stroke guitar strings with a bow to create
sustained, ethereal tones.
Although this technique appears simple,
perhaps even gimmicky or more visually
than aurally motivated, it’s anything but
easy—even for a guitarist who started on
violin, as this author did. It took Westerhus
a while to get the hang of it, too. “I am still
learning,” he says. “It takes a lot of practice
and is a real pain in the ass, as it will sound
dreadful most of the time,” he relates.
That said, Westerhus clearly finds the
pursuit worthwhile, because he has put considerable time and research into determining
which type of bow best suits his needs. “I get
the most dynamic range out of a cello bow,
both on normal and baritone guitar. I use
one made from some sort of carbon fiber. It’s
a lot stronger than a wooden one, and can
take being dropped—and it stays straighter
for a longer period of time.” As for how he
uses it, he says, “By adjusting the firmness, I
get a lot of different textures. And your tone
will differ, depending on where you stroke
the string. The easiest place to start is pretty
far back towards the bridge.”
Frith, on the other hand, prefers a
smaller bow. “I mostly use children’s cello
bows—they’re cheap, sturdy, and easy to
put in a guitar case.” Technique-wise, he
says, “it depends what you’re trying to do.
If you play close to the bridge with the
edge of the bow, you’ll get more harmonics. But if you play in the middle of the
string with the flat of the bow, you’ll get
a more beautiful, ringing tone. It also
Stian Westerhus uses implements like bows and electronics to tweak tones, but he eschews software. “It’s all in the way two or more pedals interact with each other.” Photo by Behnam Farazollahi
