rosin on strings

footprints89 · #1 01-31-2010, 07:09 PM

When i was in high school i played upright. whenever i would pizz on their basses my speed was cut because of the stickiness of the strings near the bridge. Was this because other people using the basses were applying too much rosin? I read that this problem can be solved by applying rubbing alcohol to that section of the strings. Anyone else heard of that? I will be getting an upright soon and this is something I incredibly want to avoid.

Thanks,
Steve

Fletcher Lanning · #2 01-31-2010, 07:19 PM

Any bowing will leave rosin on the strings, it's just the way it is. When you're done bowing, you should wipe the excess rosin off of the strings. You don't need alcohol, just a clean cloth (I sometimes use the side of my arm when I'm practicing and feeling lazy lol). Many players, myself included, pizz closer to the end of the fingerboard than the bridge, you my fingers don't even play where the rosin is (closer to the bridge). In fact, I don't think I've ever seen someone pizz right next to the bridge (except for high harmonics or really high thumb position stuff).

If you do clean with alcohol, be very careful as even a small amount can ruin the finish of your bass.

footprints89 · #3 01-31-2010, 09:47 PM

I keep the side of the thumb on the side the the finger board and pluck just beneath the finger board. I'd assumed the rosin was just caked on the strings from Years of careless kids. The feeleing was just about everywhere under the fingerboard area of the strings. Sorry for the bad description earlier. I just wanted to specify that it wasn't sticky on the fingerboard. Thanks for the advice. I was really hoping to avoid the alcohol haha.

MoEllis · #4 01-31-2010, 09:50 PM

If its really cakes on, I use a Chore Boy Copper wire scowering (sp?) pad and it works pretty good.

Fletcher Lanning · #5 01-31-2010, 10:45 PM

Scouring pads can be to harsh depending on how rough they are. Using 0000 steel wool should get anything off of the actual fingerboard. If it's really caked on the strings you might pull them off one at a time and clean them with some sort of alcohol solution (even rubbing alcohol works in a pinch). But if it's that bad, I'm betting the strings are REALLY old and could use a replacement.

pianodan · #6 02-01-2010, 07:55 PM

Why do you do your pizz so low on the fingerboard? When I learned ages ago how to do pizz on the bass, I was told to do it very similar to my violin, never in the bowing area, and it's done well for me. The bartok or "slap" bass is a little different, thumb never even touches the fingerboard when I'm going to town on Dixieland....