produce just as good a sound, it doesn't feel right to them. The best playing experience is one that involves the whole gamut of the physical and aesthetic, but most of us are happy enough to settle for a result that sounds well, and that we can afford to pay for.