Double Bass Too much rosin on bow

[SVT4001]

We rehair our bows for a reason.

That about covers it...

Play it out or rehair it.

Respectfully,

Joe

 

[NicholasF]

Play it out or rehair it.

Respectfully,

Joe

Truer words have never been spoken

Just wondering, how often do you rosen your bows TBer's? I personally will do it once (usually more than enough rosin) if I'm practicing until I feel that the friction is lacking, and at a performance, usually one up and down between songs or every other song, wiping down the strings

 

[Jon Stefaniak]

When trying out bows last year, it was suggested to me to wipe off the strings after rosining. Especially if you're rosining and trying out, comparing between even two or three bows, you will have a hard time keeping the rosin on each at similar amounts and keeping it from building up on the strings by the fourth bow is crucial to being able to tell the difference in each bow's sound. My recommendation is to rosin the bow, then play a light tremolo covering all of the hair (frog and tip) - this will both help spread and warm the rosin and remove the excess rosin that will fly off when playing anyway. Then wipe off the strings (with downward strokes-keeps rosin away from the fingerboard), the top of the bridge and the body of the bass and bow with a cloth you've designated as your rosin cloth. If you wipe everything down again when you are done playing, you will have a much easier job keeping your bass clean. It is my experience that most of the rosin that ends up on you bass and bridge ends up there immediately after rosining and doesn't help you at all in playing. Rosining vigorously will make your bow sticky, but it'll also leave snowflakes all over your gear - that is simply wasted rosin that will end up muting the sound of your strings and, if not cleaned up, damaging the varnish on your bass and bow.
Don't get me wrong, I don't use rosin sparingly in the orchestra - we need a good amount to get the strings going- but don't let the wasted rosin mess up your gear and your sound.

 

[MartinBorgen]

So... Is there any special reason to clean bow hair?

I just play. At some parts, my black bow hair is white on the topside. Why bother, it gets white anyways? What are the problems of old rosin? [that won't go away from some playing?]

 

[Anonymatt]

Yeah, right?


I saw thing where Gary Karr said he uses rosins about every four hours of playing. That seems like a long time for someone that's really playing the hell out of the thing.

 

[Jon Stefaniak]

Gary Karr is not really the model bassist to be imitating in most cases. He only plays on smaller solo basses using solo tuning - very different response from an instrument and setting most bassists use for studying and orchestra playing. He tends to bow the bass very close to the bridge with a very slow bow speed and, I think, uses a cello rosin rather than a sticky bass rosin. When I saw him in recital at the ISB 11 years ago, he would wipe the rosin off his strings with what looked like steel wool religiously between each piece he played.
But if your instrument, strings, setting, choice and amount of rosin, bowing technique and (importantly) repertoire are not suited for this playing approach, you are not likely to achieve the same results.
I wouldn't expect to get four hours of playing Beethoven symphonies out of one time rosining the bow (not even 4 minutes using cello rosin)

 

[tyb507]

I've had success using alcohol to clean built up rosin off my bow hair. Removing the frog from the stick and soaking the hair in a bowl of alcohol for several minutes, then using a toothbrush has worked well for me, and little risk of damaging the finish on the bow. Don't know if I would say it renewed it completely (in fact I wouldn't say that), but it took the edge off.

 

[Anonymatt]

I wouldn't expect to get four hours of playing Beethoven symphonies out of one time rosining the bow (not even 4 minutes using cello rosin)

Noted. Thanks Jonn!

 

[George700DL]

There is no such thing as too much rosin.

For the type of music I play, this is absolutely true. The bass needs to be as loud as possible, without amplification. When we play for dancers, we often only have 1-2 violins, 1 viola, and 1 bass, and the rhythm needs to be heard. Dance cycles are typically 15-25 minutes, so I rosin the hell out of the bow before each cycle (to the point where the hair is basically just 1 shiny unit). By the end of the cycle, the hair is nearly rosin-free.

But this isn't symphony playing.

George

 

[Donald J Grabowski]

I recently got a huge hair buzz from too much soft sticky rosin on my bow hair, esp. at the upper ⅓ where I tend to overdo it. I grabbed a powdery hard rosin (may even be cello rosin!) to balance out the stickiness and reduce the buzz. It really worked.. better tone quality too! Dr. Mark Morton (at the former American School of D.Bass) stressed the use of 2 rosins always... a soft (for grip) and a powdery (for tone). That is how I got the idea. Hope this helps any sticky situation you find yourself in! Don

 

[SeaMist_au]

Usually play it out. If it has clumped a bit use a hair mite comb. The teeth are just the right size for combing a bow.

 

[ErikvanD]

I use those small alcohol tissues/pads on my strings. Work perfectly fine and there is so little alcohol in the tissue that it will not drip. I have used some diluted ammonia in the past for cleaning bowhair. I got the tip from a violin player. Put some diluted (with water) ammonia in a soup plate and wash the hair in it. Gently brush with a toothbrush and rinse thoroughly with water afterwards. After that the hair was as new and took the rosin quite well. But I only did that with a used bow I got that was pretty dirty. Normally, when the hair has too much rosin, I just play it off...

 

[milothefultz]

Thanks for all the information, people! I bought a new bow that a nasty amount of crystallized rosin chunks near the tip. Took a new toothbrush to it and just run it up and down lengthwise for about a minute. The sizzle is mostly gone and the chunks have greatly diminished.