Although I am a professional cellist I have often not been sure what cello rosin is best and have sometimes suspected the whole subject is spurious. Mostly I have used a variety of high quality rosins – including Laubach gold, Laubach non-gold and sometimes borrowed violin rosin – and have never noticed much difference.
Rosin problems
Recently though, the rosin I was using ( Laubach) didn’t seem to stay on my bow easily or have much traction. I had read that Andrea cello rosin was excellent and for best results should be used just after the bow has been rehaired, so different brands are not mixed.
I was due a rehair anyway so I tried the solo dark variety and the results have been good. So far I am using far less rosin than I was before, the articulation is immediate and clear and there is a definite improvement in traction. Although this cello rosin is expensive – it cost £35 for a full cake – it should last a long time.
You can buy it here http://www.thestringzone.co.uk/andrea-solo-rosin
Other views
The brilliant cellist David Finckel has strong views on this subject and devotes a five minute video to it in one of his 100 cello talks – which you can view below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qTNrhYHwlPo&list=PLAE1ED06AB33DF65D&index=11
The results for him are convincing, but this doesn’t mean it would be right for everyone. Luckily, buying rosin is less expensive than buying new strings and so it’s easy to experiment. If you are looking for a mid-price option my bow rehairer strongly recommends Art Craft no 7 dark rosin by Kaplan which costs around £7 a cake: http://www.thestringzone.co.uk/kaplan-artcraft-rosin
And why not try your new rosin out by playing our cello duets? The link is below:
https://www.fedorastrings.com/product-category/cello-duets-all-styles/
