Guarneri Model Chinrest for Violin, Ebony, Untreated, ZK-1596-NAT
ZK-1596-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
- Barrels up to 27 mm for the 4/4 violin
Technical data
| Model | Guarneri |
| Material | Unstained ebony |
| Fittings | Screws and barrels in metal |
| Instrument | Violin |
| Item number | ZK-1596-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
The chin rest sits on the lower bout of the violin and is clamped to the rib with a metal bracket. Its clamp grips over or beside the bottom block, the wooden block inside the body that holds the end pin and reinforces the rib at this point.
The resting chin creates a hold between shoulder and head, and the violin is carried almost entirely by this hold; the left hand supports it only slightly.
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 violin chin rests we have weighed come to between around 41 g and 80 g including screws, depending on model, wood and fittings. With closed screws the barrel sets the height above the rib; violin barrels come in 25, 27 and 29 mm, and most of our violin models take barrels up to 27 mm. With the Hill fitting, by contrast, the feet are firmly joined to the chin rest.
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.
Measured on the violin: Stradivari ZK-306 in ebony 57 g, plate 6.1 × 12.3 cm, height 22 mm; Guarneri ZK-1598 in rosewood 73 g, plate 6.8 × 14.8 cm, height 21 mm; Schulze-Priska ZK-252 25 mm high.
Our experience
Before we recommend a model, our first question is whether the chin prefers to rest beside the tailpiece or centrally over it. Our experience when tightening: a chin rest only needs to sit firmly enough to hold securely, because the rib beside the bottom block is more delicate than the spot directly over the block. If the chin rest touches the tailpiece, we solve it through the angle of the screws or with a slightly longer barrel.
We make the unstained chin rests with 1.5 mm cork on the feet, just like the stained ones.
On the violin, the Guarneri and Stradivari in ebony are among our best-selling standard models.
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
What material belongs at the contact points?
Natural cork without coating, so that the chin rest does not slip and no metal touches the varnish; pressed cork is unsuitable because it crumbles over time.
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.