Thomastik Artist Rosin 202A Hard (Round), ST-202AIII-ROSIN

The Thomastik Artist Rosin No. 202A in hard formulation (III) is the Artist Line grade for violin and viola. The firm recipe is especially suited for warmer or more humid environments.

• Hard (III) glides more smoothly, leaves fewer deposits and is the calmer choice in heat and humidity
• Rosin ages; if the surface turns glassy, roughening it lightly helps

Technical data

Description

It provides precise, controlled grip and supports focused tone production with brilliance. Thanks to the hard consistency, dust generation is particularly low. The rosin comes on a cloth holder, ready to play. Made in Vienna by Thomastik-Infeld.

Sound and physics

Rosin (the residue left when turpentine is distilled from conifer resin) raises the static friction (the friction between two surfaces that are not yet sliding against each other) on the bow hair. The bow therefore carries the string along until the string's restoring force prevails; the string then slides back and grips once more.

The difference between static and sliding friction, to which rosin contributes, helps set the minimum and maximum bow force (the pressure of the bow on the string) between which a steady note forms. Within this range the string breaks away exactly once per vibration (Helmholtz motion), and the tone contains the complete series of harmonics (the whole-number multiples of the fundamental).

Frequently asked questions

Why does a bow need rosin?

Rosin raises the static friction between bow hair and string. The bow only carries the string for as long as that friction exceeds the string's restoring force, and the bowed tone grows from this alternation of gripping and sliding.

Where does the name colophony come from?

From the city of Colophon in Asia Minor. Colophony, or rosin, is the residue from distilling turpentine out of conifer resin.