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Double Bass Oak Rosin, RIP(?)

Don Kasper

Don Kasper

Gold Supporting Member
Dec 30, 2012
7,609
14,500
71
Los Angeles/Burbank, CA
#1
I purchased this (new/unused) cake of Oak Bass Rosin back in Dec. '23 from a TB member.
After melting and mixing, it is by far he best rosin I have ever used. It applies easily and has a solid, even grip across all strings/registers, AND, does NOT accumulate on the string, like most rosin(s) I have used. It has a kind of "dryness" (NOT a "gumminess") that is noticeable visually as well as tactilly. Difficult to explain with wordz...
I play Spiro Mittels with a Long C/E extension, and while primarily a "jazzist", I do spend lots (not enuf) time with the bow. The Oak plays beautifully and consistently in all registers.
As I understand, it is no longer available, so I'll enjoy it while it lasts...I will NOT Throw It Out!
TLDR/TMI/ IMFO, of course.
Thanks.
IMG_5323.jpg
 
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#5
Don Kasper said:
I purchased this (new/unused) cake of Oak Bass Rosin back in Dec. '23 from a TB member.
After melting and mixing, it is by far he best rosin I have ever used. It applies easily and has a solid, even grip across all strings/registers, AND, does NOT accumulate on the string, like most rosin(s) I have used. It has a kind of "dryness" (NOT a "gumminess") that is noticeable visually as well as tactilly. Difficult to explain with wordz...
I play Spiro Mittels with a Long C/E extension, and while primarily a "jazzist", I do spend lots (not enuf) time with the bow. The Oak plays beautifully and consistently in all registers.
As I understand, it is no longer available, so I'll enjoy it while it lasts...I will NOT Throw It Out!
TLDR/TMI/ IMFO, of course.
Thanks.
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My amateur interwebs sleuthing says that the trademark for this rosin was renewed in 2018 by Arnold J. & Julie A. Gregorian, who are living in Maryland.

Might be worth trying to call them and see if they're sitting on a stash of it. At the worst, they'll just tell you to get bent.

They might even be willing to sell the formula. Good side hustle. I can see it now...Don Kasper's "Burbank's Finest" Oak Bass Rosin™

(Off topic: I'm totaling stealing "Gaston Brohan" for the next time I need an alias.)
 
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#7
Carl Hillman said:
My amateur interwebs sleuthing says that the trademark for this rosin was renewed in 2018 by Arnold J. & Julie A. Gregorian, who are living in Maryland.

Might be worth trying to call them and see if they're sitting on a stash of it. At the worst, they'll just tell you to get bent.

They might even be willing to sell the formula. Good side hustle. I can see it now...Don Kasper's "Burbank's Finest" Oak Bass Rosin™

(Off topic: I'm totaling stealing "Gaston Brohan" for the next time I need an alias.)
Click to expand...
Your post is a smorgasbord of both Good, and Not-So-Good, Ideas, Carl. Or, shall I call you Gaston?
(I have enough trouble maintaining my Main Hustle, let alone starting a Side Hustle!)
Thx!
 
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#8
DaveAceofBass said:
Tell me more about melting and mixing?
Click to expand...
Here is a good place to start - from my 2015 Post and subsequent Thread:
Don Kasper said:
I had 2 cakes of Nyman-Hartz that were getting small and difficult to handle.
So, I melted them and combined them into 1 "new" cake:
1. It helps to chill both cakes in the freezer for about 20 minutes - this helps them shatter into small pieces/powder.
2. Put into a freezer bag and use pliers or a small hammer to gently pulverize the cakes.
3. Fabricate a foil cup (4 layers - make sure it doesn't leak).
4. Cook over a low flame and melt into a thick syrup. (Use pliers to hold the foil cup.)
5/6. Pour into a small, plastic cup - this one is the top of an aerosol spray can.
7. Wrap the outside of the cup with tape, and draw a line showing where to remove the plastic and expose the rosin. Use an Xacto knife, heated red-hot, to cut thru the line on the plastic cup - this is best done with the cake "chilled", as it will release from the plastic easier - better to flake off than stick, which can make a mess. Use small pliers to peel the plastic off in sections. If the edges are "sharp" or irregular, simply hold the cake over an open flame for a few seconds, and rotate - this will round off those edges.
Put back in the freezer for 5 minutes to stabilize the cake and help it return to room temperature.
8. Let it stabilize overnight, as the core may still be too soft.

This recombined rosin always feels great - I have a theory that the top layer, (that is exposed to the air), dries out(?) and becomes "glassy", and difficult to apply.
I have NO Scientific Evidence to support this theory.
Thanks.


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#10
I got my 1/2 cake from one of the Seattle Symphony players. I think I gave him $5 for it and the same for a couple of other things.

But I looked to replace it once when they were still operating and was too expensive for a sloppy arco jazz guy. I don't remember exactly, but north of $30 and maybe close to $50 shipped.

So, if he does have some to sell, I'm out. Whatever is wrong with my arco playing is not going to be solved with Oak rosin, but it is great.
 
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#11
DaveAceofBass said:
Tell me more about melting and mixing?
Click to expand...

There are a few things that you can do to reconstitute rosin when it dries out. One is to put it in Tupperware for a few hours with a bottle cap full of Purel.

You can also melt it down in the microwave or on the stove and stir it with a toothpick and then let it cool and reform in the freezer. The issue is having a mold. The Wiedoft containers are perfect for this because the silicone is microwave safe and it peels down. Everything else's container is pretty problematic. We've been talking about things like single cells from silicone ice trays.

As long as you are liquifing, nothing stops you from mixing liquid Carlson's with some liquid Pop's for example. That's what mixing and matching refers to.

It's fun...but it doesn't make me an orchestratal bassist. Honestly, Wiedoft is worth what it costs and is very good for my purposes. Pops is fine when it's new and I can buy it in my neighborhood for the cost of a pint of beer (beer is expensive in Seattle).
 
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#20
PBandJazzBass said:
And while I really do like them as a company, Gary’s quote made me mentally facepalm.
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"Do you like soft, hard, waxy, powdery, long-lived, short-lived, grippy, smooth rosins? You're gonna LoOoOove my new product!" Literally throw your entire leatherwood collection straight into the incinerator!

Anyway... My cake of Wiedoeft is over a year old now. I haven't noticed any change in performance, and think it was worth 3-ish Portland beers' worth of dollars. I'm also not an orchestra player (and I'm using the brown braided finale), but maybe I'll snag a crusty old cake of Oak if some hipster offers it to me at the brewery. Trade him for a pint of Spruce Tip IPA, maybe?
 
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