It seems that it dont go on easy. it breaks threds on my bow. its hard to hold. It not flat its got jagged edges. I just dont care for it. the stuff I been useing works just great. This is what i use.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DAddario-Natural-Rosin-Light-/190711667302?pt=String_Instrument_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c674d1a66#ht_2430wt_884

Any kind of rosin that consistantly breaks threads is no good on my list! I just hate it when I see a hair flying along while I'm playing something. I guess the only way you can learn which works best is by trying them all out, until you find a good one.

hi jimmy have you tryed magic rosin its not in to many stores as of yet i find it to be very good. like all rosin you have to try it to find out if you like it. so go to (magic rosin .com) they have two types of rosin

Thanks Rich ill check it out.

I've been using hills for about three years and have never had any of the problems you mention.

I use Hill Dark for my violin, and it works well.

Jimmy, how often do you rosin? I also wonder about your bow, if hairs are breaking.

I rosin about every week or two, whenever it seems to need it, and I wipe excess rosin from the strings and instrument wood after each playing session.

quote:

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Originally posted by jimmyprince

It seems that it dont go on easy. it breaks threds on my bow. its hard to hold. It not flat its got jagged edges. I just dont care for it. the stuff I been useing works just great. This is what i use.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/DAddario-Natural-Rosin-Light-/190711667302?pt=String_Instrument_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2c674d1a66#ht_2430wt_884

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Never had Hill rosin with jagged edges--yours must have gotten cracked in shipping.

As for the going on easy issue, be sure to score the top of a new cake of rosin with a knife--this will get you started and make the initial applications much easier. (Just lightly scrape it, enough to see white lines--don't put massive furrows in it.)

If you're still unhappy with rosins, give Salchow a try. It's now my default rosin.

Edited by - DeamhanFola on 08/07/2012 07:52:16

It just dont work for me. it seems like it dont go on as smooth as my other rosin. I put it on one of two bows and my other bow sounds much better with my rosin. might be just me but I dont care for the stuff.

I haven't tried the Hill rosin, but from what I've read here on FHO it has very good grab, perhaps too good grab for you, Jimmy. If you applied it over another rosin, that could be a problem. To try new rosin you must start with clean hair.

What technique are you using to apply rosin? You shouldn't rub briskly as this can create heat and make things gummy. Many people say score the block with a knife. I use sandpaper to create a fine dust on the block, then apply. This works well for priming clean hair. Light touch ups may not require any further scoring or sanding of the block.

The d'addario rosin you are using is probably very good. I haven't tried the light formula, but I use the dark, and since I began using it I have really found no reason to try anything else.

Are you smacking the cake with the frog end of the bow?  That will give you a few sharps edges in a hurry.

Hill dark has been a "go to" rosin for fiddlers for years. Sounds like you might have other issues and without seeing your bow, how you are applying the rosin etc. it's hard to tell what kind of problem you might be having. David Blackmon

Well, I'm not that fond of Hill anymore either. I used in back in the day for tradition's sake, and when I started fiddling again, bought another cake.  BUT it's dusty, it spalls and splits if you look at it sideways, shatters if you drop it, and the foam rubber cover is clumsy to use when you've got a bow in your hand.  I don't know if the composition of the cover has changed, but as of the last cake of Hill Dark I bought, the cover reacted chemically with the rosin and made it gluey where it touched.  However, it's fine rosin once it's on the strings... until it dusts off- which is quickly!  Anyway, back in the '70's it MIGHT have been the best fiddling rosin available, but there are so many other choices now, that I think THAT is one tradition that needs to be re-examined!

D'Addario is good, so is Becker Dark, and Supersensitive Dark.

I find the sound and on-the-bowhair behavior of Becker Dark is very similar to Hill Dark, but it's a LOT more convenient to use.

Unfortunately it's hard to find on-line, but my local guitar-oriented music store stocks it along with a Glaesel fractional violin or two.  So I think it's something that one of the common music store supply house carries.

For advanced fiddlers that have a light touch Kaplan Premium Light is a grabby rosin with a good sound, and it's a low dust rosin.  If you use it sparingly, you'll have good success with it.  It's even nicer sounding with a layer of Becker Dark over the top (or even Hill Dark if you insist) and imparts some of the low dust quality to the rosin you put on top.  It's also great for priming new or newly rehaired bows, and seems to be compatible with student grade rosins, at least the ones I've mentioned.

Edited by - fiddlepogo on 08/07/2012 11:57:29

i have a cake of hill dark use it for the past  8 years, seems to work fine. Really don't put much importance on rosin, whatever is in reach i use and i use it sparingly. I got a no name rosin with a new fiddle and it works fine. Jim make sure you scuff up the cake before you use it  for the first time.  a few swipes is all it takes.

Hill Dark is a little grabby, but most fiddlers like that.  As has been said above, take a fine sand paper and rough up the cake on the top, and from the sound of things, maybe smooth it out a bit.  I personally can't imagine a rosin breaking hair on the bow, so I can only conclude that you must be really pushing the hair hard into the rosin.  With Hill Dark especially that is not  required.  If my bow starts feeling like it's slipping more than I can live with, I gently run the cake up and down the whole length of the bow hair, once maybe twice at most, if I've let it go too long.  It doesn't take much. 

I do remember when you first got your bow, it probably didn't have enough rosin in it, and at that point it does take a lot, but once you get that done, it doesn't take much at all to keep it there.  A couple of swipes once a week.  I use less Hill Dark, than the other brand I like which is Pirastro Gold.  It takes a little of more of it, but they feel about the same to me.   I've only been at this 3 1/2 years, so still don't have a lot of sensitivity to certain things, but getting more so all the time. 

Try the Hill again, next time you need to rosin, use it very sparingly, I bet it will work fine. 

Edited by - bandsmcnamar on 08/07/2012 16:23:56

I don't think any new rosin should have jagged edges. If yours does you should return it.

I don't have any problems with Hill dark, which I use, along with some other rosins. I also don't believe that you have to roughen the top of the cake, or clean off the old rosin before you change brands. That's FHO folklore, IMHO. I just started a new cake of Pirastro Oliv without doing anything to it, and it works fine. And I've been in too many jam sessions where players borrow rosin to believe that it matters much.

quote:

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Originally posted by DougD

I don't think any new rosin should have jagged edges. If yours does you should return it.

I don't have any problems with Hill dark, which I use, along with some other rosins. I also don't believe that you have to roughen the top of the cake, or clean off the old rosin before you change brands. That's FHO folklore, IMHO. I just started a new cake of Pirastro Oliv without doing anything to it, and it works fine. And I've been in too many jam sessions where players borrow rosin to believe that it matters much.

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Nope... not folklore.  SOME rosins do not mix well on the bow, to the point where the manufacturer of the rosin warns against it.

However, very often these are expensive metal-bearing rosins that fiddlers are less likely to use. I think that Andrea Paganini rosin that was popular a couple of years back was supposed to not mix well either.

That being said, I've never encountered the problem myself, but, limiting myself to about $12 a cake or less, I'm not getting into the metal bearing rosins.

As far as the roughening up, it depends on the rosin, but it can help.  You never really know how fresh a cake of rosin you buy actually is.  If running the bow hair across it makes no impression (as if you had rubbed the bow hair across amber colored translucent plastic), sanding the block a bit can help get things started.  The surface of the rosin dries out and hardens more quickly, so the sanding can get you past that if it has occurred.

I use an emery board for that.  It's also good for priming bows... nothing is more frustrating that trying to prime a new or rehaired bow with a hard cake of rosin.

If the bow hair makes a clear impression on the rosin, no sanding is needed.

 Back to the mixing issue, on another forum, a violinist named Don Stackhouse says:

"I have seen some problems with certain types. Mixing dark and light can sometimes be an issue in my experience, and the exotic types (metal filled, etc.) seem to be particularly sensitive. Problems do happen, although most of the time you can get away with it, often enough that some folks (even ones with lots of experience)might believe it's a myth."

(Sounds like he's talking about YOU at the end, Doug!)

In another post he mentions Liebenzeller as a do-not-mix rosin.

This article talks about mixing rosins at the end:

http://www.allthingsstrings.com/Bows/CARE-MAINTENANCE/Exploring-the-Facts-Folklore-Surrounding-Rosin

"Baumgartel has found one case in which mixing doesn't match: "It has been my experience that when a metallic rosin, such as 'gold,' is mixed with other nonmetallic rosins, bow hair can become slippery feeling."

While many knowledgeable musicians aren't picky about rosin, some players are simply more sensitive to differences. "I have noticed that different rosins can completely change the sound of instruments," says Baumgartel, who warns not to try out too many different types of rosin at once. "Too many different rosins loaded into the same hair can cause problems, such as a gritty sound with a lot of surface noise."

Instead, she suggests experimenting slowly, taking time to evaluate the differences, and keeping a log of your impression".

So it seems there are actually THREE issues about mixing rosins:

1. Some specific (and fairly rare) mixtures can cause a slippery feel to the point of complete rosin failure.

2. Mixing rosins doesn't give you a clear chance to evaluate either rosin and it's qualities.

3.  Some mixtures won't fail, but will sound rough.

Edited by - fiddlepogo on 08/07/2012 19:30:11

I used it many years ago and also thought it too dusty.
I've used Millant-Deroux, the amber colored one, for probably 40 years. I like it. I think you just have to get used to your rosin. I don't see any reason to change mine.

quote:

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Originally posted by fiddlerjoebob

Are you smacking the cake with the frog end of the bow?  That will give you a few sharps edges in a hurry.

 

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Would probably make some sharp edges on the frog too--yikes!

Doesn't take much of a bang to chip the edge of a block of rosin. I've formed a habit of letting the pads of my finger and thumb guard the frog's metal ferrule, for the rosin's sake.

The stuff i use now goes on so much more easy. why do they have to make rosin in little cakes? make it so its easy to use like this. come on look at this. its perfect fit for a violin bow and no mess. wouldnt it make more sence?


http://www.wwbw.com/D-Addario-Natural-Rosin-H70279-i1715363.wwbw?&src=TWWRWXGB&cagpspn=pla&=

http://www.wwbw.com/D-Addario-Natural-Rosin-H70279-i1715363.wwbw?&src=TWWRWXGB&cagpspn=pla&=

Except for a plastic "tray" instead of wooden ones, most inexpensive American-made student rosins are like that, probably because they ARE easier to handle.  Supersensitive, Becker, and Sherman's are all package like that, except for wood instead of plastic.

However, tradition dies HARD in the violin world, and SO many of the popular rosins in the violin world are European made, have been around a long time, and haven't changed in formula or appearance in decades, sometimes around a century.

Hill rosin is made in England.

I was actually surprised that after coming back to fiddling and buying another cake, Hill had changed the cover from a felt one to a foam rubber one, which I think is an admission that it's unusually prone to spalling and cracking.

There IS one kind of rosin that is even MORE conveniently packaged- Kaplan Premium:

That way, you can have your cake, and not break it too!!!

Aside from the added protection, onces you've rosined the bow and are continuing to hold it (Why would you want to put it down and risk smudging the fresh rosin?), it's easy to close the case and put it away left handed, which is NOT the situation with Hill, or any of the traditionally packaged rosin cakes.  (It is possible to put a student rosin away left handed more easily than the traditional format, but not as easily as the Premium format)

It's also actually a D'Addario product.

However, I wouldn't buy it just yet... even though I use the Light, it's still the GRABBIEST rosin I've ever used, and as such I think the light is suitable for more advanced players.... it could make beginners even MORE prone to squawking!  And you can't apply to much, or the effort required for bowing DOUBLES (or maybe more).  It's so grabby I'm SKEERED to try the dark... and all my other rosins ARE dark... the darker flavor is the grabbier of the two kinds most manufacturers offer.  And a few people have tried the dark, and what they report bears out my fears.... the dark might be suitable for bass or cello, but it's just WAY too grabby for me, and probably for most fiddlers.

Edited by - fiddlepogo on 08/08/2012 09:12:08

quote:

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Originally posted by transplant

Doesn't take much of a bang to chip the edge of a block of rosin. I've formed a habit of letting the pads of my finger and thumb guard the frog's metal ferrule, for the rosin's sake.

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ESPECIALLY Hill rosin!   That's a good idea though... I'm normally careful applying rosin, but I DO get in a hurry now and then and chip the rosin- that sounds fail-safe, once you get in the habit- THANKS!

A couple of years back I tried various makes and colors of rosin (there's a rosin blog on my home page if you're interested).

This year I've finally settled on what is definitely my favorite: Bernardel.

For me it has the perfect balance of bite and smoothness.  It works well for both rhythmic and legato bowing.

I practice or play mostly every day, and only have to put it on once a week (usually).  2 or 3 strokes is sufficient.

It also seems to work well under almost all humidity conditions.  But I haven't tried it in extremely dry conditions.

Edited by - Learner on 08/08/2012 09:46:25

Nice, but iam done with round rosin. to me it dont make sense being round. but who am i to want to change history to make it more easy.

jimmy, they make rosin both ways, so just use whichever one you like. The kinds in the wooden troughs are generally student grade, but D'Addario is probably pretty good. I don't see the problem with the cakes - I just hold it in my left hand and run the bow across it. Seems simple enough.

Gary - Do you use the one shaped like the fiddle in the little wooden Stradivarius box? Somehow I doubt it!

quote:

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Originally posted by DougD

jimmy, they make rosin both ways, so just use whichever one you like. The kinds in the wooden troughs are generally student grade, but D'Addario is probably pretty good. I don't see the problem with the cakes - I just hold it in my left hand and run the bow across it. Seems simple enough.

 

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It's not so much the actual stroking of the cake with the bow that's a problem, it's the putting away of the rosin afterwards.  If you don't put the rosin away carefully and it drops while unwrapped, the cakes stuck onto felt or (in the case of Hill) foam rubber tend to fall with the cake side down and shatter.  And you have a freshly rosined and possibly fragile and expensive bow in the right hand.  If you're careless putting it away, the student rosins at least get some protection if they fall from the wooden or plastic tray.