Double Bass Rosin for Slap

[pi_r_squared]

no, not THAT kind of rosin....

Has anyone used a rosin bag (like a baseball player or bowler might use) on their right hand to make it easier to "hook" a string for slap?

I've been going back and forth (the curse of an adjustable bridge) between a little higher action to make it easier to catch a string, and a little lower action for more consistent volume on a slap.

I though about heading over to a sporting goods store and getting a rosin bag to try to give me a little more grip to hook the strings with the fingers on my right hand.

I want to give it a shot, but think it may end up just being a "crutch", and maybe I ought to spend a few more weeks in the woodshed first. Anyone tried this with any success?

Thanks in advance.

 

[Sputter]

I see no one answered your question. Did you get the rosin?

My thoughts are that if you need a sticky feeling to your fingers that perhaps you are relying too much on hooking the string rather than a glancing kind of pull, which actually will get the string to jump faster than trying to hook under it.

Now if your fingers are too dry that's another issue. I use a cake of bees wax lotion bar. Something like Link Removed

This does two things - keeps my hands moisturized and a wee bit sticky unless you use too much, and it also helps reduce friction which helps to prevent the skin from chaffing too much.

If you use too much your fingers can become a bit slippery, which you don't want. Keep a cake of this on your speaker cab and every few songs rub the cake with your fingers.

But mostly, experiment/practice with using as little hook as possible by glancing the fingers off the string at an angle. You can work up better speed this way. Instead of using your whole arm/elbow, use mostly the wrist in a circular motion and flick the string off your fingers at a glancing angle. Once you get used to it, the strings will kind of jump and snap back, and it will be like dribbling a basketball. Try to work at NOT having to hook UNDER the string to get your snap.

When you hook and use the whole arm you are pushing and pulling string up and down and it's harder to get the string to rebound naturally and work for you.

 

[pi_r_squared]

I haven't tried the rosin bag yet. Really not going for "sticky", it's sort of hard to describe how dry rosin leaves your hands feeling.

Up to this point, practice has made as much difference as anything, BUT I've found I need to keep the numbers with more precise slapping near the beginning of the set. By the end of the set it seems either perspiration, or maybe just oils in the skin take a serious toll on any "finesse" I have at trying to control the volume of the "hook" (for lack of a better word).

Might try the rosin bag, just to see how it works......but sort of shying away if it might become a "crutch".

Thanks for the reply.