I'm looking for a chart that compares rosins in a similar manner to how this chart compares strings: violin-strings.com/strings-com...on-chart/
I don't think that there is such a chart for rosin....you just need to buy every rosin out there and use to for a long period of time, then clean your bow hair thoroughly and try another rosin.... I have gone through several rosins and have finally settled on Lonesome Pine Rosin made by Tad Marks...you don't need much and it lasts .... google it and then give it some thought...
Play Happy
Swing
Ole Tad has some rosin now. Get some, he's on Facebook.
Although in theory a rosin comparison chart sounds useful, I have a feeling there wouldn’t be enough agreement about the characteristics of the different rosins to make it feasible.
String manufacturers often publish some data about string tension and the materials involved in production. Rosin manufacturers, however; tend to be a lot more secretive, and a some of the differences between the products come purely from marketing.
As crazed and neurotic as I am over most aspects of my musical activities, my rosin preferences are pretty mundane. I've got chunks of rosin in instrument cases where I've got no idea of the brand. Who knows how old my my Pirastro Oliv Rosin might be? In any event, a couple of strokes from an emery board instantly bring hardened chunks back to life.
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Originally posted by Lonesome FiddlerAs crazed and neurotic as I am over most aspects of my musical activities, my rosin preferences are pretty mundane. I've got chunks of rosin in instrument cases where I've got no idea of the brand. Who knows how old my my Pirastro Oliv Rosin might be? In any event, a couple of strokes from an emery board instantly bring hardened chunks back to life.
Maybe you should figure out a way to make rosin out of Koa sap. Seems like everything else is made out of Koa these days.
Is there anything in particular you're looking for?
Aside from curiosity?
Well, there are string charts that compare/contrast various string brands in terms of tone, like warmth vs. brightness. That's what I'm looking for,... like which rosin I should go with for one type of tone vs. another.
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Originally posted by KyeIs there anything in particular you're looking for?
Aside from curiosity?
I don’t really think of rosin in terms of tone. For me, the differences in rosin come down to its bite and attack. A dark rosin gives a more crisp feeling on the string, while a light rosin feels smoother. Some players will use a dark rosin in the winter and a light one in the summer to account for the changes in temperature and the hardness of the rosin.
Rosin is made by cooking refined pine resin to a certain point. To further differentiate, some manufacturers will add a few things like dyes or powdered metals. Depending on the metal incorporated and the winding of the strings you’re using, the metal can possibly influence the engagement of the bow with the string.
There are some rosins that produce a shocking amount of dust (e.g. Magic Rosin, Jade) and are a real pain to deal with when maintaining a violin. There are also hypoallergenic rosins aimed at players who have allergic reactions to rosin dust.
A customer of mine told me that when he would play outdoor gigs during the summer in the DC area he would often ask to borrow a bass player’s rosin because the humidity was so high that he would have trouble getting much sound with his regular violin rosin.
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Originally posted by dorymanquote:
Originally posted by Lonesome FiddlerAs crazed and neurotic as I am over most aspects of my musical activities, my rosin preferences are pretty mundane. I've got chunks of rosin in instrument cases where I've got no idea of the brand. Who knows how old my my Pirastro Oliv Rosin might be? In any event, a couple of strokes from an emery board instantly bring hardened chunks back to life.
Maybe you should figure out a way to make rosin out of Koa sap. Seems like everything else is made out of Koa these days.
Funny.. and it should be fair trade, organic... I volunteer at a food pantry.. Yesterday there was frozen Chipotle Mac and Cheese. On the box it said, 'Now, Carbon Neutral" ... I wonder if that company sells rosin? I'll ask around...for a friend.
I have noticed violinists talking about switching from light to dark rosins as the seasons change, but most fiddlers I know of use dark rosin exclusively. Do y'all think this comes down to a fundamental difference in the sound a fiddler is looking for vs. a violinist? Talking about "bite", Charlie Acuff said "Use dark rosin. I think it bites the strings better." Do violinists tend to want less "bite" than fiddlers?
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Originally posted by The Violin BeautifulI don’t really think of rosin in terms of tone. For me, the differences in rosin come down to its bite and attack. A dark rosin gives a more crisp feeling on the string, while a light rosin feels smoother. Some players will use a dark rosin in the winter and a light one in the summer to account for the changes in temperature and the hardness of the rosin.
Rosin is made by cooking refined pine resin to a certain point. To further differentiate, some manufacturers will add a few things like dyes or powdered metals. Depending on the metal incorporated and the winding of the strings you’re using, the metal can possibly influence the engagement of the bow with the string.
There are some rosins that produce a shocking amount of dust (e.g. Magic Rosin, Jade) and are a real pain to deal with when maintaining a violin. There are also hypoallergenic rosins aimed at players who have allergic reactions to rosin dust.
A customer of mine told me that when he would play outdoor gigs during the summer in the DC area he would often ask to borrow a bass player’s rosin because the humidity was so high that he would have trouble getting much sound with his regular violin rosin.
Edited by - soppinthegravy on 01/05/2023 12:40:30
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Originally posted by soppinthegravyI have noticed violinists talking about switching from light to dark rosins as the seasons change, but most fiddlers I know of use dark rosin exclusively. Do y'all think this comes down to a fundamental difference in the sound a fiddler is looking for vs. a violinist? Talking about "bite", Charlie Acuff said "Use dark rosin. I think it bites the strings better." Do violinists tend to want less "bite" than fiddlers?
No, I wouldn't say violinists generally want less bite, especially as the demand for loud and powerful instruments remains very high and players favor increasingly heavier, stiffer bows and a more crisp attack.
The summer/winter rosin idea is one that some players follow, but just as many, if not more, just use their favorite rosin all the time.
Violinsts are generally a lot pickier about their equipment than fiddlers, and many like to experiment with different rosins to see if it makes a change to their sound.
I have used Hill dark almost exclusively for the last 30 years. I used to keep some Pirastro Goldflex in the case for the violin I'd play outdoors because it worked better in high humidity. I used Gustave Bernardel a bit to try and thought it was a little smoother but ended up going back to the Hill. I've got a lot of different rosins that I've amassed over the years from being in the business. Sometimes I'll use one of them just for the sake of trying it.
Hill Dark is the only rosin we sell at Weaver's.
Edited by - The Violin Beautiful on 01/06/2023 11:31:07
I'm lost when it comes to Rosin. I was told to use it every couple sessions/days/jams.
A part of me wants to apply it every day...at least a few swipes.
I am religious about wiping my strings down every time I put it away.
I imagine cheap rosin sounds cheap?
I've tried lots of rosins over these past several years I've been playing...I don't use much...sometimes I just don't need any. At times the bow tends to skate around and then I have to wipe rosin from my strings onto my shirt tail...build up on the strings...at other times the bow sounds weak and I need to add rosin. I guess if it gets low enough on the bow you won't get enough contact across the strings to get a sound.
As to type of rosin...I have come to agree with the crowd that says dark in winter and light in summer, although in my mind it isn't that crucial...just any rosin seems to work, although the longer you play the more you might notice differences.
The funny thing to me...seeming to have no blood relatives with any interest in music, except for my daughter who likes opera singing, which is pretty much a lonely endeavor...lol...in and of itself, I mean, you don't sit down to relax on the porch and sing The Magic Flute, ya know...anyway, no other relatives have I ever had who showed any interest or desire to play...then, my grandson had the opportunity to get some violin lessons one year...I set him up...fiddle, case, bow, rosin...and he developed a real interest in rosin, the mechanics of the rosin and how it behaved...he wanted more and more kinds of rosin...he melted them down, compared them, made some for his classmates and just got really wrapped up in the whole idea of how rosins behave, how they're made, etc. He was fascinated with that...but not so much with the playing of the instrument...lol. I thought that was funny, but I gotta say I did learn a whole lot about rosin from working on that with him during that year of violin lessons.
But I don't personally see that much difference in cheapie rosin vs expensive. I got a lot of gift certificates from a fiddling site for several years and chose all kinds of rosins to just compare...gold fleck, dark green, that one kind that sounds like a milk cow...can't oh yeah...Holstein...uh...Magic rosin, well I can't remember the others...but then I had a buncha cheap rosins that came with instruments before that, plus the combos that grandson made in our microwave when he went through his rosin fascination phase...lol...I haven't seen where it makes that much difference, except maybe where weather changes are affecting the bow hair. Just my amateur, self-learned opinion.
Hey, soppinthegravy - is there some particular problem you're trying to solve? As I'm sure you know, we can yammer on about rosin for quite a while without solving your problem. It sounds like the chart you crave is just not out there, or if it were, it wouldn't tell you much.
This may be thread drift, but kind of along the same thought train, does anybody use Obligato rosin for Obligato strings - is there a reason for that?
I have changed my strings from "strings so old that I don't remember what they are or where they came from" to Obligatos, but I'm still using same ancient block of rosin...wondering whether Obligato rosin is better or if it doesn't matter at all and I can still keep using my same ole block!
If it were me, I'd use the same ol' stuff I'd been using on the unknown strings. The idea that certain brands of rosin work better with certain strings sounds like a sales pitch kinda thing to me, but then again, as I always say...being just a self-taught amateur with only 14 years playing experience...I probably don't actually KNOW anything about it...lol. But just sayin'... what I'd do.
For my taste, my fiddle tone sounds too "tinny" and "thin", for lack of a better term. My favorite player in terms of tone/timbre is J.T. Perkins, although my playing style is not the same as his: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m4sypgyPjElM3Z2NopN_Na9vupb2SJN-s
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Originally posted by EarwormHey, soppinthegravy - is there some particular problem you're trying to solve? As I'm sure you know, we can yammer on about rosin for quite a while without solving your problem. It sounds like the chart you crave is just not out there, or if it were, it wouldn't tell you much.
"For my taste, my fiddle tone sounds too "tinny" and "thin", for lack of a better term."
Do you practice long, slow bows? It is a great way to work on tone. My suspicion is it's more about technique than the rosin. Next time you're with another fiddler, have him/her play your gear and see if they still sound like what you expect them to sound like. That would settle that question.
You're probably right at the end of the day. I just want to get as many obstacles in terms of instrument out of the way as I can. I don't hear the same warmth from my fiddle as when I first got it from my uncle, but I don't know what kind of strings he had on it back then, but they sounded and felt different than the ones I got to replace them as they broke one by one.
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Originally posted by ChickenMan"For my taste, my fiddle tone sounds too "tinny" and "thin", for lack of a better term."
Do you practice long, slow bows? It is a great way to work on tone. My suspicion is it's more about technique than the rosin. Next time you're with another fiddler, have him/her play your gear and see if they still sound like what you expect them to sound like. That would settle that question.
Edited by - soppinthegravy on 01/12/2023 20:40:25
For my taste, my fiddle tone sounds too "tinny" and "thin", for lack of a better term. My favorite player in terms of tone/timbre is J.T. Perkins, although my playing style is not the same as his: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=OLAK5uy_m4sypgyPjElM3Z2NopN_Na9vupb2SJN-s...and Byron Berline. I can't believe I forgot to mention him. Byron and J.T. are probably my favorites in terms of tone, although the style I'm pursuing is more like Joe Birchfield.
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Originally posted by EarwormHey, soppinthegravy - is there some particular problem you're trying to solve? As I'm sure you know, we can yammer on about rosin for quite a while without solving your problem. It sounds like the chart you crave is just not out there, or if it were, it wouldn't tell you much.
