Abstract: A vulcanizable rubber composition comprises (a) a rubber component; (b) a methylene donor compound; and (c) a methylene acceptor comprising a blend of a high ortho-ortho bonded phenolic novolak resin and a resorcinolic resin. The resin blend can be made by a number of methods. For example, it can be prepared by first reacting one or more phenolic compounds represented by the following formula: where R is selected from the group consisting of H, an alkyl group chain of 1-16 carbon atoms and an aralkyl group of 8-12 carbon atoms with an aldehyde in the presence of an ortho directing catalyst and then combining a resorcinol-formaldehyde novolak resin to obtain a phenolic and resorcinolic novolak resin blend.