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To summarise my experience so far - I hadn't rosined my bow for 3 or 4 days and was developing a tone that I liked. Then I put some very dark rosin on the bow using maybe a dozen strokes. And I hated the sound for a day or two.
Maybe if I'd used amber rosin, I'd have responded differently.
Maybe when I'm a better player, I'll respond differently - maybe I'll be able to adjust my tone to the amount of rosin on the bow.
Andrew
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@AndrewH I'm amazed at how when you want an answer, the universe provides one. skip ahead to 2:40. I'll stick with the advice of the professional musicians. seems old Uncle Jesse knew what he's talking about.
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That's an impressive rut down the middle of his rosin!
@Fiddlerman has a video where he suggests rotating the round ones for even wear. I like that advice!
Andrew
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markcobb said
@AndrewH I'm amazed at how when you want an answer, the universe provides one. skip ahead to 2:40. I'll stick with the advice of the professional musicians. seems old Uncle Jesse knew what he's talking about.
I am only saying that I, personally, disagree. You can hand me any bow with so much rosin that it looks like someone is smoking and I'll like the sound just as much. It will be so messy that I wouldn't be happy but the sound won't be an issue for me.
That being said, the build up on the strings would bother me from too much rosin.
I spoke to Gibbles and Felix who felt the same way as I do. Clare feels it sounds gritty when over rosined. I also spoke to a few of my old colleagues who agree with me and spoke to one professional violinist out of all others that felt that the sound was a bit raspy when she had too much rosin.
It's great to search for advice and information on the internet and with people you know and meet but one must decide for oneself what to believe in the end.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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It seems to be highly subjective, a matter of personal feeling/sensitivity. Personally I wouldn't ask anyone for the 'right answer', as I don't think there's one. I just don't like my sound with much rosin, so I use little (logical enough). That may even change in future, or not. Keep experimenting…
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Makes sense wtw.
I have known violinists that like the bow to not grab too much. Some of those violinists look for rosins that are not too sticky. I guess in retrospect, the type of rosin plays a big part on how much rosin we use or do not use. LOL
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
I also use rather little. If strings don't respond anymore I slide the rosin four times over the hair (not four times up and down, but two times up and two down). I rather use rosin twice a day than struggling with too much. Yes, the sound seems too harsh to me if there's too much rosin in my view.
In the past I wiped rosin of the strings every couple minutes. Even on stage I had a paper handkerchief under my tailpiece, so I could wipe it off anytime. Today I sometimes wipe off rosin dust after rosining (four times as described above), but only once and then it's perfect. No handkerchief anymore under my tailpiece, it's on the shelf.
I just read old 2011 posts about rosin and humidity. Pierre there talks about his performance on a wedding at the beach. To me very interesting to learn even he had issues with worse string respond there. Now it seems in situations like that it may be an advantage to be used to little rosin because you can take more if conditions are difficult. It explains why on some days I rosin once and five minutes once more. So it's obviously relative, depending on the conditions.
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I find my violin to be pretty loud. If someone who had their act together were playing it, they'd say, "it projects well".
So my approach, until very recently, was to try and play it more quietly. Using little and very hard rosin was part of that strategy. My self-scam was that if my intonation was off or if I made sloppy, squeeky bow crossings, it would be better if it all weren't so loud.
But I recently decided to get with the program and look for some courage in my bow strokes... and that works out better both for the sound and the bow tracking when I use more rosin than I used to.
I'm learning to live with the "loud".
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I guess everyone has their own preference about how heavily / lightly / frequently to apply rosin - and of course the rosin type. I tend to rosin "lightly and infrequently" with my current rosin of choice (well, I feel it is relatively infrequent - no point saying how often or how many strokes across the rosin cake)
However, I did do an experiment some time back where I simply stopped applying rosin. As the days (yup days!) went by the bow definitely started to "slide" across the strings, but, sound production was still there (when I say slide, I really mean "wander" across the strings - becoming difficult to keep the bow straight)
This in itself was educational, and I found that with tiny, minuscule, bow-hand finger control / adjustments I could play without the wander. More than that, I managed to get a super-soft pppp whisper from the instrument/strings - something I would previously struggle with. Super loud was still there without a doubt, but definitely demanded playing close to the bridge (the temptation initially was to increase the hair tension so I could play with more pressure without the hair contacting the stick - but increased tension is (was) not the answer - not a good plan)
Anyway, it was just an experiment, and largely that experiment is what has fashioned my own approach to rosining - and indeed I believe it also taught me something about bow-control. 
I seriously recommend not copying my mistakes. D'oh - 
Please make your own, different mistakes, and help us all learn :-)
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Fiddlerman said
I am only saying that I, personally, disagree. You can hand me any bow with so much rosin that it looks like someone is smoking and I'll like the sound just as much. It will be so messy that I wouldn't be happy but the sound won't be an issue for me.
That being said, the build up on the strings would bother me from too much rosin.
I spoke to Gibbles and Felix who felt the same way as I do. Clare feels it sounds gritty when over rosined. I also spoke to a few of my old colleagues who agree with me and spoke to one professional violinist out of all others that felt that the sound was a bit raspy when she had too much rosin.
It's great to search for advice and information on the internet and with people you know and meet but one must decide for oneself what to believe in the end.
AT the 2:40 mark he is talking about removing rosin from the bow hair. I was in agreement with you.
I live 15 miles from the Mississippi river in the split weather bluff area. Where the weather actually splits and changes easterly directions. Tornado central. High humidity, take a shower in March and don't dry off until November. The temperature fluctuates a lot from day to night, and what works great in the morning might suck at night.
I like the grab but not the mess. "THAT'S WHY I CHOOSE FIDDLERMAN ROSIN FOR MY PLAYING NEEDS"
When using the neighbors fiddle, he had an old light rosin, and it was messy like snowfall. Tony Montana would have snorted the entire violin. And it didn't grab well.
Uncle Jesse left me some Jade rosin before he left and it grabs the string pretty tough like. It actually makes the pop like I hear in your videos. All I need now is the Fiddlershop Hat, Shirt, and 40 years of practice.
What really flipped my lid was the difference in bowing from one rosin to the next. 3 bows, 3 different rosins, and I can feel the difference. I would not have thought that a rosin could make a louder sound.
Another thing I learned is there is a reason people carry two bows. Not just for accidental breakage, but also for climate changes. You should write a book on the science of the violin.
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LOL Mark,
There are many more equipped to write that book. LOL
Remind me about the hat from time to time. We have been out of stock for a while. They were never a big seller but it's nice to have them available. 
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Fiddlerman said
LOL Mark,
There are many more equipped to write that book. LOL
Remind me about the hat from time to time. We have been out of stock for a while. They were never a big seller but it's nice to have them available.
That's hard to believe, you wear that hat like a marine. In the early vids it's hard to tell if you're going to play that violin or beat someone to death with it. ooorah.
Do you know why marines don't eat pickles out of the jar?
Because they tend to get their heads stuck.
Careful who you tell that to, find the right sailer and he'll try it.
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I know plenty of sailors so I look forward to testing the joke on them.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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I just realised I can't remember the last time I rosined my bow, but I am pretty sure that I used Hill's dark. So if anyone is looking for a nice, dark, long-lasting rosin, then it looks like Hills is the way to go!
(But I suspect there is absolutely no difference between any of the dark rosins that cost $10)
Andrew
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