D Z Strad Model 205 Cello Bow Top Brazil Wood wit Ebony Frog with inlayed fleur-de-lis (3/4 - Size)

I purchased and DZ Strad cello bow in Aug 2020 as they had great reviews from various sources. The bow arrived and it was a delight to play with, great quality and sound. However the first week of Nov 2020 the bow "popped" and the bow hair could no longer be tightened. It had a 30 day return policy, but Amazon gave me the contact information and I call D Z Strad. I worked with Barry and Conor who we both so great and helpful in explaining that humidity (or the lack of, which would be the problem where I live) sometimes caused bows to have this problem and they sent me a new bow. I was impressed with the sound and quality of the bow, but SO impressed by their commitment to outstanding customer service. Vendors who care about their clients and stand behind their products are becoming more rare. The folks at D Z Strad really hit it our of the ballpark. They have a customer for life. You can trust them and their lovely musical instruments. At some point when I am much more advanced ( started taking lessons at 66) I would hope to buy one of their beautiful cellos.

Right out of the box several hairs were split. I started to rosin the bow and several more broke.

The frog is quite light and the rest of the bow is well balanced. My child chooses to play with this as it has a muffled but warm and dark tone, compared to a $2000 bow which is very clear and open toned but light color. After comparing with very expensive bows which all had a heavy frog, and was difficult to play for young players with small hands, we are using this bow everyday for concertos and also Bach solo suites. This is a nice surprise because I had two other bows purchased which were $150-300 range from DZ for viola and cello but both were not balanced and had to be thrown out. This is a good catch for the price and value it delivers!

The spell produces a much better sound than the bow the cello originally came with.

For the price point, it's a pretty decent bow. Once it got a good rosin, it played and sounded well playing Tarantella.