We all play acoustic guitars, pretty much, the same way. We strum, we pluck, we pick. Occasionally, we’ll use various techniques like muting, bending, and tapping to change up the sound. Sometimes, we’ll even plug in a pedal and, when we’re in the mood, we’ll use alternate tunings to really change things up. The Pickaso Guitar Bow adds a whole new technique to your acoustic playing, allowing you to slide across the strings using a bow.
We know… you’ve seen musicians use a violin bow or a cello bow with a guitar before, leading to occasionally pleasant but mostly unimpressive results. That’s because those bows are designed to play on top of the strings, which don’t exactly play nice with a guitar’s flat bridge. This bow, on the other hand, is designed specifically for use with a standard six-string.
The Pickaso Guitar Bow consists of a stick with layers of bow hair that you can use to slide across the strings, as well as a grip on top with an integrated plectrum, so you can intersperse picking with bow sliding techniques without having to switch to a different tool. Instead of sliding over the top of the strings like violins and cellos, the bow is designed to be played perpendicular to the string. That means, you thrust it inside the guitar’s sound hole while making contact with each string, producing those unique sounds by moving the bow in and out.
Unlike violin and cello bows that only has bow hairs on one side of the stick, this accessory comes with bow hair on two sides. This allows you to place the bow between two strings and put it in contact with both, making it possible to play two notes at the same.
The Pickaso Guitar Bow has a wide and slim body cut in anodized aluminum, with the bow hair generously layered on either side. According to the outfit, they exclusively use synthetic hairs for the bow, so it doesn’t use any animal products, just in case that’s a concern for you. On one end sits a plastic handle with a smooth rubber finish that also features an integrated pick. All parts of the bow are designed to be replaceable, by the way, so you should be able to easily change the hair or the handle when needed. It also comes with the outfit’s own rosin formula that you can use to give the bow hairs a better grip and a warmer sound.
It comes in two sizes: classic (6.3 inches long) and studio (8.4 inches long), both of which have the same basic design. While similar, there are actually pronounced differences between the two. The classic, for instance, is meant to emphasize mid to high tones, while the studio version is meant to really showcase mid to lower tones while producing longer and louder sounds. Do note, the bow doesn’t work with either nylon or coated strings, so you’ll have to stick to good, old uncoated strings if you want to produce that violin-like sound.
The Pickaso Guitar Bow is available now, priced starting at $79.99.