I'm the person Bill is talking about. What happened with me is, I started playing the fiddle in November last year and by Christmas I had a "heat lump" type rash in-between my fingers, and I was definitely having problems going upstairs to my 3rd. floor office at work(no lift). I then picked up a chest infection that I couldn't shake off. Eventually I went to my doctors and when I explained the symptoms, she said that I'd developed Asthma, caused by an allergy to the rosin. I tried to cut down on the amount of rosin I was using but it was still having problems and having to use an inhaler. I was at the point of giving up the fiddle, and put a request for suggestions on the bowed strings newsgroup. Someone sent me the E-mail address of the inventor and he sent me a sample. It's early days but my lungs seem a lot better, and I no longer need the inhaler.

The material is completely clear, and gives a very slick silky feeling to the bow in use, experienced fiddlers that have tried my bow say that it helps them to play faster, and they don't have a problem with it reducing the volume, I do, It must be my poor technique. The manufacturer tells me that he can produce different versions of the product with different properties(just like the different grades of rosin)to give a louder, harsher tone. It isn't affected by humidity, and doesn't deteriorate on the bow so you don't have to repeatedly apply every time you play, just as it wears off. I've E-mailed the guy to ask if it's OK to print his e-mail address, and will print it here if he says yes. He says that it is based on an adhesive that is used in medical products, and is Hypoallergenic. He doesn't want it to be thought of as just a product for people with an allergy but thinks that it is a superior product to rosin. Again the other fiddlers who've tried it liked it. It doesn't seem to affect me like rosin, I can run upstairs at work and I am now practising regularly again and about to inflict myself on the long suffering customers in the jug.