Welcome to our forum. A Message To Our New and Prospective Members . Check out our Forum Rules. Lets keep this forum an enjoyable place to visit.
Private messaging is working again.
Log In
Register
Home
Topic RSS
(0 votes) 
Regular advisor
Regulars
Offline
Does too much rosin adversely affect the performance of the bow?
Is manufacturer quality an issue?
Is scoring the face of the rosin bar with a knife a good idea?
Problem I'm having is that the bow seems to be slipping and yet I have plenty of rosin dust on the strings and some showing up on the instrument so I am quite sure I have more than enough. I clean off the strings once in a while with a cloth dabbed in rubbing alcohol. The hair seems to be in good shape with not a lot of practice hours on it and its a quality bow (Klaus Becker).
Rosin I use is D'Addario Natural Rosin Light VR200. Says its a Student Rosin whatever that means. I scored the face with a knife...used to work fine, now my bow likes to slip on the G and E strings.
Honorary tenured advisor
Regulars
Offline
I told my first instructor that I over rosined my bow , and she told me that there wasn'nt much you could do about it maybe flick some of it off.
Two years later I told my second instructor that I over rosened my bow , She grabbed it and wiped on her blue jeans and said
"OK whats your excuse Now?" 
No matter where you go, there you are!
Offline
It actually sounds like the rosin when you describe it. How does your bow slip exactly? Does it move a lot from side to side? That could be bow technique.
My guess is that you would be better off with a stickier rosin. A dark rosin. The D'Addario Premium Dark would probably suit you perfectly. I don't think that you are doing anything wrong as far as rosin application but I can't be sure. I would be able to say right away if I could draw your bow. Was this an old or new bow? New hair or original? How long ago since it was re-haired?
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Regular advisor
Regulars
Offline
Pierre, I am baffled by my rosin. If I don't score it with a knife, it doesn't seem to apply at all. And with scoring I wonder if its being applied evenly. It always seems like there is too much on the hair but how can you tell until after the fact with rosin dust evidence? How long should an original hair last before re-hairing? I can't tell if a hair is properly rosined or not, I just make sure there is too much of it on the hair if I am suspicious of it being the problem.
Late bloomer said
...Two years later I told my second instructor that I over rosened my bow , She grabbed it and wiped on her blue jeans and said
"OK whats your excuse Now?"
Fantastic! I love that teacher!
I had the problem of slipping with my old bow- which is a cheap one though. I'm pretty shure that it had no relation to the rosin. I can say now, because i'm using FiddlerMan's (good ballanced) bow lately - it goes up-down like a train on a rail way 
. Only one thing that i can notice about too much rosin - it makes sound slightly metallic..
So i could believe more that it could be problem of the bow or the bow technique.... Maybe i'm wrong...
Composer, You should only clean your bow hair if you think it is really bad but most people hardly ever clean it. As for scoring the rosin that only has to be done once. If you are scoring the rosin often you are basically applying powder and not the good sticky stuff. If you have a problem where the bow slips across the string without barely making a sound them try a darker rosin. Make sure your bowing technique is good and you apply enough pressure on the bow as you reach the tip. If the bow is sliding up and down the strings, toward the nut and then toward the bridge it is your bowing technique.
Offline
I agree with everything said above except that I have never experienced a bad sound from too much rosin. Just a big mess to clean up. As Kevin said, dark rosin is stickier. That is what I use.
As far as needing a re-hair. I have only rehaired my bow when there are too few hairs left or the break off too frequently. I can play long and hard enough that it could need to be done after 6-8 weeks but then there is usually only about half the hair left on the bow. You would be frightened if you saw it. 
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Honorary tenured advisor
Regulars
Offline
Question: Do you clean off your strings when the build up can be seen?
Regular advisor
Regulars
Offline
Yes, I clean off the strings regularily with a cloth that has been dabbed with a tiny amount of rubbing alcohol. I've gotten into the bad habit of leaving my bow outside of the case. I wonder if thats a good idea or if dust particles affect the hair/rosin.
Honorary advisor
Regulars
Offline
I have found different rosins to behave differently. For example, some rosins seem to come off the bow as a fine dust which collects on the fingerboard and the surface. The rosin I have been using lately, "Super sensitive Light Rosin" (its the only kind the local music shop has in stock) tends to build up on the strings and then eventually come off in flakes as opposed to a fine dust. However, it doesn't seem to give me as much friction than other rosins I've used. I am thinking of experimenting with some darker rosins, such as the Da'ddario rosin that Pierre mentioned above. I am finding that rosin, like everything else in violin playing, is a matter of experimenting, trying and finding what you like best. there seems to be no formula that says exactly what is best. I guess that is why music is an art as well as a science.
Offline
I have been using Andrea rosin for about 10 years but I notice that the premium D'Addario rosin doesn't give off as much dust. I haven't noticed any worsening in sound production or stickiness. In any case Daddario claim that their rosin gives off less dust. Here is what they say about it.
"Kaplan Premium Rosin is formulated using the original Kaplan recipe, which produces less dust, helping to keep the instrument cleaner. The rosin is packed in an attractive case, designed for easy one-handed use, and is available in light or dark."
I have plenty in st0ck in case anyone is interested.
http://fiddlershop.com/index.p.....path=2_103
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
1 Guest(s)
ELCBK
Mouse
Fiddlerman
Jols
