Dear violinists,

Where is best to go to try out a large selection of shoulder pads and rests?
Does anyone have any suggestions for shoulder pads in particular?
I have some serious shoulder problems which I am now convinced are being caused almost entirely by my shoulder rest (a Wolf) and resulting habits. I think I need a smaller rest, and something closer to the edge of the violin so that it sits on my collarbone rather than lower down.

Helpis urgent, and greatly appreciated!

Kun shoulder rests are great
I used to have a big thick shoulder rest which was awful for my posture and playing
I now have a Kun though, the Kun super. It's really comfortable and is adjustable in many ways so you can have it how it's most comfortable for you - like you i prefer it closer to the end of my violin. It's also thin, and has a dip in it so it fits to the shape of your shoulder. Very comfortable

Hey Bohemian - nice to see you around!

If the wolf isn't any good, go to a good luthier's and ask them to look at the whole combination of shoulder and chin rest - they'll let you try all kinds of shoulder rest and will even put on different chin rests to see how the combination works for you.

Have you tried playing without one? A lot of the problems I had disappeared when I took my shoulder rest off and now I find playing with one feels unnatural.

Luthier is the way forward I think.

Nice description of actual differences here
though I don't know where you could find a shop near you.

Viohazard could never seem to get his Kun rest comfortable, but liked a Mach One he borrowed so much that he has used one for the past 4 years. It is a lot curvier than a Kun, and sits neatly against his shoulder without slithering down or rocking back and forth on the collarbone....but what suits him wouldn't necessarily suit you.

Definitely agree that the "go and try lots" is the way forward. It's such a personal thing, what suits one person wonderfully will be totally wrong for you (frinstance, I've been using Wolf shoulder rests since I was about 10 or 11!! Long neck and few others will go high enough to make life even vaguely comfortable for me. And no shin rest just means the fiddle slides off my shoulder! Used to use a chamois-covered pad as I recall with a rubber band at the very beginning the relief for me of a "proper" rest was immense, and then the upgrade to the Wolf was a huge blessing! )...

The only place I can think of to recommend is the Bristol Violin Shop, but don't know if this is convenient for you in terms of getting there to try things, and it's been an awfully long time since I went there but seem to remember it's the kind of place that would have lots of potential ones to try. That said, I also remember they were a bit scary/pushy/condescending so if you can find a friendly luthier with a good stock...

If you can take your teacher along to help you work out the right combination then all the better!

Just spotted this on the BVS website... violin shoulder rests and pads - may give you some useful info, anyway, on what they stock and (if you scroll down) some of the differences between them...

That must be where I am going wrong...must get a shin rest!!!

d'oh!

Thanks for the suggestions, I'm planning a trip to Guivier's this week to try a bunch out.

Rosfrog, I have tried playing without, and for certain things I find it very comfortable, but with shifts to stratospheric positions I find it too tricky without any support on the left of the instrument. If that makes sense. Probably a load of habits formed from having used a shoulder rest for so long. Actually, it's the shifting down which I find hard, rather than going up. I sort of wish I could play without, as the sound is much better, since the violin is free to resonate and not clamped by bits of rubber.

Has anyone had experience with the Menuhin shoulder rest?

Basic copies of the Menuhin rest used to be pretty much the only style rest that was readily available, then the likes of Kun and Wolf came to prominence.

The Menuhin style rest seems to have fallen out of favour but again, try all you can as everyones likes and dislikes are different.

What's the Menuhin shoulder rest? I thought Yehudi Menuhin never used a shoulder rest but I couldn't help but feel he held his violin scroll a little higher than his shoulder when I watched him play Habanera on YouTube hehe.

He didn't use it, he just gave his name to one for money. Horrid things, if you have long hair - they keep getting caught up in your hair and pulling it out

Liz



Same here.



Have you tried a wood one such as the Kun Bravo or Viva professional or Mach One? Those are supposed to improve the tone. I wouldn't know because I don't use a rest but that is the claim that is made.

Liz

Has anyone had the chance to use/try a Mach One?

I saw one in a shop recently and it looked very pretty and a really interesting shape. But it was over £50 so I didn't even try it in case I fell in love with it. Very nice wooden thing.

£50??! Is that the present going rate??

We might (I only said might) have one you can try if you like. It won't be £50 though.

Liz

For the maple wood Mach One, yes, £50 is about the going rate. I normally use a Kun Bravo, but have found the Mach One to be equally comfortable.


I've got very long hair but never seem to get it caught in any shoulder rest Apart from the obvious - to tie long hair back - if the hair is long enough, just pull it round over your right shoulder. Mine always stays put like that.

I generally use a Kun but also like the Play-on-Air, which is like an inflatable rubber dinghy. I can see me changing over completely.

Personally I like the Viva, I have a red standard one and a black one with collapsable feet. I like the look of the wooden ones though.