David H. Forbes is a decorated bowmaker and member of the American Federation of Violin and Bow Makers, for which he also served on the board. He is a member of the Violin Society of America and has been the Director of the Oberlin Bow Making Workshops for the VSA since 2005.

David’s awards include two gold medals and numerous certificates of merit in VSA competitions, the City of Paris competition, and the Manchester Cello Festival. He also served as a bow judge at the VSA International Competition in 2012.

David has almost 40 years of expertise and crafted close to 800 bows since embarking on the vocation in the early 1980’s. He was trained by William Salchow in New York and Stephane Thomachot in Paris.

This French style bass bow by David Forbes was made at the Oberlin Workshop in 2017 and is stamped accordingly to the audience side of the handle. The maker’s brand stamp is clearly visible on the player side, with “744” stamped to the bottom facet. Silver mounted, with a three piece adjuster and a round stick of well selected pernambuco for which Forbes is known. Currently fitted with fresh lappings of ostrich leather in lieu of the silver and silk pictured, with a final balanced weight of 145 grams.