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Double Bass Question: switching Rosins

Rayzorx

Rayzorx

Aug 17, 2004
135
0
70
outside of Los Angeles
homepage.mac.com
#1
I bought my first bow a while back, an inexpensive carbon one with white hair. I use Pops with it, and after the initial applications, it seems to grip the string fine.

I just got a new wood bow also with white hair, and this time I got some Kolsteins rosin. I've got about 5 hours on it, and I'm still getting some squeaks and slips from it.

I'm wondering, if the little bit of Pops residue on the strings would cause this? I've rubbed them with a cloth but should I also use something like alcohol to clean them? (Or Skippy ;-) )

Also, I'm thinking of cleaning the hair and trying Pops to see if it makes a difference.

Any advise / comments?
 
#4
jfv said:
LOL, I've had my current bow for over a year, I've switched
between like 4 different rosins, and I have NEVER cleaned
the hair. Rosin wears off as you play.

Squeaks dont come from rosin, they come from inadequate
bow control, wrong speed or position and you generate
some unwanted overtones. Practice, practice, practice :)
Click to expand...

Yes I agree with the the bow control. I'll admit I am new to Arco, and it's probably more me than the rosin.
 
#5
Using a dry rosin will give an extremely scratchy sound when playing orchestral excerpts. I normally use pops and tried using some kolstein all weather for a few days. The Kolstein rosin turned to powder after a few days and would not come off. I got new hair and will stick to pops because it's the most consistent rosin out there and it helps produce a very big even sound without any **** in the sound like I hear from players who use dry rosin.
 
#6
Yes technique is the most important aspect but even the best technique's are going to sound scratchy if they only use a dry rosin. Basses are different creatures than are violins and cellos and need more effort to play fast clear passages especially on the lower strings. The best Orchestral bass players that I know use very sticky rosin.
 
#7
Rayzorx said:
I bought my first bow a while back, an inexpensive carbon one with white hair. I use Pops with it, and after the initial applications, it seems to grip the string fine.

I just got a new wood bow also with white hair, and this time I got some Kolsteins rosin. I've got about 5 hours on it, and I'm still getting some squeaks and slips from it.

I'm wondering, if the little bit of Pops residue on the strings would cause this? I've rubbed them with a cloth but should I also use something like alcohol to clean them? (Or Skippy ;-) )

Also, I'm thinking of cleaning the hair and trying Pops to see if it makes a difference.

Any advise / comments?
Click to expand...
Maybe the hair on the wood bow is poor quality. Not all bow hair is the same. There's white hair, and then there's white hair. Cheap bleached stuff vs. quality non-bleached. Try having the wood bow rehaired, and ask for the good stuff. Sometimes it's called violin white.

I've never found it necessary to use any sort of solvent to clean rosin off of the strings. I just grip the string down near the bridge between my thumb and forefinger while holding a clean cloth, and pull upward. You know you're doing it right when you get a nice squawk sound. :) Rinse and repeat (that's a figure of speech). The rosin transfers nicely to the cloth.

And I never clean the hair. The best way to clean the hair is play, then clean the strings. Again, rinse and repeat.
 
#9
bbates77 said:
Anyone tried using Nymans? Every DB player I know, except two (and one's also a cellist), uses Nymans - like tree sap. It keeps me going for about 2 days without slipping and screeching.
Click to expand...


Nymans is a good rosin. Nice and smooth without being too sticky. It produces a good tone and is, IMO, better than Pops.

Unfortunately, it doesn't work very well in colder, drier climates. That's when I use Kolstein soft rosin.

However, I don't know how it reacts in very hot weather since I have only used it indoors and in air conditioning.
 
#10
jfv said:
Squeaks dont come from rosin, they come from inadequate
bow control, wrong speed or position and you generate
some unwanted overtones. Practice, practice, practice :)
Click to expand...

My experience has taught me otherwise. I learned 5 years ago from Aaron Robertson of Robertson's Violin's that rosin dust greatly contributes to squeaks. A bow I brought in to evaluate and rehair had this problem. Aaron flip the back of his thumbs nail across the taught hair and a mini-cloud of rosin dust puffed up. We loosened the hair and wiped off the dust on a rag getting a lot off. Then retightened and voila, much better. I had that bow rehaired anyways, and I always am wiping off the rosin dust and putting on fresh (Kolstein All Weather) rosin. Yes -- it's a vicious cycle.
 
#11
The normal cycle: rosin on the hair moves to powder on the strings goes to rag with a few wipes. I've just never had these weird rosin problems that folks report. I've used and mixed Pops, Hidersine, Carlsson, Oak of several grades and it just moves to the strings gradually and I wipe it off. I wear the hair out in about a year, which seems pretty normal.

One thing I have noticed lately since I switched to black hair: I don't need rosin as often. Having just the right tension on the hair helps too. If it is too tight you have to dig in sometimes to get it to catch. Also it helps to warm up the bow by sliding it rapidly over the strings when you first start. A warmed up bow catches faster than a cold bow.
 
#12
Silversorcerer said:
The normal cycle: rosin on the hair moves to powder on the strings goes to rag with a few wipes. I've just never had these weird rosin problems that folks report. I've used and mixed Pops, Hidersine, Carlsson, Oak of several grades and it just moves to the strings gradually and I wipe it off. I wear the hair out in about a year, which seems pretty normal.

One thing I have noticed lately since I switched to black hair: I don't need rosin as often. Having just the right tension on the hair helps too. If it is too tight you have to dig in sometimes to get it to catch. Also it helps to warm up the bow by sliding it rapidly over the strings when you first start. A warmed up bow catches faster than a cold bow.
Click to expand...

Yup, just basic physics, as Rabbath says in Art of the Bow,
when the hair is loser it is able to 'marry' (his term :)) the
string, ie, more hair surface can contact string surface.

Warming up the hair also is best before applying rosin.

My experience is the same as yours Silver, rosin on the
hair has never been an issue. But then I use Oak and
have for a year, every time I get an itch and try putting
on something else it just sound too grabby, or too scratchy,
and I end up with my cake of Oak again wondering why
I never seem to learn :)
 

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