who uses Pops rosin?

[Marcus Johnson]

Hehe..Aaron "Google" Noguer.

[Andy Allen]

I use Pop's Rosin - mostly because it's easy to get from the local music shop when mine disapears.

At first I thought it was a clever marketing trick, sort of a "planned evanescence," to promote sales.

But then I realised that my 1 year-old son can now reach on top of my desk and is attracted, magpie-like, to the little red pots. One day I'll find out where he then hides them and I'll have a supply for life.

So, when all's said and done, what I really need from a rosin is a nondescript, unatractive container.

Andy

[Silversorcerer]

Originally Posted by blue flame

On a similar topic, do you apply rosin by drawing the bow in the downbow direction only, or updown updown? I was always taught downbow only, as that's the way to get the rosin into the barbs of the hair. The hair is supposed to be installed with its natural, microscopic barbs opposing the downbow. Applying rosin in the upbow direction flattens the barbs and makes them useless.

Is this common knowledge or an esoteric detail? To this day when I see anyone applying rosin upbow it makes me gasp.

I use both directions, and I understand what you are talking about with the "barbs";- however, I did some research (couldn't find the link right now) some time back and it appears that the natural barbs of the hair actually must be scraped off through use before the rosin will take in either direction. The rosin sticks to the inner layer of the hair, not the barbs. This is why new bow hair has a break in period. It takes considerable use to wear the barbs off the hair and prior to that (after as well) they really only inhibit the rosin from sticking to the hair and don't contribute to the friction of the hair on the string. so rather than flattening them out, you really just want to scrape them off! I know it doesn't sound intuitive, but there has been a substantial amount of investigation of a scientific nature in this area complete with microsopic analysis of the rosin crystals, the bow hair, the barbs, and where the rosin "takes" to the hair.


Incidentally, my Pops is dated July 2002 on the bottom of the cake and it still very effective, not "hard" or "glazed" over. I don't leave it out of the plastic container lest it ooze into some useless shape. I have heard that natural rosin does oxidize and should be kept sealed between applications. I hope this helps you with Pops if you like to use it.

[kurt muroki]

I may be wrong, but I've felt that poeple like rosin depending on their playing style. In NYC at least, the heavy orchestral musicians that went to Curtis like pops rosin, Juilliard guys like pops and Nymans, Edgar Meyer likes violin rosin. I worked with bassists from berlin and japan recently and they like Pops and nymans for orchestral playing and violin rosin for solo. My favorite rosin of all time is made by a bassist in NYC which is a blend of rosins that he melted in a pot together. It's a messy option, but i'm surprised that more people aren't trying to make their own mix.

[bassbaterie]

Originally Posted by airbass

1 year-old son can now reach on top of my desk and is attracted, magpie-like, to the little red pots. One day I'll find out where he then hides them and I'll have a supply for life.

My little boy does that too...mostly stuffing it in the bow quiver which he calls a "christmas sock". I try to keep all out of sight and reach but occasionally I find a trail of my bass stuff like the metronome (still ticking like the crocodile in Peter Pan), pencils, mute, pickup. I am afraid he will swallow the wolf tone eliminator which he thinks is an especially hard-won prize as it is only accessible while strings are being changed.

[larry]

I used to use Pops, then I tried my teacher's Carlsson and never went back.

[Don Higdon]

Originally Posted by blue flame

On a similar topic, do you apply rosin by drawing the bow in the downbow direction only, or updown updown? I was always taught downbow only, as that's the way to get the rosin into the barbs of the hair. The hair is supposed to be installed with its natural, microscopic barbs opposing the downbow. Applying rosin in the upbow direction flattens the barbs and makes them useless.

Is this common knowledge or an esoteric detail? To this day when I see anyone applying rosin upbow it makes me gasp.

You were taught correctly; down only. Forget the barb business.

[Steve Boisen]

It's funny how people always say a soft rosin like Pop's works best in colder climates. The enitre bass section of the Florida Orchestra uses Pop's year round (hurricane season too!). I use either Pop's or Kolstein Soft myself.

- Steve

http://kaybass.att.home.net

[Silversorcerer]

Just some other opinions that have more recently informed mine:

"At the stage when bow makers start working with their clients, an entirely new set of considerations comes into play. “We start to talk about ‘bite’,” says Beckley. “This is a wonderfully subjective thing that’s tough to quantify. I think people’s perceptions of horsehair come from some drawings from the turn of the century, which have little arms and fingers coming out of horsehairs, grabbing onto your strings. When you actually see photos of magnified hair, there aren’t barbs at all. I think bite comes from the hair’s ability to hold rosin." - http://www.johnson-inst.com/horse.htm

"Friction between the hair of the bow and string is a primary factor. This friction is created not, as is often supposed, by barbs or scales on the hair - the hair is actually quite smooth - but by rosin. Tiny particles of rosin cling to the hair due to an ion exchange between them. Rosin has the property of becoming sticky when heated above room temperature. One might be surprised to learn that, as a result of friction, the temperature at the point of contact between string and hair can increase by 25 to 30 F in a matter of milliseconds."- http://www.alfstudios.com/news/bowing.html

"To date the best bowing material is the combination of natural horsehair and rosin. Contrary to popular belief there are no barbs or ridges on horsehair: it's smooth and shiny.

Rosin breaks up into tiny particles with sharp edges. There's an ionic interchange between the collagen in the horsehair and the rosin resulting in a mutual attraction between these two complex molecules somewhat like static electricity. During bowing the particles of rosin get trapped between the string and the bowhair."-
http://www.scavm.com/norman.htm

"When rosining your bow, use long stokes back and forward across the entire length of the hair. If you don’t have enough rosin on your bow the hair will not grip the strings and the sound produced will be patchy and uneven. "-
http://www.animato.com.au/en-us/dept_932.html

And finally this one just for Don Higdon and us bassists:
"One time-tested method of rosining violin, viola, and cello bows is to use long, slow strokes back and forth along the entire length of the hair. Bow hair which needs more rosin will cut into the rosin cake, while hair which is sufficiently rosined will slide easily over the cake on a layer of powdered rosin. Bass bows are traditionally rosined in quick, long strokes from the frog to the tip as bass rosin is too soft to allow the successful use of up and down bow strokes on the rosin cake."-
http://www.sharmusic.com/bowcare.asp?catID=75

Different strokes for different folks, no? But it has nothing to do with barbs. Up-down has worked fine for me, but then I tend to challenge tradition, traditionally.

[larry]

Originally Posted by Scot

I bought a can of Carlssons a couple of months ago to replace a rock-hard cake of Pops. Turns out the Carlssons is just as hard as the Pops was. Even after applying vigerously for several minutes it's still hard as rock and I don't feel like I'm getting a lot of rosin on there. Is this normal? I am getting some rosin sticking to the strings where I bow but not that much. I forgot to ask my teacher about it the other day.

-Scot

Could be old? Keep it sealed in plastic. I've had mine get hard if I leave it out , but it's always been soft when I first bought it.

I've also been able to salvage old rosin by cracking it in half and finding softer stuff inside.

[reiver1]

Since winter's approaching, I just ordered 2 Pops', shipped, for under $10. I love a bargain.

[Marcus Johnson]

Just got some Carlsson's yesterday. Ahhhhhhhhh......

[Don Higdon]

A new young guy in the orchestra keeps his Carlsson's in a Petz box. Gotta love it.

[Scot]

Originally Posted by larry

Could be old? Keep it sealed in plastic.

I think it was an old cake. It was used when the shop gave it to me. I do have to start getting in the habit of not leaving my Carlssons lying out.

-Scot

[Steve Boisen]

I posted earlier that I used Pops and Kolstein Soft but so far I really like this Super Sensitive Clarity Winter Bass rosin I just got from Lemur. It's a synthetic, hypo-allergenic rosin and it looks kind of strange...sort of like of like a tub of vaseline . I've tried Carlsson's and while it grabbed the strings really well, I found it would lose it's tack after you stopped playing for a few minutes. I'd put the bow down for a song or two and when I used it again the hair wouldn't grab the string at all until the rosin "warmed up" again . I never had this experience with any other rosin I've tried and a few others bassists I know have had this same problem with Carlsson. I've also found that you can't mix Nyman's with Pop's; they sort of cancel each other out. Anyway, that's my rosin story. Also, don't waste your time with Thomastik or Sherman's bass rosin.

- Steve

http://kaybass.home.att.net

[Steve Boisen]

Okay, I changed my mind. I don't like the Clarity rosin anymore. I'm back to using Pop's for now.

- Steve

http://kaybass.home.att.net

[bannah_avecmoi]

I like using pops rosin, for a bit i used some cheap stuff from the school then i decided i needed to go out and buy some better rosin and its great!!
hannah

[bassclef67]

Originally Posted by Blimpdog

Okay, I changed my mind. I don't like the Clarity rosin anymore. I'm back to using Pop's for now.

- Steve

http://kaybass.home.att.net

Hi Steve,

What did you not like about the Clarity Rosin after a few days of use? I use Pops right now and I am a newbie but am very curious about other Rosins. There are many comments about Carlssons and Nymans but since the Clarity is newer there are less comments. If you (or anyone else on the forum) have any, I would appreciate them.

Thanks

Jeff

[Steve Boisen]

The Clarity Winter Bass is soft like Pop's, but after working with it for a while I fing that it doesn't grab the strings as much as I need it too at times. With other rosins, you can increase the tack by adding more rosin to the hair. The Clarity is okay, but seems to have a "tack threshold" where it just won't grab the string any better even though you apply more. I'm back to using the Pop's although I do like the Kolstien soft too.

- Steve

http://kaybass.home.att.net

[Monte]

Originally Posted by Blimpdog

The Clarity Winter Bass is soft like Pop's, but after working with it for a while I fing that it doesn't grab the strings as much as I need it too at times. With other rosins, you can increase the tack by adding more rosin to the hair. The Clarity is okay, but seems to have a "tack threshold" where it just won't grab the string any better even though you apply more. I'm back to using the Pop's although I do like the Kolstien soft too.

- Steve

http://kaybass.home.att.net

Steve,

Although I don't use either one, did you try the Clarity on fresh hair? This sounds like the symptoms I heard on the 2xbasslist, which suggested the Clarity didn't mix well with rosin already on the bow.

Monte