Double Bass What's the best rosin to use?

[philopadaumus]

I'm still kinda new to the bass and now learning the pros and cons of my instrument. My teacher says to only use Carlson's Rosin because our climate is similar to Sweden, and Pops rosin is just too sticky for the northeast climate. I'm starting to think that the Carlson's rosin isn't sticky enough. It causes me to dig into the strings to avoid that scratchy "I can't breath" sound. So what are your experiences with rosins? I just want easy playing and a nice vibration on the strings without the "I can't breath" sound. What do you consider? Also I'm using Spiros, so there shouldn't be any problems there..

 

[Lee Moses]

I doubt Pop's is too sticky for the northeast climate. It is made in Houston, TX, which is about as humid as it gets.

As for your question, there is certainly no single objective correct answer.

I used Pop's and only Pop's for years--it was what my first instructors used, I got in the habit of using it, it was good enough, and it was as easy to find as any bass rosin.

But then I tried Kolstein a little over a year ago, and found it wasn't as noisy as the Pop's. So that's what I'm using now (All-Weather).

 

[philopadaumus]

When you say "noisy" are you talking about how much pops makes the strings vibrate or a "scratchy" sound? I've had pops but my teacher told me to throw it away so I did, but from what I can remember it was very sticky. I see that I'm going to have to try a variety of rosins before I stick with one that's right for my instrument. I wish my instructor would have simply told me to do that, instead of being so gung ho on Carlson's.

 

[pnchad]

Yep - telling you to 'throw it out' is crazy

If you get a good draw using it why not? And, you can't experiment if it's in the dump

 

[Lee Moses]

When you say "noisy" are you talking about how much pops makes the strings vibrate or a "scratchy" sound?

I was kind of getting a scratchy sound. It might have been a combination of the bow and hair I was using at that time along with the Pop's, but whatever it was disappeared when I switched to Kolstein.

 

[Reiska]

I`m no expert of any kind but I do know that I live in Finland, which is just next to Sweden and that Pop`s rosin works well with Spirocores, at least for me.

 

[Jeremy Darrow]

Pick something and stick with it until you can get a good sound with it. If you can't get a good sound with a particular set up after really working with it for a considerable amount of time, consider making a change.

 

[Reiska]

I was amazed how the sound changed when I got my new bow, which is quality carbon bow with black hair. Many recommended here black hair and sticky rosin for Spirocores and so I choose Pop`s rosin and black hair. Many consider Spirocores beeing scratchy and difficult under the bow, or even unbowable, but still there are some amazing arco players like Terry Plumeri and Renaud Garcia Fons, who use exclusively Spirocores and some major orchestra ( can`t remember which ) section uses Spiro solos tuned down etc. It`s said a lot here too that the scratchiness is more audible to the player than it is to the audience.

I`m no expert and am not aiming to be an orchestral player but still I believe it`s about what you learn to live with and what kind of sound you`re aiming at. I love Terry Plumeri`s Spirocore sound and bowed guts -type of sound. I don`t mind them beeing scratchy, thats part of the magic and I might get that woodwind / voice -kind of sound and that rough and powerful kind of folk / solo jazz sound, if I shed obsessively enough I have a gut G over Velvet Animas now and I`m waiting for a used set of Gamut guts to arrive. Same bow and same rosin, although I have dryer Petz rosin too. If fresh Spiros are scratchy let alone plain gut, no matter which rosin or hair on the bow. Like someone here said, it`s not the strings sounding scratchy, it`s you sounding scratchy. Go figure...

Hope that you find a solution to your problem!

Reiska

 

[lrhbass]

I'm still kinda new to the bass and now learning the pros and cons of my instrument. My teacher says to only use Carlson's Rosin because our climate is similar to Sweden, and Pops rosin is just too sticky for the northeast climate. I'm starting to think that the Carlson's rosin isn't sticky enough. It causes me to dig into the strings to avoid that scratchy "I can't breath" sound. So what are your experiences with rosins? I just want easy playing and a nice vibration on the strings without the "I can't breath" sound. What do you consider? Also I'm using Spiros, so there shouldn't be any problems there..

Try oak.. it makes a difference,it is a little more costly, but worth the money!

 

[philopadaumus]

I was amazed how the sound changed when I got my new bow, which is quality carbon bow with black hair. Many recommended here black hair and sticky rosin for Spirocores and so I choose Pop`s rosin and black hair. Many consider Spirocores beeing scratchy and difficult under the bow, or even unbowable, but still there are some amazing arco players like Terry Plumeri and Renaud Garcia Fons, who use exclusively Spirocores and some major orchestra ( can`t remember which ) section uses Spiro solos tuned down etc. It`s said a lot here too that the scratchiness is more audible to the player than it is to the audience.

I`m no expert and am not aiming to be an orchestral player but still I believe it`s about what you learn to live with and what kind of sound you`re aiming at. I love Terry Plumeri`s Spirocore sound and bowed guts -type of sound. I don`t mind them beeing scratchy, thats part of the magic and I might get that woodwind / voice -kind of sound and that rough and powerful kind of folk / solo jazz sound, if I shed obsessively enough I have a gut G over Velvet Animas now and I`m waiting for a used set of Gamut guts to arrive. Same bow and same rosin, although I have dryer Petz rosin too. If fresh Spiros are scratchy let alone plain gut, no matter which rosin or hair on the bow. Like someone here said, it`s not the strings sounding scratchy, it`s you sounding scratchy. Go figure...

Hope that you find a solution to your problem!

Reiska

Maybe it is me then. The double bass is such a moody instrument though. I'm really passionate of learning this instrument I swear, but there's a ton of challenges. I've been using the carbon I love it's response. I just wish there was less tension on the strings then I wouldn't have that scratchy sound. This might sound crazy, but what if I were to run a blow dryer on the strings to warm them up a bit? Is that crazy?? LOL

 

[philopadaumus]

I was amazed how the sound changed when I got my new bow, which is quality carbon bow with black hair. Many recommended here black hair and sticky rosin for Spirocores and so I choose Pop`s rosin and black hair. Many consider Spirocores beeing scratchy and difficult under the bow, or even unbowable, but still there are some amazing arco players like Terry Plumeri and Renaud Garcia Fons, who use exclusively Spirocores and some major orchestra ( can`t remember which ) section uses Spiro solos tuned down etc. It`s said a lot here too that the scratchiness is more audible to the player than it is to the audience.

I`m no expert and am not aiming to be an orchestral player but still I believe it`s about what you learn to live with and what kind of sound you`re aiming at. I love Terry Plumeri`s Spirocore sound and bowed guts -type of sound. I don`t mind them beeing scratchy, thats part of the magic and I might get that woodwind / voice -kind of sound and that rough and powerful kind of folk / solo jazz sound, if I shed obsessively enough I have a gut G over Velvet Animas now and I`m waiting for a used set of Gamut guts to arrive. Same bow and same rosin, although I have dryer Petz rosin too. If fresh Spiros are scratchy let alone plain gut, no matter which rosin or hair on the bow. Like someone here said, it`s not the strings sounding scratchy, it`s you sounding scratchy. Go figure...

Hope that you find a solution to your problem!

Reiska

Also I think you're right about the hair. I've been reading up on the Spiros producing a "Scratchy" sound under the bow. I'm going to try something more coarse than what I currently have. We'll see what happens

 

[korotkov]

I wouldnt be too hasty in trying different strings and rosin. Carlsson is a great choice, and it doesn't dry as fast as other rosins so there's a lot of chance that you have a useable cake. Spirocores are a bit tricky to bow, but once you get used to them it's no big deal. Your teacher is probably trying to encourage you to just practice more which is essential for any beginner.

I am still very new to the bass, after playing just a few years but I have tried quite a few different types of rosin and I still prefer the one that my first teacher said I should use, it's kolstein all weather, and it's very close to carlsson rosin which I also liked.

 

[Tom Lane]

I haven't tried Pops rosin nor Spirocore strings, but, when my tone was scratchy, it was because I didn't apply enough arm-weight to the string. My teacher taught me to apply the entire weight of my arm and then back off. No more scratchiness as long as I remember my lesson. Sometimes when my right arm gets fatigued, it comes back and when I hear it, more weight cures it.

 

[philopadaumus]

I haven't tried Pops rosin nor Spirocore strings, but, when my tone was scratchy, it was because I didn't apply enough arm-weight to the string. My teacher taught me to apply the entire weight of my arm and then back off. No more scratchiness as long as I remember my lesson. Sometimes when my right arm gets fatigued, it comes back and when I hear it, more weight cures it.

Yeah I'm with you on the arm wait. Had a convo with my instructor a few hour ago and she basically told me the same thing. I think it's a combination of things. I definitely want to chair the bow hair to something more coarse. I dunno, I'll figure it out one way or another

 

[Reiska]

Like I said I´m no expert of any kind and am very much a beginner as well. I`m switching from french bow to german and at the time I did my searches about what kind of bow setup works well with Spiros I was using a low-end german bow with fairly dead white hair. So it`s no wonder that when I got my new Metropolitan bow w/ black hair the sound was different, better and seemed to come out easier.

The reason I was using Spiros ( I still have a set of s42w`s in my bag as a backup ) was that they worked well enough in every situation and because many of my bass heroes are using them. I play 90 / 10 pizz / arco with other people but practice 50 / 50. Like I said, I love the bowed tone that some masters get out of them. Another thing is that for me and many others they seem to be the default db strings. They are very easy to live with, loud, last forever, get better with age, minimal amount of bs. Many strings are easier to get a smooth bowed sound but then they lack some of those qualities and / or characteristics in the sound.

Every time I go to a lesson and have some kind of problem or question about bowing in my head my teacher just nails it. Even when he is mainly a pizz player, doubler and french bow user he gets a great sound with my bass and german bow. Equipment can help and may make a difference, that much I know and have tried different things, but still it`s all in the hands. This has been slapped on my face a few times lately