"Oak" rosin

Bob Gollihur · #1 08-13-2001, 09:21 AM

I've heard good things about the legendary OAK rosin, no longer manufactured. However, I see that Supersensitive is making an Oak rosin for bass and cello.

Arco has never been my strong point and I am aiming to correct that in the near future, and may as well (re)start with the right tools, which will probably mean a better quality French bow with black hair as well. I have an ancient cake of Pirastro and a year-old sample from Kolstein, and have read recent threads that older rosin isn't as good as newer stuff.

-zat true? (My 30 yr old Petz still is sticky as hell

)

-anyone try the contemporary Oak rosin?

David Kaczorowski · #2 08-13-2001, 11:09 AM

Hey Bob,

Rosin gets hard and dries out. I don't know anything about the Oak Rosin (new or old), but Kolstein's is supposedly made from the same formula or something as Oak. I've been using a cake of Kolstein soft that Barrie gave me. I like it. It's about the same stickiness as Carlsson but I like the slightly mellower tone I get with the Kolstein. Most everyone I know uses one of the Swedish rosins, Carlsson or Nyman's. Carlsson gets all over the bass, Kolstein doesn't. I hope that helps a little.

oldsaw · #3 08-31-2001, 07:25 PM

David,

There has to be a corralation between the rosin age and the bow hair &(age). I don't know what it is, but I have noticed a distinct lessening of rosin deposit on the string and bass with new hair. I have primarily used Popps rosin on several rehairs and have noticed very little rosin deposit on the strings after each rehair. Also the quality of tone also impoves.

Mark

Don Higdon · #4 09-01-2001, 06:08 AM

With my new job and all, I must say I got all excited when I saw the Rosin thread lit up...

Bob, the differences between Carlson, Nyman, Kolstein and Popps are small, compared to the difference between all of them as a group and Petz.
I have my own rule on anything bass-related: If you can buy it at a local music store, it isn't very good. (haughty sniff...)

Bob Gollihur · #5 09-01-2001, 10:18 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by David Kaczorowski
Hey Bob,

Rosin gets hard and dries out. I don't know anything about the Oak Rosin (new or old), but Kolstein's is supposedly made from the same formula or something as Oak. I've been using a cake of Kolstein soft that Barrie gave me. I like it. It's about the same stickiness as Carlsson but I like the slightly mellower tone I get with the Kolstein. Most everyone I know uses one of the Swedish rosins, Carlsson or Nyman's. Carlsson gets all over the bass, Kolstein doesn't. I hope that helps a little.

Definitely; just in search of. Kolstein sent a complimentary small cake of his rosin to me a couple years ago and I've started using it with a new bow I acquired, wood, inexpensive, but pretty nice, and find it is better - I will probably have my old bow rehaired as it has been at least four years since it was last done. I will probably also end up getting one of Kolstein's dual rosin cakes.

Thanks for the guidance, gents.

David Kaczorowski · #6 09-02-2001, 11:30 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by oldsaw
David,

There has to be a corralation between the rosin age and the bow hair &(age). I don't know what it is, but I have noticed a distinct lessening of rosin deposit on the string and bass with new hair.

Mark,

Brand-spankin'-new hair doesn't hold rosin the same way as older hair does. That's to say, it actually holds it. Maybe I'm weird, but I don't particularly care for brand-new hair. I don't start to like new hair till it's a few days old.

oldsaw · #7 09-02-2001, 09:27 PM

David,

I agree with you. Others have said it takes about three days of usage to "condition" the hair. Also, the quality of the hair used makes a huge difference in the quality of sound that I can produce.I remember reading somewhere that Barrie or his father believed that hair from one part of the tail or hair harvested at a certain time of the year was better.

Mark

David Kaczorowski · #8 09-04-2001, 07:24 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by oldsaw
Barrie or his father believed that hair from one part of the tail or hair harvested at a certain time of the year was better.

Yes, the hair from horses living in cold climates is coarser and therefore grabs better. The strongest part of the hair is from right where it's coming out of the horse. The ends absolutely can't be used as the hair naturally gets thinner and weaker as you get closer to the tip and is further weakened by contact with waste and dirt.

Don Higdon · #9 09-04-2001, 09:04 AM

He also said hair from a female horse was lesser quality because of urine damage.
There's no truth to the claim that female horses nag male horses for not lifting the toilet seat.

1 Bass Psycho · #10 11-05-2001, 01:14 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by David Kaczorowski
[I've been using a cake of Kolstein soft that Barrie gave me. I like it. [/b]

David,

Which Kolstein rosin are you using? I'm using the Ultra Medium and like it very much.

B.P.

David Kaczorowski · #11 11-05-2001, 03:20 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by 1 Bass Psycho

David,

Which Kolstein rosin are you using? I'm using the Ultra Medium and like it very much.

B.P.

Soft

G-force · #12 09-30-2004, 05:48 AM

HI, Any yous guys have any "old " oak rosin for sale?
Also what do you think og kolsteins new rosin. I don't like it and am trying to gather info for him which shows this.
Thanks for the help
G

Silversorcerer · #13 10-04-2004, 12:04 AM

I posted some information before about breaking in the hair and it is relevant to this thread as well. For brevity's sake just jump to it here:

http://www.talkbass.com/forum/showth...27#post1674027

By the way Bob, I'm still digging that new bow. The hair is broken in very well by now. I have black hair on my psaltery bow and it is definitely coarser and grabbier, but it sometimes is overly scratchy too.

**paul** · #14 10-31-2004, 02:05 PM

A fellow bass player in the symphony down here was able to get ahold of a cake of the 'old', original, Oak Rosin. Apparently the recipe was bought by someone who's now making it in very limited quantities (home operation). Anyway, the stuff is amazing. I've used almost every kind of rosin out there (settling with Pops for orchestral playing about 8 years ago), but this stuff blows it all away. It's got the bite of pops without the stickyness. It's got grip, but it's totally smooth. I put some on at the head of the concert, played through the first half, and it lasted all the way through Brahms 1'st Symph. in the second half without losing it's power.

I hope that this rosin will become more widely available, as it was in the past!

scott reed · #15 11-01-2004, 01:31 PM

Paul,
I know bassists who have some "Oak" rosin that they guard
very carefully. I also discovered there were different grades
of hardness available! The closest I remember was "Old
Chicago" rosin but it wasn't quite like Oak. If you could
share the info on how to get the new stuff I'd appreciate
it as well as others who've used the old stuff!

spacecanoe · #16 07-23-2005, 10:55 PM

http://www.gregorianstrings.com/

check it out theres the guy thats making that rosin. has anyone tried it yet?? for some reason i cant get pdf files opening lately so i dont even know a price or availibilty..someone post up the info if they know

**Adrian Cho** · #17 07-23-2005, 11:36 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by spacecanoe

http://www.gregorianstrings.com/

check it out theres the guy thats making that rosin. has anyone tried it yet?? for some reason i cant get pdf files opening lately so i dont even know a price or availibilty..someone post up the info if they know

I have been using it for about six months now and I love it. It's the best rosin I've tried and I've tried Hidersine, Nymans, Carlsson, Pops, Clarity, and Kolstein and probably some others I can't remember. Kolstein was the best thing for me before the Oak. Oak is grippier, produces less gunk, and doesn't have the sizzle sound I would sometimes get with Kolstein. I play on unwound gut on the top two strings. Not surprisingly, Oak works well with gut (which was in use when Oak was originally formulated).

Aaron Saunders · #18 07-23-2005, 11:51 PM

Adrian, can you compare it to Hindersine? I've been using it most of the time (all purpose for a few months on a student German, now using #3 on a newly rehaired French) and this Oak rosin has me very intrigued. I've used Pops for a bit, but can't find my cake of it and there's nowhere locally that sells it, so if I'm ordering online, I might as well check out this stuff since everyone's clamouring over it.

spacecanoe · #19 07-24-2005, 12:20 AM

im using nymans right now i find it pretty good for my limited skill with arco how do you think it compares?

**Adrian Cho** · #20 07-24-2005, 12:23 AM

Aaron, sorry but I can't really compare it to Hidersine. My only experience with Hidersine is that tried using it for a few days and hated it. I can't even remember what grade it was that I had. Oak is nothing like Pops which I personally find way too gunky and gooey especially in warmer weather. The closest thing to Oak would be Kolstein.