Upright Bass Rosin

Let's go through a few basic principles of rosin and more directly, BASS rosin.  What's the difference you ask?  Bass rosin tends to be made so that the rosin is stickier/softer than it's violin family relatives, like the violin, viola and cello.  One of the first elements in choosing the right rosin, is the climate.  A lot of the time, one brand of rosin may work well all year round.  Some climates that have super hot and humid summers and then extremely cold and dry winters, may require a completely different brand that will work according to the season. In other words, it's ok to have and use two different brands of rosin depending on the time of year or season.

We may try and dissuade a player ordering Soft Kolstein bass rosin, during  say, mid July, in Miami, Florida!!  (Same goes with the newer brand, Wiedoeft rosin.) In fact, maybe we'd even keep this player away from the soft rosin entirely for that climate and location.  (All Weather is good then in the summer.)  Most that know about Pops rosin will quickly admit it is pretty soft stuff.  (Kolsteins Soft...is even softer yet!)  Still though some rosin recipes will actually tolerate a bit of humidity and heat better than others. Nymans or Carlsson tends to do ok in the summers as well. Other experienced players, just know how it feels that day and whether to go on it light or heavy.  Putting too much bass rosin on can ruin hair quickly.  I would always advise to add rosin in small increments.   You can always add more, but it is hard to undo too much rosin once it is the bow hair.  Most of the following bass rosins, come poured in some kind of peelable wax paper cup or tin.  (Hard rosins, say for a  violin, rarely need a cup and just come in cloth wrapping.)  

Lastly, keep in mind the 'fresh' rosin is super important for bass playing.  A few years ago, one of the most popular rosin brands decided to stamp a 'born on date' onto their rosin.  This way, (they thought) would be a great idea so that customers walking into their town violin shop (or bass shop!) would appreciate knowing that it was fresh.  That turned out to be a disaster for everyone because most shops do not sell a lot of bass rosin and typically, it would just sit in their showcases for months and months (even longer).  The shops didn't like that date, because then their customers would know how old it actually was (or wasn't!)

We here at String Emporium sell at such incredible volumes that we never have to worry and in most all cases, we buy directly from the maker(s) and not a distributor.  Doing it this way we have far better chances of getting the best, most recently produced.   'Fresh' is key!

Here is a quick link to our bass rosin order page.

Top professional, recommended brands for Bass Rosin:

What about age and freshness?  Ok, here is where I give our little spiel about freshness and not being a cheapskate! I can remember when I was in (high school and college) I thought that as long as I still had any rosin left, it was fine to use.  Because we are always trying out new bows here, I can wholeheartedly attest that freshness is the most important key component of any of the softer bass rosins. 

Always order your new rosin from a bass specialist. Pops rosin used to have a born date (when made) so that folks can see and know how fresh it was.  I think Pops was honest to do that, but also, most shops didn't like that because they'd end up buying too much or not selling it fast enough.  People were checking those dates!!  The dates have now disappeared from them again.  Most of the soft (Pops, Carlsson, Nymans and Kolsteins) should be replaced about once a year.

As a professional, I buy new rosin at least once a year.  One cake of rosin is way cheaper than a re-hair and so much easier.  You can really hear and feel the difference.  For folks buying new bows with us I will almost always insist on sending out some kind of new and fresh rosin. Why put old, dry, scratchy rosin on a new, good bow? 

About hard rosins.  You may have read (in the Pop's Pros and Cons) about some players keeping a bow for orchestra and another one, for strict solo playing. The orchestra bow using one of the typical bass rosins and for the solo playing, using a harder rosin.  Violin or Cello rosins are made in a harder formula.  Anyone that has just gotten a new re-hair on their bow, can attest that the tone is more apparent, more pure at first while the hair is new and before a lot of the waxy bass rosin goes into the hair.  As orchestra players we want 'big', 'full' and loud.  I also want the bow to 'speak' (I want a nice 'machine gun' spicatto).  The trade off is less contact between hair and string, where the rosin helps grab the string, it also covers the tone.  For strict solo playing, (like a Bach Cello suite), using the cello or violin rosin, will allow the bow to be more even throughout the whole stick. There are some definite differences between the two types of rosins, but again, it is hard to notice if you already have used bass rosin already on your bow and then trying out the cello/violin rosin.  Maybe the next time you get your bow re-haired, it might be fun to try this experiment and use some cello rosin the first couple of days.  All the more reason to be nicer to the 'upper string' people around you so that you can borrow and try their rosin first! 

Popular violin, viola and cello rosins:  Bernadel (cheap and it works), Hill light or dark.  The 'darker' rosins tend to be softer, but still very hard for a bass bow.  A great site to find these other hard rosins: https://www.viola-strings.com/rosin.php or another site, https://www.cello-strings.com/cello-rosin.php

Get the 'dark', it will still be much harder than any other bass rosin.  Don't buy these hard rosins if you are going to play or use your bow in an orchestra and only using one bow.  The harder rosins are not enough to make it work with the real power that you'll need.

In general most people want and need that bass string to really vibrate and for the bow to quickly grab the string.  As with anything, a little trial and error will help you decide which kinds of rosin you like to use and why.  While it is hard to use just any one kind of rosin year 'round, it's fun to pick up a 2nd, different bass rosin, for spikes in the weather seasons and whatever the case may be or brand you choose, newer, fresher rosin will always be better.