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Hi there!
I was wondering if anyone has any recommendations for a rosin for very dry and cold climates? I'm currently using what appears to be the "popular" rosin for violinists in my area (Toronto, Canada), which is Hill Dark. It is fine but I still don't find it grippy enough. I was wondering if there was one that was even grippier, stickier. In the wintertime, natural humidity can go down to as low as 20% (or less). I run a couple of humidifiers throughout the house and I usually maintain humidity at 35 - 40%.
In the summer, I used a light rosin that came with the rental violin I had at the time and in the summer it worked (a little, not to my liking) but once fall came, it just stopped working altogether. In the summer, because we run AC, it doesn't get very humid here.
Just wondering if anyone has used any super sticky and grippy rosins that they like! Thanks.
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generally speaking..I believe ( someone chime in if i am wrong) in a dry climate dark rosin is whats called for. you may try an amber and just see how it does. It seems rosin is kinda like string choices and you just have to experiment as much as the wallet/patience allows. Ive used bernadel, holstein, and when i purchased a set of obligato strings went ahead and got the rosin "they" formulated for them. That rosin sits on my desk in the practice area and Ive been content with it. I does seem to wear off faster and it wouldnt be a 1st choice in this situation I feel. the holstein stays in my case and ill use it at lessons. im sure thats wrong, mixing I mean, but its what i do. My experience with the bernadel wasnt bad but it broke apart fairly easy. You may just try the holstein and see how it works. seems fine and maybe middle of the road. again, trial and error for what works for you is gonna be how most approach it from what I gather here.
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Yumba and Andera solo are both good grippy rosins, Yumba is unique, as it made of bees wax.
Fiddlerman appears to prefer 1-Sartory and 2 - Yumba at the moment.
I personally have not tried Sortory yet. I gave my teacher a cake of it for christmas, once she rehairs her bow she plans on trying it out.
Mark
Master the Frog and you have mastered the bow.
Albert Sammons
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I've lived in dry climates my whole life (admittedly nowhere near as cold as Toronto). I use Jade on viola, and it excels in dry conditions. I find it a good combination of grip and smoothness.
I recently switched my violin rosin to Melos Dark, at least for winter use, and it grips very nicely.
Your mileage may vary for any rosin depending on climate, playing style, and strings. The nice thing about rosin is that even high-end rosin is not very expensive, so you can try a whole bunch of rosins without breaking the bank.
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I tried Yumba when I was working around the allergy issue. I could not stand it. There was no grip at all for me on any of the instruments. All it rid was goop up the bow hairs and I had to clean that bow once again. Instrument sound was terrible. It collected all over the strings, moreso than other risins, and they had to be wiped down. Again, that was my experience with it. I live in an area of changing seasons. This was either in the Spring or early Summer. Our Summers do not get higher than the rare high 90’s. But, that wouldn’t affect it due to AC. Might work for others, but was terrible for me from the get go. Just my experience with it.
Learn Violin and Fiddle
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@rx1022 -
I was surprised my bows were a big determining factor in my choice of rosin.
The regular Fiddlerman CF bow, I'm currently using, works better with the "Premium Holstein" rosin I have, than the "Andrea Solo" I normally like. It's grippier/helps give faster response, with less pressure - for my lower strings (I have a 5-string violin).
You might want to inspect your bow. Was it brand new with no rosin on it? If so, maybe you didn't fully charge it with rosin to begin with. Or, if your bow is second hand, it might need a rehair.
I have found that sometimes too much rosin (of any kind) can cause you just as much trouble as too little rosin.
Good luck finding one you like from the HUGE selection available - browse the forum, several other threads here on this subject.
- Emily
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I like Premium Holstein, also. I think I found a way around my skin issue I had and if it still works, I can add that back into my rosin. I am currently using Arcos in the dark blue box for my cello and my Sullivan Viola. I use the Arcos in the red box for my violins and my Concert Deluxe viola.
In case you are wondering about different rosin for each viola. I like the sound I ]get from my Fiddlerman Concert Deluxe viola better with the red box, it was better with the Holstein Premium. The red box gives the the more cheerful sound I want from that one. The dark box Arcos rosin gives my Sullivan viola the warmer sound I want with that viola. The strings do affect it, but cleaning the bows between rosins, I did find a difference.
I don't have the skin issue with the Arcos rosins, as much.
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Thanks everyone for your replies and suggestions.
I hear you all and think it might be a matter of buying a couple and trying them out, since there are so many variables involved with the bow itself and climate, etc.
I’ve heard some people use cello or bass rosin on their violins because they’re stickier. Any thoughts on that?
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It depends in the rosin, bow, in-house climate. I started with cello playing. It came with Jade rosin. It is supposed to be for cello, viola and vioin. It works. I am just not a fan of Jade. For me, it seems very dusty.
With the Arcos that I use, the cello version, blue box, is too sticky for my violin. I had to clean it out of the bows hairs, actually. I hate doing that, for some reason. I could not get it out or cover over it. It always made its way to be the boss of the rosins on the bow, so to speak.
The red box, violin recipe, will not work with my cello. The bows will not dig into the strings enough. There is one bow I have not tried with it. The red box violin recipe did not need to be washed out of my cello bows when I tried it. It was fine being covered up and just mixing in. Both work with my viola, although the red box violin recipe is better with my violas.
I think the Holstein Premium works great with all three, cello, violin and viola.
So it varies by person, bow, how you bow, in-house climate conditions, from what I can tell.
I have other rosins that I used in all three that I liked, but I had to put them all away for now.
Anyone else have experience with multi-instrument rosin?
Learn Violin and Fiddle
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@rx1022 -
Please don't take this the wrong way, but why do you feel you need such a sticky rosin?
I should 1st probably ask you how long have you been playing the violin?
If you haven't been playing long and are having trouble bowing, a stickier rosin isn't going to fix that.
You might find it just takes a little time and bowing practice to get the control and sound you want.
If you want to play classical music, why don't you start with an amber rosin, even Lora Staples from Red Desert Violin recommends this to begin with. I prefer Andrea Solo (available in a half cake), but Sartory is nice, too.
Here Lora does a video for Virtual Sheet Music - worthwhile to watch this whole video.
- Emily
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Hi Emily,
Thanks for that video. I just watched it. I would love to try the Andrea Solo as so many people rave about it but we don’t have half cakes here locally and I’m hesitant to try such an expensive rosin at the moment.
I haven’t played very long for sure (2 months of noodling). As I mentioned in my first post, I started with an amber (or light?) rosin and it was fine, until it got colder and it just stopped working. I then purchased a dark rosin (Hill Dark, which is also recommended by Lora Staples), which is stickier and grippier, but somehow I’m still not satisfied that it’s the best out there for me and I think there can be even better. That’s why I’m asking for stickier/grippier rosin recommendations. I can tell when my bow slips because of my bowing or when it’s just not gripping the strings.
I also saw a violinist/teacher on YouTube that lives in my city and she mentioned that in the winter, even something like Hill Dark (which is the one I have and preferred by people locally) isn’t enough. And I kind of feel the same. In that video, she mentioned that sometimes people use bass rosin in our climate to get grippier and more responsive performance. So that piqued my curiosity.
I really think this is a climate thing. And I’m also a bit of a perfectionist and have GAS so I’ll likely be chasing after the best winter rosin (for me) until I find it.
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rx1022 said
I haven’t played very long for sure (2 months of noodling).
Stick with Hill Dark.
You need to develop your bowing technique - correct bow speed, quality of bow motion and sufficient bow pressure for each bow speed.
The rest is about whether you are using the right amount of rosin. There are videos on that.
Andrew
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