I thought it is time to revive this thread. I'm on a rosin rampage anyway.
I started out with Nymans, but it's been such a long time that I cannot give any proper opinion on it. All I remember is that it used to break into pieces if you dropped it, but that might be because my cake was very old.
Pops was a great help when I wasn't good enough to have a good tone. I just applied a lot of it, and it produced a loud note. But as I kept developing, I got the feeling that it was overly brutal or harsh, and that maybe it actually prevented me from getting a good sound. That being said, Pops in the hands of a great player is great, but I was using it as a shortcut to a controlled tone. Today, the things keeping me from trying it again is that it seems to produce more sizzling than most other good rosins, and that it produces such a ridiculous amount of gunk. I have seen so many basses whose varnish is ruined forever because the owner hasn't wiped off the residues every day. The other rosins either produce a dustlike powder that doesn't harm the varnish, or neraly none at all.
So I got myself a cake of Carlsson. I immediately got the feeling that this is a good rosin, but that I wasn't able to get the grip and attack that I did get with Pops. (I didn't want as much attack, but SOME.) I realised that this was partly because I had been cheating with my attack by the Pops overload, but after almost a year I got tired of constantly trying to make a sound in the orchestra. Maybe it requires a more responsive bass, or the thick Eudoxas I was playing just didn't fit the rosin.
Gaston Brohan's Oak rosin was next upon the bill. I really, really liked this rosin. I mostly use the soft cake, and a swipe of medium, but I'm mostly residing in Arctic climates. The Oak has more bite than Carlsson, but doesn't sizzle and is more gentle than Pops. Allowed me to increase my dynamic range - louder than Carlsson, quieter than Pops. Four times as expensive as Pops if you use two cakes - which you ought to do, it's a treat! - but it lasts a lot longer, too. The principal player in a München orchestra tried my bow, though, and complained that my rosin was too dry and that I really needed another rosin. He suggested - Nymans! If there was one thing I remembered about Nymans, it was that it seemed so very dry to me... so, I've realised I have to try the Carlsson and Nymans one more time before settling with something. Still had some more brands to go, though. However, I might very well be going back to this Oak stuff someday.
Then, I decided to try the most expensive stuff out there, the Liebenzeller Metall-Kolophonium, made of Larch gum with gold dust and meteor iron and some other really cool stuff in it. Four times the price per cake as Pops, and a quarter the size! They say it lasts a long time, though. Whatever. I wouldn't play the bass if I was tight-bottomed when it comes to money. After the recent rehairing of my bow, it was time to try it out. So far, it may very well provide me with the sweetest sound yet; it's tonal qualities are just great. If Pops is a lot 'in your face', and Oak is a lot less so, this is even less obnoxious in it's projection, if that term be used. It doesn't lack excitation, though. I would perhaps have second thoughts about using it as a solo rosin, but the trial period is far from over. It'll ake a great orchestral rosin. Besides its sweet sound, it can also make the bass go
VROOOOM!! without you losing control of it. It leaves a minimum of residue on the bass. There is one major problem that hasn't gone away yet, though - I just can't get a smooth, soft attack on a bow near the frog. Yes, there are some technical difficulties to take under consideration, but I could do it before. Now it sounds all metallic and scratchy. I've tried to even it out and remove any excess rosin with a piece of cloth, but no. I hope I only have to let the rosin break in a bit more - this is so close!!
The cake I have is the Gold Version. There is also a Silver-lead rosin that is said to be suitable for the Double Bass. Maybe an extra swipe of that could make the harshness near the frog go away... it could perhaps also be a result of some defect in the hair..? It has also been said that it should be used very sparingly, and maybe I was too eager to get the strings playing and applied too much of it as once. Still, I DID wipe it with a cloth...
I have a cake of Petz Premium (I thought I'd go right for their most expensive type) on the way, which is supposed to be a bit reminiscent of Pops, but with a more 'natural' feel - probably coming from the fact that this is beewax-based (which I though was greasy, but I suppose it works) as opposed to the synthetic Pops. I'll try this, and hopefully some Melos, before summer's end, if I get my other bow back from its repair in time, or if the Liebenzeller doesn't start playing properly.