Rosin

[gypsyjazzer]

Anybody tried rosin made by D'Addario?--If so--like it? Rosin to avoid? Your preferences?

Advice welcome. Many thanks.

[Hector]

Never heard of anyone using it. Here are the ones I'm aware of:

I use Carlsson. It's basically the same as Nyman's (as far as I can tell, possibly same rosin with diff name), but some say it's little bit softer and stickier.

People seem to like Pops a lot, which is stickier than either Carlsson and Nyman's. Somewhere in between Pops and C/N is Kolstein's soft, which is also highly rated.

Lots of players will choose a harder rosin for the summer months, and a softer one for winter. I don't think the difference is huge in the uk to be honest.

[philparker]

I use Carlsson, having previously used Nymans and Pops, couldn't get on with Hidersine.

As above, I've seen it written that Carlsson and Nyman are practically the same, but Carlsson being slightly softer and that some people use Nyman in summer and Carlsson in winter, but they all tend to go off after a while so every now and again I'll get a new one.

[neilp]

Pops is my favourite, but it's such a cheap - relatively - item that you could feasibly try several different rosins in a fairly short time. I don't honestly see the need, the differences aren't huge and time spent thinking about rosin would be better spent thinking about technique, The gains in tonal quality would be greater

[zbd1960]

As a cellist, there are some differences with different brands of rosin. I agree I don't think the summer/winter choices are very relevant in our climate in the UK. Some rosins are harder or softer and some more or less sticky. These days I use Melos which is about £15, I don't particularly like Hidersine. The stuff with gold flakes etc in it is just a gimmick.

[spikydavid]

I'm a relative beginner (six months or so) and have used Carlsson, Nyman and Hidersine. Made no difference to me, particularly compared with just improving technique

[hubrad]

Knut Guettler had alot to say on the importance of getting the right rosin for your desired results; here's a pdf of a whole article on the subject, to further our understanding of what it actually does: http://knutsacoustics.com/files/guettler-how-does-rosin-affect-sound.-2011-srj_vol_ii.pdf

[gypsyjazzer]

Many thanks for your replies.

[NickA]

Nyman ... quite sticky and wears out quickly (probably evaporates) but very good. You have to put it on each time you practice pretty much. Don't put it anywhere you plan to pluck as you will get sticky fingers.

The Hidersine "all weather" stuff is more like 'cello rosin; hard, dry and quite long lasting .... though when I put some on my 'cello bow and went out to play in a miniature chamber orchestra for the evening ... I discovered it's not like 'cello rosin at all (I was kind of loud).

Not tried the others.

[Beer of the Bass]

[quote name='NickA' timestamp='1476384409' post='3153889']
The Hidersine "all weather" stuff is more like 'cello rosin; hard, dry and quite long lasting .... though when I put some on my 'cello bow and went out to play in a miniature chamber orchestra for the evening ... I discovered it's not like 'cello rosin at all (I was kind of loud).

[/quote]

That reminds me, I once loaned a fresh cake of Nyman bass rosin to a fiddle player who was stuck without any at a gig. He was cursing me for weeks!

[Happy Jack]

I feel quite embarrassed about this, but every time I see the title of this thread I start singing "you don't have to put on the red light" ...

[BaconCheese]

Having used Nymans in the past I would highly recommend using Kolstein soft in the Winter and all-weather in the Summer. It is also used by most of the pros in orchestras.

[neilp]

Not by me it's not. Sweeping generalisation there!

[BaconCheese]

Pops and Nyman are always some kind of standard, but a considerable amount of pro players habe shifted towards Kolstein- still lots of player rely on Pops or Nyman, of course.