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Should the strings be wiped to keep them free of rosin build up, or should they be left well alone?
I am amazed at how old people of my age are.....
I clean mine off now and then but who knows what others do. I find it helps when I clean them off.
Rosin is a very sticky substance. Try applying it to your fingers and then try to play violin. Your fingers don't glide on the fingerboard.
The more build-up of rosin on the strings along with the rosin on the bow, it's like rubbing two pieces of sandpaper together and you get a scratchy sound when played slow. / See the look in his eyes and the frown ? Too much rosin. 
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Yes, I agree. Wipe your strings after practicing with a dry rag. You don't have to do much more that that. You can get a bad sound and whistling if you get too much of a build-up. If you already have a build up, just use enough rubbing alcohol to get the rosin off and be careful not to get any on your varnish. Doing this is fine from time to time but should not be done too often and long for the risk of drying the core of the string.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Kevin M. said
I clean mine off now and then but who knows what others do. I find it helps when I clean them off.
I clean mine after every practice. =)
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What seems to work for me is wipe the strings with a dry rag after every practice up and down the whole neck and on and around the whole violin. When you see some build up of rosin on the strings just lick the tips of a couple of your finger nails and slightly scrape the resin off that way. No need for rubbing alcohol.
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I just got a new bow and it seems like more rosin is building up on the strings. Is this to be expected with a new bow? I don't remember this happening to this degree when I started using my original bow...which was not that long ago since I just started playing. Could it be a difference in the type of hair?
(No, hair, not hare!)
When the work's all done and the sun's settin' low,
I pull out my fiddle and I rosin up the bow.
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A new bow needs a lot of rosin... What kind of rosin are you using and what kind of strings? Could be someone already rosined up the bow for you and you put too much on when you got it. Are you seeing clouds of smoke when you bow?
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A new bow shouldn't be much different. Could be your rosin.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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I'm with MadWed... wipe it off every day with a clean soft rag... I even wrap the rag around the hair on the bow and wipe it firmly, you'll know when it's got the excess off, the hairs will start to squeek as you run the rag up and down the length.
The strings get a good wipe off as well, make sure you get under them as well and while I'm under the strings, I run the rag up the fingerboard to wipe off any dust there too.
"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
Good advice, Denny, I do the same thing. The new rosin I have is a dark German rosin, sometimes I have to wipe the strings 2 or 3 times during a session.
I'm kinda thinking I wasted my money on it. Although I should give it more of a chance, i''m used to the old dark rosin which is actually harder than the new stuff. I probably shouldn't rosin as much.
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I agree with the idea of wiping off violin and strings after practice. If the strings get too much rosin on them the sound changes ( gets even worse). I don't like getting alcohol any where near a Violiln. A dry rag is good enough if you do it often. If you want a good reason to put on new strings then use stuff on a rag.
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