Rosin Selection Guide

A guide to choosing the right rosin for your needs

Brands of Rosin

  • As its name implies, Tonica rosin is designed for use with Tonica strings.
  • Obligato rosin is best for  Obligato strings for violin and viola. 
  • Oliv Evah rosin is recommended for Oliv, Passione and Evah Pirazzi  violin and viola strings.
  • Although Goldflex rosin is at the harder end of the spectrum it is popular with violinists, violists and cellists.
  • Motrya Gold rosin is similar to Goldflex rosin in that it also contains real gold and works on all string instruments. 
  • Both Pirastro Cellisto rosin and Larsen rosin are specialist brands for cellists. They are intended to be used on strings of the same brand but can also be used successfully with many other brands of string.
  • Young string players find rosin mounted in a plastic or wooden tray easier to use. See for example D'Addario rosin.
  • Some players with allergies react to rosin dust. An excellent solution is the hypoallergenic Clarity rosin. Try the Clarity violin/viola rosin or the Clarity cello rosin.
  • Bernadel rosin is a medium sticky French rosin for use by violinists, violists and cellists.
  • Kaplan Premium rosin is also designed for use by all string players. It gets rave reviews for being so easy to apply.

General Characteristics of Rosin

  • High quality rosin enables a perfect bow stroke without scratchiness or grittiness of tone, especially if only a thin layer of rosin is applied.
  • Light coloured rosin tends to be harder and produce a smoothish tone, whereas darker coloured rosin tends to be softer and produce a bigger, grittier tone.
  • In general violinists and violists prefer a harder rosin, cellists a medium-hard rosin and bassists a very soft, sticky rosin.
  • Steel strings can be played more successfully with a hard rosin, whereas synthetic strings generally work better with a softer rosin.
  • Experienced players tend to prefer a softer rosin for the studio and a harder rosin in the concert hall.
  • As humidity makes rosin stickier, harder rosin is best in tropical climates, and softer rosin is preferred in colder climates.