Kolophonium Manufaktur Seitz

2012 Review #72:
Yet another thing that separates musicians from the rest of the world, are our silly supplies. You might think all it takes to play the violin is a hollow block of wood, a string with some hair, and some taught wires. But no. Besides the fact that those basic elements are extremely complex, there are little things that go along with them. One of those things is rosin.
Rosin is basically glorified tree sap. It starts as tree sap and is essentially cooked to various forms of purity. Bass rosin is sort of like diesel fuel; not very refined, and is actually sticky and malleable to the touch. Violin rosin is like Super Premium gas; very cooked, very brittle, and very refined. It is used to create friction between the bow hair and the strings of an instrument. Although rosin is, at its core, a basic thing, it can be a very refined thing. For the beginning student, rosin is rosin, but as you get more advanced, people start to get a little nutty.
Larica was formerly known as Liebenzeller rosin. This rosin is, and was, made from Larch tree sap, taken only from trees in the black forest. Why the company changed names, I don’t know. I do know that these people take tree sap seriously. Not only is it taken from specific trees in a specific region, but this rosin is cured with various metals in the mix when it is being made. On a hardness scale of I-​VI, this rosin contains either: gold, silver, pyrite, zinc, copper, lead, or meteoric iron. Yes, iron from a meteor. These people are serious. Why do they do this? Well, according to them, it creates a different sound. Gold is more brilliant, silver is softer and warmer, and the iron is vigorous and the most powerful. I’m not sure how much of a difference can actually be noticed. What I do know is that this stuff is all quality.
Rosin in its cheapest form costs about $ 2 for a 2×1 inch brick. That alone would last about 1 year to a serious player, if the rosin were cheap. The more expensive the rosin, generally, the less filler there is, and it is therefore denser and takes longer to whittle down. I have had my Liebenzeller Gold II rosin for 5 years and it basically looks untouched. With cheap rosin you need at least 10 full swipes to get coverage on the bow for a few days. With Liebenzeller/​Larica, I need maybe 5 full swipes for most of a week. This is with playing 6 – 8 hours a day. You will, however, pay a pretty penny for this stuff, with a small brick costing around $ 35 dollars. Is that a lot for tree sap? Yes. But this tree sap will last at least 5 – 10 years with moderate play, and even if it doesn’t enhance your sound, it will at least make you feel like a badass, knowing you have interstellar material on your violin strings.