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Violin people - please recommend a rosin!


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We did a couple lead tests today: some mugs and our rosin. Well, the mugs were all fine, but to my surprise the rosin wasn't :confused:. And no, it's not the type of rosin that has lead added on purpose. Of course I don't know how critical the lead level is, especially since the color change didn't happen instantly, but I don't want to take any chances in that regard.

 

Can anyone recommend a good rosin, preferably low-dust?

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We did a couple lead tests today: some mugs and our rosin. Well, the mugs were all fine, but to my surprise the rosin wasn't :confused:. And no, it's not the type of rosin that has lead added on purpose. Of course I don't know how critical the lead level is, especially since the color change didn't happen instantly, but I don't want to take any chances in that regard.

 

Can anyone recommend a good rosin, preferably low-dust?

What type of lead test did you do? I've heard that the types you purchase off the shelf at Home Depot and the like are not reliable (false positives and false negatives).

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Homax Lead Check, the Home Depot kind. These tests are not very accurate, there are plenty of false negatives. False positives are rare, though. When the CPSC tested them, only 2 of 104 test results were false positives.

 

XRF or lab testing is out of the question, so I'll just use some other rosin :glare:.

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But how would you know which brands of rosin have lead in them?

 

I mean... I can suggest a few... but I would have no idea if they had any measurable levels of lead in them...

 

ETA: Why not call a strings store, share your experience with the lead testing, and ask them if they can lead (ha) you in the right direction? They sell MANY brands of rosin and might know something about whether or not any of them have lead in them.

 

Here are two places you might start.

Contact info is on their home page.

 

www.sharmusic.com

www.johnsonstring.com

Edited by zaichiki
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As my dd8 is taking her first violin lesson tomorrow, this really caught my eye. I googled lead in rosin and this is what I found:

 

"Some companies also add precious metals to their recipes—another choice to consider when shopping for rosin. It is not uncommon to see gold, silver, lead-silver, and copper added to rosin. These materials purportedly increase the rosin's static friction, creating different tonal qualities."

 

"Lead-silver rosin is well-suited for both the violin and viola and is a soft but nontacky rosin. It enhances warmth and clarity, producing a fresh playing tone."

 

Source: http://www.allthingsstrings.com/Bows/CARE-MAINTENANCE/The-Differences-Between-Dark-and-Amber-Rosin

 

This begs the question, what is lead-silver. Another google search reveals that silver is found attached to lead, so silver mined from lead is lead-silver.

 

"Silver is found in lead, zinc, and copper ore deposits. A full two-thirds of the silver resources in the world are found in association with these other metal ores. The remaining third is found in association with deposits of gold."

 

Source:http://www.mii.org/minerals/photosilver.html

 

I have no idea how you know if your rosin has lead in it or not, nor if this information is helpful.:D

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As my dd8 is taking her first violin lesson tomorrow, this really caught my eye. I googled lead in rosin and this is what I found:

 

"Some companies also add precious metals to their recipes—another choice to consider when shopping for rosin. It is not uncommon to see gold, silver, lead-silver, and copper added to rosin. These materials purportedly increase the rosin's static friction, creating different tonal qualities."

 

"Lead-silver rosin is well-suited for both the violin and viola and is a soft but nontacky rosin. It enhances warmth and clarity, producing a fresh playing tone."

 

Source: http://www.allthingsstrings.com/Bows/CARE-MAINTENANCE/The-Differences-Between-Dark-and-Amber-Rosin

 

This begs the question, what is lead-silver. Another google search reveals that silver is found attached to lead, so silver mined from lead is lead-silver.

 

"Silver is found in lead, zinc, and copper ore deposits. A full two-thirds of the silver resources in the world are found in association with these other metal ores. The remaining third is found in association with deposits of gold."

 

Source:http://www.mii.org/minerals/photosilver.html

 

I have no idea how you know if your rosin has lead in it or not, nor if this information is helpful.:D

 

:lol: I'm not sure if that information is helpful, either, but it sure is information, isn't it? ;)

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:lol::lol: Isn't it though?

 

Makes we wonder if I need to get rid of my silver jewelry...:tongue_smilie:

 

:lol::lol::lol:

 

I wonder where we could find information about that. Not sure if it would help us, though.

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