Upright Bass Rosin
There are more choices in upright
bass rosin today than ever before. Pop's
remains the most popular choice for many players, both classical and
jazz. Some players find Pop's a little too sticky and prefer
Nyman's or
Carlsson instead. In fact, it's quite common
for bassists to keep two or three different rosins on hand rather
than relying on just one.
Oddly enough, at certain times of the
year one rosin may suddenly seem not to be working particularly
well, while another brand of the same age works just fine.
Temperature and humidity can make a noticeable difference. For me,
Pop's seems to work well pretty much year-round. During extremely
cold and dry weather, I'll sometimes use a little
Kolstein Ultra Soft. In most cases,
though, you probably wouldn't want to use a very soft rosin during
the summer.
For more information on choosing
among the different brands and formulas, please see our
in-depth upright bass rosin page.
Fresh Rosin Makes a Difference
Many players don't realize that one
of the cheapest and easiest ways to maintain a good arco sound is
simply to keep your rosin fresh.
As rosin gets old, it can become
powdery and the sound can become increasingly scratchy. The natural
resins, waxes, and other ingredients change and break down over
time. If you're serious about your arco playing and sound, replacing
your rosin about once a year is a very inexpensive investment.
There are plenty of stories about
heating Pop's in a microwave or melting different rosins together on
the stove. Our advice is much simpler: rosin is
inexpensive—keep it fresh!
Fresh rosin:
Our turnover here is extremely high. Between all the bows and rosin
we sell, we treat bass rosin almost like the vegetable section:
fresh is better!
If you're still unsure which type or
brand is right for you, our upright bass rosin
page goes into much more detail and compares
the different choices.
Rosin Updates
The bass rosin market has changed
quite a bit recently. For a while there was a major scarcity of
several popular rosins. Kolstein
and Wiedoeft, for
example, stopped production for a time, but thankfully both are now
back.
Kolstein is again available in
Soft and
All Weather, while Wiedoeft now offers
All Season and
Ultra Grip formulas.
We've also seen renewed interest in
some familiar names. Hidersine,
which hasn't always been at the forefront of bass rosin discussions,
is back by customer demand. Some players particularly like it
because it isn't as waxy as some other rosins and is quite
affordable.
Another excellent addition comes from
Leatherwood in Australia.
They now offer two bass rosins: Leatherwood
Bass and Leatherwood
Ultra, with Ultra being the softer of the two.
Pop's remains our #1-selling choice,
but it's great to see more manufacturers producing high-quality
alternatives. More good rosins mean more choices for bass players,
and every player has slightly different preferences.
The 050 rosins
became quite popular during the period when other bass rosins were
difficult to obtain. Over time, however, we received considerable
customer feedback about the packaging and ease of use. With the
newer Leatherwood rosins now available, we feel they offer a very
similar playing experience in a package that is considerably easier
and more convenient to use.
For that reason,
we've decided to concentrate on the Leatherwood rosins going
forward rather than continuing to stock 050.
We currently have a limited quantity of Soft
050 remaining; once that inventory is sold, we
do not plan to restock it.
That's not to say 050 isn't a good rosin—it has served many
players well. We simply feel that, with today's expanded selection,
there are now alternatives that better fit what our customers have
been asking for.
upright bass rosin page.
|
