From: blahx3@earthlink.net   
      
   Harold Robbins wrote:   
   > Paul Brady wrote:   
   >> On Fri, 29 Dec 2006 03:25:09 GMT, Roland Hutchinson   
   >>  wrote:   
   >>> Nobody cries when you clean the rosin off a violin.   
   >> I was recently fiddling for the day at an historic site.  A woman came   
   >> up and asked, "How long have you been playing?", and I answered, "20   
   >> years."  "No," she said, "I mean playing TODAY.  I notice you have a   
   >> lot of rosin on your instrument. I guess you've been playing a while   
   >> to get that much built up."   
   >>     I answered, "As I said, 20 years."   
   > To me that is interesting.  I have known a number of old time fiddlers   
   > who said NEVER clean the rosin off your instrument, the crystal in the   
   > rosin will scratch the surface of the fiddle.   
   >   
   > More recently I have seen excellent fiddlers with beautiful, expensive   
   > fiddles that have been consistently cleaned.  No problems with the   
   > finish was evident.   
   >   
   > Now is that evidence of a groundless fear, lazy fiddlers, or quality rosin?   
      
   Having a heavy build up of rosin on your instrument is a long standing   
   fiddlers' tradition.  Unfortunately, it is also one of the things that   
   can damage the varnish of the instrument.  Once you leave a very heavy   
   build-up sit for a long time, it is best to bring it in to have a   
   professional (try) to clean it up.  The rosin would have oxidized and   
   cake up, and possibly eaten into/react with certain type of varnishes.   
      
   Having have to do "cleaning" many times for fiddlers, I now consider it   
   a form of instrument abuse--if you have a very expensive instrument. If   
   you have a sub-grand instrument, it's a small cost to "look the part;"   
   because the end it can always be repaired.   
      
   If you care about the value of the instrument, the standard practice is   
   to wipe it down with a clean, dry, soft cloth every time after you play.   
      
   Tho   
      
   --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05   
    * Origin: you cannot sedate... all the things you hate (1:229/2)