Rosin

gruffpuppy · #1 04-19-2001, 07:45 PM

Hello again, well lessons are going well, practicing a little each night to get into shape. Don't want to over do it and injure myself.

But enough of the hello's.

Because of my ignorance i have a rosin question, just picked up a fiberglass bow with horse hair for $100. And got me some "Pops' Bass Rosin General Playing" it is a light brown/gold color. So the question how am i supposed to put this stuff on?
It is as hard as a rock, my teachers bow looks like it has a decent coat of it but of course the new bow doesn't.

I read some stuff about the Microwave but i figured i would get some input first.

Thanks again

Mudd · #2 04-19-2001, 09:20 PM

Crude but simple example I just made, but here it is. Feel free to laugh all you want. A man with photoshop and no skills can be a dangerous thing!

The main point is that you want to start the stroke at the frog of the bow and move towards the tip of the bow. You don't ever want to go from the tip to the frog - the hair of the bow is set so that the tiny "fingers" in the horse hair are raised by applying the rosin from frog to tip. Going from tip to frog lays the hairs back down, and you have no grip when you bow the string.

As far as the "microwave" thing, I can't say. I've never nuked rosin to soften it. Just applying as is (even though it seems too hard to do anything) will work.

gruffpuppy · #3 04-19-2001, 10:53 PM

thanks mudd, i did notice that after about 20 strokes the bow started to get darker but it doesn't really grab any better.
guess i will keep rubbing.

Mudd · #4 04-19-2001, 11:10 PM

It may very well take more than the 20 strokes to get it to where you want it. I really don't know if there is such a thing as too much rosin on a bow. Like most things, it really boils down to personal preference. If you find the bow to be overly sticky, the excess will wear off after playing a little.

I would risk saying that a new bow would take quite a bit of rosin to get where you want to be. Having never owned a new bow though, it is tough for me to say. I had a used Kay brand German bow (came with my bass) for most of the years I played DB.

One more point - don't be afraid to apply slight pressure with the bow into the rosin. With Pop's, it helps to rotate the rosin cake after a couple strokes to prevent a rut from forming in the rosin cake itself.

ps - happy b-day...

Don Higdon · #5 04-20-2001, 10:17 AM

Pop's has a tendency to flake off and mess up the top plate of your bass. You won't get this with one of the Swedish rosins - Nyman, or Carlson. They cost more, but they play better, and considering how long a cake lasts, the cost difference is meaningless.
The air temperature and humidity will effect how many strokes you'll need. The friction builds up heat, which softens the rosin enough for some to stick to the bow hair. The quality of the horse hair varies, and is unlikely to be top grade in a $100 bow. If you can spend $45, my bowmaker will give you the best hair that exists. It's an inexpensive way to maximize the performance of the bow.

rablack · #6 04-24-2001, 10:40 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Don Higdon
If you can spend $45, my bowmaker will give you the best hair that exists. It's an inexpensive way to maximize the performance of the bow.

Don - can you put me in touch with your bowmaker?
Thanks

gruffpuppy · #7 04-24-2001, 11:21 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by rablack

Don - can you put me in touch with your bowmaker?
Thanks

thanks for the info don, i too will be looking for that info in the future. i live in an apartment building so i am still trying to fing a way to practice bowing without making a group of tenants knock at my door.

dhosek · #8 04-24-2001, 02:16 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by gruffpuppy

thanks for the info don, i too will be looking for that info in the future. i live in an apartment building so i am still trying to fing a way to practice bowing without making a group of tenants knock at my door.

Practice mute. Less than $10 from Lemur. Won't make you completely silent, but as long as you keep the practicing to decent hours you'll be fine.

-dh

amcrory · #9 04-24-2001, 05:13 PM

I recently bought a new, expensive (for me -- $400) bow... the hair is white. Is the hair that comes on new bows of good quality? I've been using Pop's and Kolstein all-weather, and I've noticed I had to really put a lot of rosin on the bow to make it speak after I initially received it.

-a

Rob W · #10 04-24-2001, 09:37 PM

It is important to realize that the initial application of rosin, whether the bow is new or you just got a rehair, may take a lot of rosin to start with. It's hard to get a full and even coating of rosin right away so you'll have to use a fair bit, fairly often for the first day or two after a rehair (or if the bow has never had much rosin to start with). After that, rosining is more like 'topping' it up each time.

Not all new bows come with very good hair, particularly not factory made bows which most bows under $1000 or more will be. In fact, I've even seen a lot of decent hand made bows that came with pretty crappy hair to start with so I would recemmend to anybody that they might consider getting a rehair right away even if the bow is fairly new. If the hair is substandard it will make your playing that much more difficult.

gruffpuppy · #11 04-24-2001, 09:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by dhosek

Practice mute. Less than $10 from Lemur. Won't make you completely silent, but as long as you keep the practicing to decent hours you'll be fine.

-dh

Thanks I just picked one up this weekend, kind of looks like half of a hockey puck. Even with that and a T-shirt around the strings at the bridge it is still pretty loud when bowed. But as I sit here and listen to my neighbors stereo I think I will not worry about it.

hujo · #12 09-08-2001, 10:03 AM

Hi. This is my first post in the DB section - please don't flame me to death.

I play mostly BG, but I am starting to get into "real" bass aswell. Anyway, I've been thinking about this for a while, and I'm curios about if there are any differences between different kinds of rosin - ofcourse there differences between different manufacturers and so on - as in rosin for DB, cello and violin. What's the difference? Why can't i use DB-rosin for my violin, or can I? Shouldn't there be special viola-rosin aswell, if there are differences? Thanks. And yes, i tried searching, but it seems I'm the only one thinking about stuff like this. Perhaps I have too much time on my hands.

Don Higdon · #13 09-08-2001, 11:42 AM

hujo
Welcome. And relax.
I don't know for sure. It may simply be a matter of packaging for convenience of application. So if you're going to use a bass bow, use the bass bow rosin. And if you want to use that for your violin, even if it's illegal, we won't tell.

amcrory · #14 11-03-2001, 08:08 PM

I've always had "used" rosin (the guy I bought my bass from gave me an old tub of Pop's and some Kolstein all-weather)...

Well, I bought a tub of Petz (#3 medium), and I'm a bit mystified. The rosin itself is in an aluminum "cup", but the top of the rosin is level with the edges of the cup! How do I "get rid of" the aluminum so that I can apply the rosin?!

God, this sounds stupid, doesn't it??

-a

Bob Gollihur · #15 11-03-2001, 09:46 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by amcrory
I've always had "used" rosin (the guy I bought my bass from gave me an old tub of Pop's and some Kolstein all-weather)...

Well, I bought a tub of Petz (#3 medium), and I'm a bit mystified. The rosin itself is in an aluminum "cup", but the top of the rosin is level with the edges of the cup! How do I "get rid of" the aluminum so that I can apply the rosin?!

God, this sounds stupid, doesn't it??

-a

Many rosins are supplied that way. Cut into the aluminum, and you can then usually use your fingers to rip off a strip all around the cake so you can easily access the edges of the rosin cake with the bow.

Monte · #16 11-03-2001, 10:40 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by amcrory

Well, I bought a tub of Petz (#3 medium), and I'm a bit mystified. The rosin itself is in an aluminum "cup", but the top of the rosin is level with the edges of the cup! How do I "get rid of" the aluminum so that I can apply the rosin?!

Help yourself and throw out the Petz. Keep the container and put some Carlsson's, Nyman's, or Kolsteins in the Petz container so no one will steal it.

Monte

Don Higdon · #17 11-04-2001, 07:10 AM

Monte: You beat me to it.
amcro: Dump the Petz.
Whatever else you get, circumcise the cup with a razor blade so that about 1/8" of rosin is left protruding.

Seems like every local music store sells Petz, and so many new bassists get screwed.

oldsaw · #18 11-04-2001, 12:57 PM

WOW, I sure have missed the insightful discusssions here in "Rosin".

I agree with the aformentioned comments about Petz. Here in the northern wastelands of Minnesota, I use Pops during the both days of summer and change to Nyman the rest of the year.

Mark

amcrory · #19 11-05-2001, 12:30 AM

Consider the Petz dumped!

I used the Kolstein all-weather today, and I think I'd like to try the the Carlson!

Thx for the all the advice about what seems like a lame subject.

-a

Bob Gollihur · #20 11-05-2001, 07:45 AM

I had a cake of Petz that I used for a few years, and later acquired Pirastro, which was better.

But I got a sample cake of Kolstein, which was better yet, but then at the recommendations of a friend bought some Carlsson Swedish. I love it, what a difference -- and I've since gotten in a dozen cakes to sell as my main rosin.

Life is too short for bad rosin.