To our greatest pleasure, we are going to describe the sound and making features of a cello bow made by Arturo Ponce. Since 2011 we have been trying to highlight the sound of contemporary violinmaking instruments, on this occasion, we have had the opportunity of dealing with the fascinating world of bow making, represented by the skillful handwork of the Mexican master Arturo Ponce. After his 7-year- experience with the great master Giovanni Lucchi, Ponce oponed his own workshop in Cremona, at 14b via Robolotti, in 2011; he mainly draws his inspiration from French school and makes booth modern and baroque bows. The bow of our test was made last year in August and got an honorable third position at the 3. international Competition in Moscow. Ponce made a bow in seasoned snake wood with sinilar features, so as obtain very interesting aesthetic and acoustic effects.

Victor Thommassin's history is very interesting: Nephew of a well-known family of bow makers, he was not very successful in his homeland and so he decided to move to England: To conceal his own origins, Thommassin modified some features of the classical French school: he made bows with nut flogs without "eyes" or buttons, stamping them with the brand T. Victor. The bow made by Arturo Ponce has a fitting in ebony and silver and a lapping with some decorations in colored silk copied from the original. The wood was originally dark and the master neither dyed nor oxidized the bow during the making, thus keeping the natural characteristics intact. As a matter of fact, Ponce varnished using transparent essence. Thanks to the usual ability of Cremonese cellist Fausto Solci, we carried out 25 acoustic test last January. The audio-video recording shows our meeting besides the excellent acoustic qualities of the bow. Solci defined it as "easy to use, with good nerve, able to respond well kinds of stresses". According to Maestro Solci, Ponce had enough sensitivity to choose extraordinary raw material and abtain the maximum possible outcome, fitting the ideal to snake wood.