Leatherwood Bespoke Rosin is formulated and handmade in Australia by violinist Andrew Baker to create specialist rosins for all bowed string instruments in Set Recipes and Bespoke Blends.
From Leatherwood Rosin's trial community (over 250 string players worldwide) emerged a new vocabulary, a new language... attack, traction, drag, texture, glassiness, crispness, surface noise, and even 'sizzle'! The status quo has changed from just finding a rosin that works, to tangibly altering your rosin to fit the exacting needs of your playing.
Leatherwood's set recipes, supple and crisp (recipes that evolved form extensive consultation in our trial community), offer a great platform to start your rosin journey. From there, the variations are almost limitless!
From Leatherwood Bespoke Rosin evolved out of this passion, offering string players a means to directly inform and shape their rosin experience. Andrew believes the relationship between client and maker is just as relevant for rosin as for instruments and bows. With over 20 years experience as a performing violinist, pedagogue, researcher and manager, Andrew wishes to continue contributing to the experiences of string players through a product that enhances their playing and indulges their senses.
Supple and Crisp
Available for violin, viola and cello, our supple and crisp blends provide quite different but specific sound and response characteristics to enhance your sound:
CRISP: A decisive attack, firm traction and crisp sautille; this recipe creates an undeniably forthright sound through a glassier texture.
SUPPLE: A warm and softer sound, consistent traction that feels velvety and rich; this recipe maintains a reliably sharp attack on the string.
Leatherwood Rosin's baroque instrument blends are available for:
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Baroque Violin / treble viol
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Baroque Viola / tenor viol / viola d'amore
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Baroque cello / bass viol
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Violone (Bass Supple Blend)
Specially formulated for gut strings; a gentle but clean attack, while smoother traction, allows the string to resonate freely with maximum clarity.
Baroque rosin makes a bright, clear sound with a feeling that the bow is quicker on the string and makes it easier to play fast with more clarity. The smoother traction allows the string to be played with more intensity without distortion and also reduce the ‘squeak’ often encountered with using modern rosins on gut.
With a baroque bespoke blend, the initial attack can be increased, and the traction thickened (made stickier) for use on thicker strings.
Leatherwood Bespoke Rosin currently offer two blends for bass:
Crisp - Solo & recital bass
This blend offers a smooth and consistent traction which enhances the sound and overtones in melodic playing. The initial attack is clean, crisp and offers plenty of bite on 4-string basses for solo, recital and chamber music settings. This rosin is stable in a range of temperatures, maintaining its shape and texture in a normal range of temperatures. It will only start to soften in exposed to direct sunlight or ambient temperature above 35 degrees celsius.
Supple - Baroque & soft string bass
This softer blend has a slightly reduced initial stickiness so the vibration of a gut or softer string is not inhibited. It offers a consistent and warm traction and is stable in a range of temperatures, maintaining its shape and texture in a normal range of temperatures. It will only start to soften in exposed to direct sunlight or ambient temperature above 35 degrees celsius.
Orchestral Bass Rosins
We are currently working with around 60 orchestral bass players from around the world to develop bass rosin suitable for heavy orchestral playing. More information will be released at the end of the trial.
