Carlsson or Pops?

[Arojekt]

That is the question!

I have been recommended those two main brands from many people, of which are some pretty highly respected members of the North Carolina Honors Orchestra and among other very amazing organizations...

From what I understand, most prefer Pops based on it's availability and relatively cheap price per cake.... However, the Carlsson-lovers crack down on the Pops, insinuating that it really doesn't do the job in the dead of winter...

So "what'll it be then, eh?" What're your opinions? I've used both, and found nothing wrong with either, except availability, and I just want the best sound and best thing for the bass and the bow.

--Arojekt.

[jimmyduded]

i find that my carlsons rosin seems to screech from time to time while playing, pops on the other hand has no treble to it really, very different rosins, I actually like neither too much and Iam looking for new rosin

[damonsmith]

Carlsons is great for abstract drawing, it has a nice color and texture, but I use Pops to play the bass.

[Reuben]

I like the Carlson stuff in the summer and Pops in the winter, but I don't like switching, so I just use the Carlson/Nyman junk.

[Marcus Johnson]

Carlsson.

[koricancowboy]

I wrote pop's but actually waaaaaay prefer Gaston Brohans Oak Rosin in the Soft variety for all seasons.

[Eli_Upright12]

I would take carlssons out of those two, but I like Kolstein soft, for 10 months out of the year. I just cant deal with the powder and residue of Pops, but the pull can be nice when your pullin those notes at the end of Beethoven 5.

[dwc3690]

Pops

[damonsmith]

Originally Posted by koricancowboy

I wrote pop's but actually waaaaaay prefer Gaston Brohans Oak Rosin in the Soft variety for all seasons.

The times I have been unhappy with Pops have been in Chicago, so that makes sense.

[tww001]

I had been using Pop's all summer (and in summers past), but once the weather started cooling off and the air started getting dryer, Pop's stopped working well with my set up. I'm currently using Nyman's which seems to be doing well, but I remember thinking neither Nyman's nor Carlsson's grabbed very well during warm, humid weather (perhaps because Pop's is made in Texas and the others in Sweden?!). You have to just try different rosins, ask friends and section mates if you can try what they have. Just like everything else, rosin is only one variable in an almost unsolvable equation. Some rosins work great with some bow and hair and string and bass combinations, and some don't.

[EJ_Dad]

Used Carlson's since the '70s.
Lately my teacher convinced me to try Jade.
Worked OK until I got an old batch. (appeared to be from a different wholesaler).

I use Pops now because I can get it fresh.

I purchased Pops from the General Music store in my area. It was as bad as the old Jade, it was probably old also.

I'm convinced the freshness matters more than the brand.

[iamjohngalt]

to be honest I didn't particularly like either and I usually opt for cello rosin. All opinion though eh?

[Jason Sypher]

Wow, surprised to see so many Pops users. I like Carlsson in the winter, in the summer it melts easily. Still I use it anyway. I do use it extremely sparingly!

[Marcus Johnson]

I still use Poooop's in a pinch... it's not so bad. I've found Carlsson's to be a little better for my purposes. It seems to need application a bit more frequently, which I like, because I can control it a little better. With Pop's, I need to be careful when applying it, or I wind up with too much rosin. Pop's is great for a bow that maybe has some tired hair on it, or for strings that aren't particularly arco-friendly.

[brianrost]

I picked Pops but I don't bow all that much so I'm not picky. It's cheap, easy to find in local stores.

[bassist1962]

I haven't tried Carlsson's yet, I use Pop's because it was recomended to me by one of the violin shops in the area. I was told they have very little bass traffic, but the classical, and jazz guys that do stop in ask for Pop's, so that's what they carry.

[Silversorcerer]

Originally Posted by koricancowboy

I wrote pop's but actually waaaaaay prefer Gaston Brohans Oak Rosin in the Soft variety for all seasons.

+1, except when it gets up around 100 degrees F, I use the Oak medium or hard even.

[damonsmith]

Originally Posted by koricancowboy

I wrote pop's but actually waaaaaay prefer Gaston Brohans Oak Rosin in the Soft variety for all seasons.

I had some $$ sitting in paypal so I ordered some of this stuff from: http://www.gregorianstrings.com/order.html . We'll see how it works for me.

[Marcus Johnson]

Pooooooop's may also be the most popular because it's readily available everywhere. Like Chicken Of The Sea.

[kurt muroki]

haaaa pooooooooop... I like John Beal's mix and Al Laszlo's mix (in that order)