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Has anyone else had this issue?
I have this viomusic woven carbon fiber bow, that I was originally using Melos light rosin. I went to a local shop and asked about rosins for warm weather, and they recommended Bernardel to me so I bought a cake to try out. I went home and took off the Melos with some rubbing alcohol and let the hair dry out. The next day I tried out the Bernardel, and it sounded raspy and awful, but I thought I'd give it another try. After a couple weeks, the raspy is gone and I rather like the clear, edgy sound I'm getting, but the problem is I only get it for about the first 30 minutes of playing.
I have to apply about 3 times more compared to my other rosins, and I get really nice sound and adherence in the 30mins-1hour of playing --while there's billows of white rosin powder flying up everywhere while I play. Once the billowing stops, I'm back to slippy raspy stuff.
I'm wondering, is this an issue with the rosin, the bow hair, or something awful that happened when I did the alcohol thing?
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It is very doubtful that anything bad happened when you cleaned the hair, in fact I would venture a guess that not ALL of the old rosin was removed. It takes me quite a bit of effort with 180 proof alcohol to clean my bow hair spotless. I use Bakers Rosin and have never had an issue with excessive powder problems.
Other rosins are more prone to dust as they dry out more.
I apply every time I play even if it's several times a day. I don't go overboard and slide the rosin 50 times each application, just a couple of strokes is more than enough for my situation each session.
Most rosins are quite compatible with each other but if you have a soft wintertime rosin applied and then go over it with a harder rosin "made for" warmer use in the hotter climates then perhaps you're not getting a proper 'mix' for the situation. I'd clean again really well, seperating the hairs as it drys, (shouldn't take more than 15 minutes to dry completely in the warm weather) until you don't feel any sticky residue on the hairs and then reapply my rosin. Remember when you've cleaned it so well, it's just like a new rehair job, it will take a LOT of strokes to completely coat the hairs enough.
"If you practice with your hands you must practice all day. Practice with your mind and you can accomplish the same amount in minutes." Nathan Milstein
Honorary tenured advisor
Regulars
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I would guess you need to try a different rosin. I doubt it's the bow hair.
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright
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Provided that it is real Mongolian horse hair and not too old, I agree that the hair is probably not at fault. I use dark rosin and live and work in south Florida. It's just my personal favorite and seems to stick better than light rosin. I've heard a lot of great things about Bakers Rosin but haven't tried it yet. The two rosins that I use the most are Andrea on my work violin and D'addario's dark Artcraft on all other instruments and bows at the shop.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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