Are you looking for the best violin rosin? Not sure whether you need light or dark, hard or soft? Maybe you know what type you need but you want to know what the best brands of violin rosin are.
In this post, we’re going to cover everything you need to know about violin rosin to help you choose the best one as well as review 6 of our favorite rosins to help you narrow down your choice.
Quick Answer: The Best Rosin for Violins
Best Rated Violin Rosin Reviews
Before we get on to our guide to buying violin rosin where we’ll answer all the questions someone might have before buying it’s time to look at our favorites. Below we have our top 6 violin rosin reviews to help you choose the best one for your needs.
1. Pirastro Goldflex Violin Rosin
- Goldflex Rosin is well suited for violin, viola and cello.
- Pirastro Goldflex Rosin features tiny flecks of gold inside the rosin!
- The addition of gold flecks allows for an extra smooth grip.
Pirastro Goldflex Rosin is used by professionals and features small pieces of gold inside the rosin. The inclusion of the gold allows for an extraordinarily smooth grip and a full and clear tone. The Goldflex is available for violin, viola, and cello.
The rosin is produced by the most prominent international string seller, Pirastro. The company is a trusted name in the field.
One advantage to using Pirastro Goldflex Rosin is that it is incredibly high-quality; however, it has a higher risk of breakage than others due to its softshell.
2. Pirastro Oliv/Evah Violin Rosin
- Pirastro Oliv/Evah Rosin is well suited for violin, viola and cello.
- Specifically formulated to compliment Oliv and Evah Pirazzi strings.
- This rosin provides a good grip and an excellent tone.
Created to work alongside Pirastro’s Oliv and Evah Pirazzi strings, the Pirastro Olive/Evah Rosin highlights and bolsters quality sound. The pairing of the Pirastro strings and rosin will produce a warm tone.
The Pirastro Olive/Evah rosin affords a solid grip and reduces dust to a minimum. While it is easily breakable due to its soft shell, the advantages certainly outweigh its fragility. What’s more, the rosin is available for use on multiple stringed instruments like the viola, cello, and violin.
The kind of rosin that plays excellently with one violin and bow may not sound as clear with a different violin and bow. Violin rosin has an individual connection to the strings, bow, and violin itself. Using rosin that is specifically made for a set of strings can work well for some musicians.
3. Melos Light/Dark Violin Rosin
- For Violin
- One of the world's finest dark violin rosins
- A softer dark rosin for winter
Melos Rosin is refined rosin sourced from pine trees in Greece and is often used by professional violinists. Notably, it is one of the few rosins on the market tapped from living trees; this method produces a unique sap transformed into the Melos rosin. While the Melos rosin works best for the violin, it is often used for viola.
Melos Rosin is crafted and sold as light and dark variations, and the musician’s preference weighs heavily on which is tangibly best. Light rosin is more rigid and less viscous than dark rosin. It is best suited for smaller instruments like the violin and viola. On the other hand, the dark rosin is suitable for cool and dry climates.
4. The Original Bernardel Violin Rosin
- For Violin, Viola and Cello
- Medium light rosin
- Comes in a handy pouch
The Gustave Bernardel rosin is an outstanding choice for violin, viola, and cello. For decades, the Original Bernardel rosin for violin has endured as a favored and robust option for novices and experts alike.
It is light rosin with medium stickiness, which promotes smooth playing and helps produce a clear, bright tone. The Gustave Bernardel rosin is crafted in France for the violin, viola, and cello.
5. D’Addario Kaplan Premium Violin Rosin
- AVOID GROOVES: A dial at the bottom of the case allows the rosin to be turned, to avoid creating a groove, if desired.
- LESS DUST: Kaplan Premium Rosin is formulated using the original Kaplan recipe, which produces less dust, helping to keep the instrument cleaner.
- CASE INCLUDED: Kaplan Premium Rosin is packed in an attractive case, designed for easy one-handed use
Made in specialized facilities in New York, the D’Addario Kaplan Premium Rosin is high-caliber rosin. The rosin is prepared in light and dark varieties, contributing varied options to players in all environments who have particular preferences for sound quality.
It is conveniently produced for one-handed use in a charming, protective case. The D’Addario Kaplan Premium Rosin is a well-made choice for developing and professional musicians.
The rosin is long-lasting because it can also be rotated to wear evenly over time. What’s more, the D’Addario Kaplan Premium Rosin is available for violin, viola, and cello.
6. Jade L’Opera Violin Rosin
- For Violin, Viola and Cello
- A smooth yet firm grip
- Dust-free adhesion
The Jade L’Opera is a preference among professional violinists, violists, and cellists. Celebrated as a low-dust option, the rosin also creates a good grip and helps the instrument produce a clear sound.
Some advantages to using Jade L’Opera include the long-lasting, large rosin cake and its protective case. The rosin is also safe for most varnishes. While rosin is intended for use on the bow and violin strings, it can sometimes accidentally land on the wooden portion of instruments, so finding varnish-safe rosin is essential to keep your instrument safe.
How to Choose Violin Rosin: A Buyer’s Guide
Violin rosin is an essential tool that every violinist needs to perform well. If you’re new to the violin and not sure what it is, rosin is a sticky substance that is a solidified form of tree resin.
In order to create rosin, this tree resin is heated up while it is in its liquid form, then cooled until it solidifies. Violin rosin comes in many shapes, colors, sizes, and styles.
Unlike its name may suggest, violin rosin is not actually placed on a violin, it is placed on the violin bow that a violinist uses on the strings of the violin.
More specifically, violin rosin is placed on the horsehair of the violin bow which, when applied allows the bow to able to glide across the strings of a violin while using adhesion to also pull on the violin’s strings and cause them to vibrate.
When the strings of the violin vibrate, as a result of the violin bow’s movement, they resonate above the body of the violin and sound is picked up and amplified out of the violin’s body.
Without rosin, a violin bow cannot pull the strings of the violin and will ultimately not produce a sound.
The Two Types of Violin Rosin: Light vs Dark
As you shop for violin rosin, you will come across both light rosin and dark rosin.
Alternatively, light rosin is sometimes referred to as “summer rosin” and dark rosin is as “winter rosin”.
This is because light rosin is the better type of rosin to use in the summer and dark rosin is better for the winter.
Light rosin tends to be harder, which is great for warmer climates where it will provide adequate stickiness.
Dark rosin, alternatively, tends to be softer, which can make the rosin too sticky for violin bows in warm weather conditions.
Most violin players will have both and use each one depending on the time of year and where they live.
Soft Rosin vs Hard Rosin
While players can interchange light rosin and dark rosin as they feel comfortable with, changing between soft rosin and dark rosin can be a little tougher.
Larger stringed instruments, like cellos and double basses, work best with softer rosins because the rosin is able to pull their thicker-gauged strings much easier.
Stringed instruments with thinner strings, like the violin and viola, work best with harder rosins because the rosins provide adequate friction between the bows and the instruments’ strings.
Alternative Types of Rosin
In efforts to produce the best tonal qualities from violins, many rosin manufacturers include different compounds and formulas in their violin rosins.
You may notice rosin that includes gold, silver, copper, and more as you are shopping for violin rosin.
These additives allow the rosin to interact differently with violin strings, thus changing the tones of the strings.
It’s worth trying out a few different types to see which you prefer and find a sound that you like.
How to Apply Rosin to a Bow
Applying rosin to a violin bow is simple and will become an easy habit for you after you learn the method.
When you first open a pack of rosin, the rosin will be completely smooth and solid so you will need to grab a sharp object, the end of your violin’s bow will work fine and scrape the surface of the rosin to make an indentation.
The purpose of making the indentation in the rosin is to expose the lighter-colored sticky layer that is underneath the smooth new surface of the rosin.
Once you have exposed the lighter part of the rosin, you will need to rub the violin rosin on the outer part of your violin bow’s horsehair.
You will have to apply the rosin from the frog of your violin’s bow to the tip of the bow and continually apply the rosin to the bow until the bow’s hairs are able to produce sound on your violin.
When you play your violin, you may notice dust on the body of the violin after you have finished playing.
This is okay, the dust is powder from the violin rosin. To remove it simply wipe your violin with a smooth cloth rag when you have finished playing it.
Habitually cleaning your violin after every practice or performance will help you to preserve its condition.
Check out our guide on how to clean a violin here for more information.
Frequently Asked Questions
Before we finish, here are a few commonly asked questions that we get from new students about violin rosin.
Q. What is Rosin?
Rosin is a sticky substance that is developed from tree resin, typically pine tree resin. Rosin is important for a violinist to have on their violin bow, as they cannot draw sound out from their violin without it.
Q. Why Do Violinists Use Rosin?
Violinists use rosin to produce sound from their instruments and different types of rosin produce different sounds, and a violinist may use a certain rosin to achieve a specific sound.
A violinist’s choice of rosin can depend on their playing style and the way that they have set up their violin.
Many violinists, for example, prefer brighter tones and violin rosins that produce a lot of dust.
Q. Can You Use Violin Rosin on a Cello Bow or Viola Bow?
Violin rosin can be used on a viola bow or a cello bow. In fact, there are many rosins that are developed to be interchangeable for all three instruments.
Violin rosin, however, cannot be used on double bass bows as you’ll need a softer rosin to be able to produce sound.
Q. How to Store Violin Rosin?
Violin rosin should be stored in a dark and cool place. If your violin rosin comes in a box, keep that box so that you can have a place to keep your violin rosin.
Additionally, if you have space in your violin’s case, you can keep your violin rosin in its own compartment inside of the violin’s case.
Q. How Do I Find the Right Rosin?
There are a variety of violin rosins from many dependable brands. As you perform with your violin more, you will develop a preference for the type of violin rosin that you like.
Your preference will depend on your personal tastes and how your violin sounds to you. Some violinists, for example, prefer warmer and darker tones, while others prefer brighter tones.
Your violin strings, in addition to your actual violin and the violin rosin that you choose to use, will all play a role in the sound that your violin produces as a whole.
Conclusion: Which one Should you Buy?
- Goldflex Rosin is well suited for violin, viola and cello.
- Pirastro Goldflex Rosin features tiny flecks of gold inside the rosin!
- The addition of gold flecks allows for an extra smooth grip.
Experts have diverse tastes regarding the type of strings, the kind of bow, and especially the type of rosin they use on their instrument.
A violinist who frequently plays in hot and humid climates may want to try using light rosin and vice versa for those in colder temperatures.
Notably, different rosins can balance the tones of a violin, so using darker rosin to balance an overbright tone might appeal to some players.
While no one rosin is more popular with professionals than others, we would recommend trying the Pirastro Goldflex, our number one choice, to begin.
But, since the selection is quite large, you might have a difficult time finding which rosin works best for you right away, and that is perfectly acceptable! Trying different products on this list to discover what works best for you and your instrument ensures musical success and it’s common for violinists to have multiple rosins.
