Kolstein Ultra Formulation Supreme Bass Rosin Soft KR-013 Low Powdering and Smooth, Easy Bowing Rosins, Resin

This is a comparative review of Samuel Kolstein's Bass rosin vs Pop's Bass Rosin. Both are very good but this is why I prefer Kolstein's. While Pop's is great and one of the standard rosin brands for Double Bassists, I have always preferred Kolstein's brand (and not because I owned a bass and bow from the luthier Sam Kolstein for years- comparatively, it just surpasses Pop's performance). Pop's is just too soft and with Kolstein it is just the right consistency to give you a good grip without being too sticky, runny etc especially in warm weather. It also does not get too hard or have a tendency to crack in colder weather as Pop's does. You can tell by the sound when someone has too much rosin on their bow and with Kolstein, even if you use a little more than you need it won't "glob" up on your bow hair and create that kind of "gravely" sound behind the note when there's too much. It gives you an excellent grip but still allows the bow hair to have a natural feel and sound on the string (also a little secret is that I always carry a toothbrush and brush off any excess rosin and separate the hairs). Pop's is so soft that with more inexperienced players, they can easily use far too much rosin and suffer from too much rosin build up on the bow hair which affects sound negatively. You can see from the posted images that there is a much smaller quantity of the Kolstein brand than the Pop's. Why? Contrary to belief you really don't need much rosin at all if you have quality bow hair- (if you go with "AAA" level Moroccan horse hair in either salt and pepper or black, you really need very little rosin- if you use this same quality but in white, you just need a bit more on it than you'd use for the salt-pepper and black because the hair is naturally not as course. Ask your bow repairer/ luthier for this type of hair and you will hear a major difference in the bow sound before you even use any rosin. NEVER use synthetic bow hair. Synthetic hair combined with rosin equals bad tone. Also the actual Kolstein rosin itself comes encapsulated inside a rubber sleeve (see images) that maintains the structure of the rosin itself within the outer gold cardboard casing and won't allow the rosin to stick to the sides in any weather. All I do is roll down the rubber just enough to draw the bow across it a couple times, let the rubber go and it keeps everything nicely in its place. This is an upgrade from back in the day when it was encased in a cardboard casing you had to peel off. As you can see from the Pop's rosin (given to me to use from an instrument rental shop with a piece of the paper cup torn off ---huge mistake!). The rosin melts out of the cup often and once it gets out of its paper cup holder it sticks to the plastic cup. When it is not melting, it's generally cracking. I suggest getting Kolstein's All-Weather grade (this is the ultra which works too) and you will be covered for well over a year by using sparingly on good bow hair. HAPPY PLAYING!!

As someone who has played String Bass for about 50 years, I've tried and used a lot of various Rosin's over the years. There are even some Rosins no longer made. By every stretch, Kolstein rosin the absolutely the best rosin I've ever tried. 1: Unlike other rosins, over time the rosin doesn't "glaze", it remains consistent. 2: It has excellent aggressive gripping power on the strings. I love that. 3: It has excellent tone. You'd be surprised at the differences between rosins. 4: It does not take a long time to rosin up your bow. Other rosins you have to really warm them up with many strokes. Kolstein rosin applies easily to the bow. 5: It doesn't create a lot of dust, good for allergic type issues and keeping the bass clean. One thing to note, all Rosins are NOT compatible. Use up or clean off the rosin on bow before changing over to Kolstein or any other rosin. Kolstein Music has been probably the most reputable and expert bass dealer in the United States. It's an incredible treat to visit their store and see their incredible array of vintage and new basses. They have engineered a number of products over the years, various strings, cases, bridges, all with excellent quality and integrity. I also recommend the rosin to my students, sometimes giving them. Picture of my 1930 Ferratti Italian Bass, Dolling German Bow, Kolstein protective Bib for a bass, and an old cake of very used rosin. I got this bass from Barrie Kolstein as well. see my web site www.comarow.com

Excellent product. Arrived on time and undamaged. Well worth the money.

Fine product. I especially like the very low dust factor.

I've tried multiple brands of rosin over the last few years while living in Boston and Kolstein is the only one I've found to be reliable. It's good all year round and provides me with ample grip without being overly tacky and goopy in the summers like pops does. I've also tried Carlsson and Nyman, which are actually the exact same and they're much too dry and powdery in the Boston winters for my liking as an orchestral player.

The Kolstein soft bass rosin works quite well with my bow and Pirastro strings. Good grip. I find I have to rosin daily, but that's OK. I love the packaging with the silicon rosin holder - much better packaging than Pops brand, with that awful paper cup the rosin sits in. Anyway - I would have liked to have given Kolstein Bass Rosin (soft) 4 & 1/2 stars but Amazon made me just give four. It works very well and I will buy it again.

It's great bass rosin. I have tried Pop's, Nyman, and Kolstein. I like Pop's and Kolstein the best. Pop's (when fresh) is the stickiest. Nyman is hard and powdery. Kolstein is very sticky and there is almost no powder at all. There is something special in their formulation. I believe Kolstein includes wax in their rosin recipe, which keeps dust from forming. The other benefit of Kolstein is that it lasts for a very long time on the shelf. Pop's will dry out in less than 2 years. Some people will only use Pop's for a few months before throwing it away. I go back and forth between Kolstein and Pop's. I still can't decide which is my favorite. But them both and try it out.

It arrived as a nice cake of Kolstein soft grade. I find that with my bow and the hair I have on it, this is the kind of rosin I prefer. If you're reading reviews because you don't know what brand/kind of rosin to get, I'd say try a few either by purchasing or by stealing a few swipes off someone who's willing to share and see what you like best. If you're reading the comments to figure out if Amazon is a reliable place to be buying your rosin, I'll just say mine arrived perfectly and was exactly what I was looking for to replace my last batch.