'Clarity' rosin

Anon2962 · #1 10-03-2004, 08:46 AM

Has anyone tried this new hypoallergenic rosin? is it any good? i play with nymans, but i'd be interested in giving this a try....saw it in the lemur music catalogue and would have to order it...is it worth a try??

Silversorcerer · #2 10-03-2004, 11:44 PM

Someone who had an allergy to the regular stuff posted about it earlier, but did not identify it as Clarity. I'm sure that is what it was because that was the only hypoallergenic stuff at the supplier they mentioned. I'd say if you have an allergy, it is worth a shot. If you don't, it is supposed to have some other benefits as well. If one happens to be allergic, what is the typical reaction? Does anyone know?

Anon2962 · #3 10-04-2004, 05:55 AM

i sometimes get a fit of sneezing, but not all the time, so i guess i might be mildly allergic to the nymans rosin.

or maybe i'm allergic to my bass playing....

bassbaterie · #4 10-04-2004, 12:19 PM

Don't know about the allergy part, but I received a cake of Clarity as a sample to try, and found it didn't work as well as Pops. If you want this (slightly used) cake, send me an email and I can mail it to you.

godoze · #5 10-04-2004, 02:24 PM

I am using it and liking it.

**Adrian Cho** · #6 10-07-2004, 10:11 PM

Don are you using the summer or winter rosin? I have heard that it is a lot more consistent than traditional rosins made with organic products - doesn't glaze up, isn't affected by temperature, etc.

**Adrian Cho** · #7 10-21-2004, 01:40 PM

I got some of the summer and winter Clarity rosin. I'm not a big arco player but I'm bad enough at it to know when something helps. I find this to be the best rosin I've used by far - better than Kolstein, Pops, Carlsson. Plays clearly and cleanly and never gets too sticky. Appears to behave the same regardless of the humidity and temperature and produces very little if any dust. I'm using it with black hair on gut and finding the sound just so much clearer.

Steve Boisen · #8 10-31-2004, 08:24 AM

I just purchased a cake of Clarity Winter Bass from Lemur Music and so far so good. I prefer soft rosin (Pop's and Kolstein Soft being my favorites) and the Winter Bass has a similar tack. This rosin is colorless and odorless too...it looks like a tub of vaseline!

I haven't used it outside of my music room yet, so I'll report back once I use it in a real world situation.

BTW, the salesperson at Lemur told me it's become very popular and they were out of stock until recently.

- Steve

http://kaybass.home.att.net

Steve Boisen · #9 01-14-2005, 09:28 PM

Still using it. Still liking it. It seems to last forever. I don't havbe to rosin my as often with this stuff. Anyone try it yet?

- Steve

http://kaybass.home.att.net

Ben Joella · #10 01-17-2005, 06:45 AM

I tried the winter stuff for about a month and switched back to Nyman's. I was dissapointed at how quickly it powdered up. I felt like it was consistent, but never got great. I'll give it another whirl in the summer when the humidity is present.

godoze · #11 01-17-2005, 06:48 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Ben Joella

I tried the winter stuff for about a month and switched back to Nyman's. I was dissapointed at how quickly it powdered up. I felt like it was consistent, but never got great. I'll give it another whirl in the summer when the humidity is present.

Interesting. I am on my second cake and it has never powdered. I am really loving this rosin...

**Adrian Cho** · #12 01-17-2005, 09:22 AM

I ended up giving up on it. The tone was really clear and there is barely any residue or build on the hair. However I also couldn't get enough grip with it using black hair and gut strings.

Ben Joella · #13 01-17-2005, 09:53 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by DZ

Interesting. I am on my second cake and it has never powdered. I am really loving this rosin...

Don't get me wrong though. Everything powders up here. If we didn't water the cat, she would probably powder up too.

It's just that the clarity never seemed to "warm up" where the Nyman's gets usable after 10-15 minutes.

random bassist · #14 01-21-2005, 02:51 PM

Hi Guys Im A new member. I Just recently attended a music educators confrence in Tampa Fl. I was given a cake of this clarity rosin to try and am not sure about it. I was given the summer, because well lets face it.. it's Florida. Far too much humidity and heat for winter. I've been using Pops and am very fond of the tack, but its kind of a pain because it's so soft. I was just wondering if anyone had used this stuff in heat? And does it compare to pops in resonse and tack? anthing you guys have to offer is greatly appreciated.
Thanx

Steve Boisen · #15 01-21-2005, 10:17 PM

I live in the Tampa Bay area and I use the Winter Bass. I disagree about using hard rosins in Florida because of the humidity. Most every bassist I know around here uses a tacky rosin like Pop's, Carlsson or Kolstein Soft. Pop's seems to be the #1 choice. I took some lessons with Roger Funk from the Florida Orchestra and he's always used Pop's as does the whole bass section. I used it too until I got my new bow and tried the Clarity Winter Bass. It's not quite as tacky as the other rosins I mentioned, but it doesn't gunk up the hair like Pop's or take a long time to warm up like Carlsson. BTW I tried it on my old bow and I don't think it mixes well with Pop's. So where in Florida do you live, "random bassist"?

- Steve

http://kaybass.home.att.net

random bassist · #16 01-22-2005, 08:48 AM

You know Roger Funk? wow

(I wish I was able to take lessons from an actual bass player.)Im just getting out of high school this year and plan to major in orchesral music. And like I said, ever since i started playing I,ve been using pops, and id really like something a little less harsh, but thats just my opinion. Anyways, I live in Vero Beach (Treasure Coast) So it's usually only a little different temp wise. And as of today i can also say that it doesnt mix well with pops,(I also tried it on my old bow)
never even thought of that. Guess there is a good reason i kept the old one. I have also head carlsson suggested to me, do you believe that it would be better than this clarity summer? Thanx again for any help

Steve Boisen · #17 01-22-2005, 12:18 PM

I tried Carlsson and didn't like it. It grabbed the string very well but always needed time to "warm up". It felt like there was no rosin on the bow at all until the Carlsson became tacky again after a few seconds of playing. This just didn't work for me, especially when I'd play a theater pit job where I might play pizz for a few numbers then suddenly have an arco passge. I've herard of other bassists having the same problem. One rosin I did like was Kolstein Soft. I would probably still be using it but I think I left it at Roger's house a while back. Roger told me that John Miller, principal bassist in the Florida West Coast Symphony uses this. I would give this a try if you're not sure about the Clarity Winter Bass.

- Steve

http://kaybass.home.att.net

random bassist · #18 01-22-2005, 09:25 PM

Ahh that post really helps. I do orchestral pit playing also and have to do a lot of switching between arco and pizz. In fact, an icredible amount in the musical im playing in now (fiddler on the roof) Kolstien soft? I may have to look into that. thankyou for your suggestion.