Double Bass Rosin your hair in one direction only?

[jtlownds]

We have all been taught to rosin our bows in only one direction, ie, frog to tip. While this is the method that I use, I can think of no reason not to scrub it in both directions. Is there some reasoning behind this method, or is it just tradition? Is there a possibilty of damage by applying rosin in both directions? I have never been given a reason for this procedure, and was hoping that some of y'all might enlighten me.

 

[andy rice]

i once asked my bow person this same question. she told me that the friction generated from going both directions was somehow bad for the hair. not very technical, i know, but i followed her advice.

 

[jtlownds]

Thanks for the response Andy. People seem to be pretty adamant about the procedure, but have never given me an acceptable answer

 

[Jumbotron]

This is interesting--I never knew that about bass bows. I've played violin since I was a kid, and nobody ever told me to rosin one way. So either violinists rosin differently from bassists, or my teachers never corrected me (and they're the sorts of teachers who really, really would know something like that).

 

[Rem's]

Our rosin is stickier than violonists' one...maybe a reason ? Maybe in both directions, the sudden change of direction with a sticky rosin can fragilize the extremities of the hair. But it's not scientific at all, just an idea

 

[Mitchthebassplayer]

I, too, have been yelled at by teachers for doing this and now I only do it one way....I asked my teacher why once and he said it has to do with how the hair is installed in the bow and the direction of the natural grip fibers in the hair

 

[BassBus]

I can only think it may be something to do with the structure of the hair. As far as I know it is scaly and these scales will more than likely face in one direction. I am no expert on the subject though and I stand to be corrected.

 

[Happynoj]

I've always done mine both ways. No one has ever told me not to do it, and I've never had any problems with any of my bows.

I reckon it's an urban myth.

 

[WarriorJoe7]

hair has grip fibers? hmmm

 

[22pauld22]

hmm I never asked .. how obedient huh .. I just assumed that it would some how loosen the hair .. the same way if you break a hair you are told to snap it off by pulling at 90 degrees rather than pulling it straight out

 

[Jeremy Darrow]

hair has grip fibers? hmmm

More like scales I think, and those scales are all oriented in the same direction. Have you ever seen a shampoo commercial where they show a simulated closeup of hair and it's striated, that's what folks are talking about. In fact, if your hair is long enough you can run your finger one way along the length of one strand and it will glide smoothly, go the other way and it will tend to stick.

Maybe you can damage the hair by applying rosin both ways, though the same damage probably happen to a lesser extent during upbows too. But I'm just guessing.

 

[Uncletoad]

So does that mean a bow rehair includes checking each strand for the orientation of the "grain" or scales to be sure it's put on in the right direction?

 

[Jeremy Darrow]

So does that mean a bow rehair includes checking each strand for the orientation of the "grain" or scales to be sure it's put on in the right direction?

I think that when hair is shipped from suppliers it is already bundled with the grain pointed in the same direction. Since it all grows the same it's not so much a matter of sorting and checking as it's a matter of keeping it all bundled together from horse to bow.

Again, I'm not certain here, I'm just making an educated guess.

 

[JoeyNaeger]

Those barbs are actually a myth. I've read documents and heard this first hand from people who have looked at the hair under a microscope (Jim Hamm for one) that all so that these barbs don't exist.

 

[BassBus]

Here is a web page looking at human hair under a microscope. Now, I don't know if horse hair is any different but I can't imagine it would be. Educate me.

http://www.hairdressersus.com/under the microscope.asp

 

[Uncletoad]

So which way is it installed?

One direction rosin would smoth down the "scales" another it would clog them up.

Where are the bowmakers here....

 

[jtlownds]

To any of you folks who do re hairs, do you orient the hair in any particular direction, IE, root end to the frog and other end to the tip, or vice versa? I am also a former violinist who used to rosin in both directions, and never got my wrist slapped for that either.

 

[Jeremy Darrow]

I didn't say anything about barbs, just scales, or cuticles as the link above described them. Those photographs didn't look mythical to me.

I guess that the scales would face so than they would be smoothed by a downbow, which has more grip naturally, and would allow for better grip on the less grippy upbow.

We definitely need an expert here.

 

[Michael Eisenman]

One rehairer that I watched takes half the hair in a hank, swaps it end for end, and distributes it throughout the hank. The idea is that you bow in both directions, so if hair does have a "grain," take advantage of it. He also swiped on the rosin in both directions, if I remember correctly.

 

[GriffithLea]

Our rosin is stickier than violonists' one...maybe a reason ? Maybe in both directions, the sudden change of direction with a sticky rosin can fragilize the extremities of the hair. But it's not scientific at all, just an idea

That's the reason. If you rosin in both directions, the cake will adhere to the hair when you stop to change direction, and will generally result in a broken hair or two (or few).

Obviously, this is more of a problem with soft rosins, and less of one with hard varieties.

If you were to let the cake go off the end of the bow before reversing direction, i.e. never stop the bow on the cake, there won't be any issue.