Guarneri Chinrest Viola natural Ebony, ZK-V4258-NAT
ZK-V4258-NAT
The plate reaches over the tailpiece, the clamp sits centrally over the bottom block and the dip lies to its left. A flat contact area, which keeps the head mobile in play. Natural ebony with brown to grey figure; every piece shows its own grain.
- The clamp sits over the bottom block, which reinforces the body from inside at this point; there it holds securely
- Screws and barrels in metal
- Supplied with one pair of barrels each in 32 mm and 35 mm
Technical data
| Model | Guarneri |
| Material | Unstained ebony |
| Fittings | Screws and barrels in metal |
| Instrument | Viola |
| Item number | ZK-V4258-NAT |
Features
- Contact points lined with Portuguese cork
- Height means the distance between the top and the plate. It depends on neck length and shoulder rest: those who set the instrument high get by with a flat chin rest, those who carry it lower need more height
- Higher models are usually heavier. In our experience a heavier chin rest makes the sound a little warmer and darker; a light one leaves it more open
Sound and physics
Viola barrels come in 32 mm and 35 mm; many viola models are supplied with one pair in each length. What counts for the choice is the rib height at the lower bout, measured from back to top.
Acoustically, the chin rest adds a mass with its own damping to the edge of the body through a few contact points. It therefore mainly slows those natural vibrations of the body that move strongly at these contact points, and leaves free those that have a node (a point at rest) there.
The viola chin rests we have weighed come to between around 55 g and 67 g including screws.
The suffix -NAT stands for unstained ebony: it is not stained, only treated with beeswax. The natural features of the wood with their grain flames therefore remain visible; the difference from stained ebony is purely aesthetic and not a difference in quality.
As a wood it is the same dense ebony; after working, the chin rests are stored for several months to dry through. Of the three woods we use for chin rests, ebony is the densest, ahead of rosewood and boxwood. African ebony (Diospyros crassiflora) has a density of 1,000 to 1,050 kg/m³ at 12 % moisture content.
Guarneri, Stradivari and Schulze-Priska are mounted over the tailpiece. Together with the Varga, these shapes differ mainly in how deeply the dip is curved: of the four, the Stradivari has the deepest and most contoured plate, the Varga follows, the Guarneri is gently curved and the Schulze-Priska has no curvature. The deeper plate guides the chin more closely and so gives more control.
Our experience
When we advise on a viola, we ask for the rib height and then put together the matching pair of barrels. Our experience with tightening applies to the viola as well: only firmly enough that the chin rest holds securely, because the rib beside the bottom block is more delicate than the spot directly over the block.
We make the unstained chin rests with 1.5 mm cork on the feet, just like the stained ones.
For the viola we like to recommend the Varga instead of the Guarneri.
When another model suits you better
Anyone looking for a consistently deep black to match stained ebony pegs will choose the same model in stained ebony.
Anyone who prefers to rest the chin beside the tailpiece will find a flat, side-mounted shape in the Kaufmann or the Slim Style.
Frequently asked questions
How much does the NAT version differ visually from the stained one?
The difference is small: the unstained wood shows its natural features and grain flames, while stained ebony is black throughout.
Do you also make boxwood as a NAT version?
No, the suffix -NAT is used by us for ebony only; boxwood is a light wood in any case.
Which of these chin rests has the deepest dip?
The Stradivari, followed by the Varga; the Guarneri is more gently curved, and the Schulze-Priska has no curvature.
These texts hold decades of experience and a great deal of heart. They are protected by copyright, C.A. Götz jr. GmbH. Please ask us before any use. Thank you for your appreciation.