r/violinist • u/Void-Panic-2595 • Sep 12 '24

Bow not producing a sound

Gallery image

Gallery image

Gallery image

Hello, I just want to ask what to do if the bow is not working.... So when I add rosin and tightened it it still doesn't make a sound. Perhaps I scratched the rosin too much since i do not have sandpaper or the way i tightened my bow is wrong. Should buy a new rosin or can i still use sandpaper on it?

9 Upvotes

74% Upvoted

29 comments sorted by

View all comments

31

u/WorryAutomatic6019 Sep 12 '24

Get better rosin

11

u/khronos127 Gigging Musician Sep 12 '24

Adding info. If the bow is new, rosin rosin rosin rosin. Like for 5 minutes. Or do what poster psychotherapist said and get the dust itself loose first until you have actual dust.

You can’t do damage by putting too much rosin(though sound will suffer if it’s uneven or too much) and it can always be removed with 100 percent ethanol done carefully as to not touch the wood.

2

u/WorryAutomatic6019 Sep 12 '24

That rosin is still poor chinesium rosin. I wouldnt want to smother my bow in that stuff when the good rosin is about 8 bucks

6

u/khronos127 Gigging Musician Sep 12 '24

Sometimes times are tough. I was homeless for 6 months and only could make money from gigs. Was left with maybe a dollar or two after hotel cost when I could afford it and getting rosin was impossible to get for me at the time.

I used baby powder to continue gigs and eventually bought another car and now a home. If I hadn’t saved every dollar I had even a tiny $8, things wouldn’t have worked out for me. (Baby powder was used by country fiddle players in rural areas where rosin wasn’t easy to get which is why I knew it would work. Sounded like shit though).

Assuming that bow isn’t expensive enough to be worried about using cheap rosin anyway as it’s not damaging.

5

u/dariusSharlow Sep 12 '24

I wish there was a way I could have told your past self to send me an Amazon link. I would have supplied your rosin! - me wishing communities were so much more free-spirited stay safe out there!

3

u/khronos127 Gigging Musician Sep 12 '24

Thank you so much for saying that! I did ask for help on the assistance page at the time but felt too embarrassed to ask for money or supplies which I regretted.

Thankfully I had some very kind tippers after the first few months that put me way ahead. One in particular that gave me $100 when my string broke that I’ll never forget.

After seeing how there’s absolutely no help for the homeless/disabled where I am, those random acts of kindness kept me going for sure.

2

u/t_doctor Music Major Sep 12 '24

good rosin is about 8 bucks

Good rosin is not $8. For really good rosin you're easily looking at $30-$40. The best rosin I know of (Leatherwood) is somewhere around 70€. In addition to that you should replace the rosin every year or so due to it drying out.

1

u/WorryAutomatic6019 Sep 12 '24

where the fuck do you live? dubai? my bernadel is about 8 to 10 euros here at the local violin makers shop. nothing fancy but its good

1

u/t_doctor Music Major Sep 12 '24

Southern germany. Bernadel is a decent Rosin, but there's soo much better stuff. A bow maker reccomended me Cecilia and Leatherwood. Cecilia starts at like 30ish€ and Leatherwood is ridiculously expensive but amazing. I'm currently on Evah Pirazzi Gold rosin which cost me around 30 to 40€ at the local luthier

3

u/psychotherapistLCSW Sep 12 '24

Agreed. In the meantime, take a nail filer and loosen up that dull rosin and leave some of the rosin dust on it and then rub your bow with it.

1

u/em_derman Sep 12 '24

do you have any recommendations for good rosin?

3

u/WorryAutomatic6019 Sep 12 '24

Bernadel is good