Viva la Musica Shoulder Rest for Violin 1/8, Brown, ZSR-A80FST-5

Viva la Musica Flex shoulder rest for violin 1/8, colour brown. It has an S-shaped polycarbonate bar with feet that fold and rotate through 360 degrees.

• S-shaped polycarbonate bar
• Feet fold and rotate through 360 degrees
• Legs of springy tool steel

Technical data

Features

• Flex model
• For violin 1/8
• Available in all common instrument sizes
• Colour brown
• Viva la Musica Avgustin manufactures in Celje, Slovenia

In practice

• The Flex offers similar adjustment options to the wooden models, made in plastic.
• Height first: when you place the instrument and lower your chin, the spine should stay straight and the head should not tilt. Better to start too low and raise it step by step.
• Then the tilt, and set each foot separately. The shoulder slopes away from the neck towards the arm; if one side sits in the air, only an edge is bearing.
• Chin rest and shoulder rest work together. With a long neck a higher chin rest can take over part of the height, so the shoulder rest need not be wound up to its limit.
• Rubber feet are wearing parts. Replaced in good time, they keep the rest secure on the rib and protect the varnish.
• Tighten screws and lock nuts occasionally. That way the height you set stays in place.

Sound and physics

The violin is clamped between shoulder and chin and held almost entirely by this clamping; the left hand gives only slight support. The shoulder rest forms the lower abutment of this clamp on the shoulder.

By lifting the vibrating back away from the body, the rest keeps its radiation backwards and downwards free of damping by the body. Its feet grip the edge of the lower bout; each of these small points of contact acts on the vibration of the back only locally (damping, that is, drawing energy from the vibration), and the more strongly the back vibrates at exactly that spot, the greater the effect.

At the edge the top and back overhang the ribs by around 3 mm, and the back is worked thicker there, around 3.3 mm, than in the adjoining area at 2.5 to 2.8 mm. The width of the rest is governed by the width of the lower bout, and on a 4/4 violin also by a rib height of 30 mm.

Viva la Musica's plastic lines rely on polycarbonate: the Compact is made of highly flexible polycarbonate with a patented adjustment system, the Flex of polycarbonate in pastel and transparent versions. The Original is the maker's oldest model and is made from a locally sourced material.

Of the Viva la Musica models in our range, the Compact has the lowest profile. A Flex in size S weighs around 88 g net.

On the Flex Pastel, black and lilac come with black feet, the other colours with white feet. They are made in Slovenia.

When another model suits you better

Players who prefer to play without a shoulder rest and want more hold at the chin are better served by a taller chin rest, on the 4/4 violin for example the Morawetz High with its 25 mm cup height.

Players looking for a wooden model will find the same maker's real wood lines in the Diamond, made of curly maple, and in the Professional.

Frequently asked questions

Does a shoulder rest change the sound of the violin?

The rest lifts the vibrating back away from the body and touches the instrument only with its feet at the edge of the lower bout. Each of these points of contact has a local damping effect, the stronger the more the back vibrates at exactly that spot.

How wide does a shoulder rest for a 3/4 violin need to be?

The lower bout of a 3/4 violin is around 195 mm wide. The rest is set so that both feet grip the rib securely at the edge of the lower bout.

Which Viva la Musica rest has the lowest profile?

Of the Viva la Musica models in our range, the Compact has the lowest profile, which suits players looking for a very flat setup.

What is the Viva Flex made of?

Polycarbonate; on the pastel version the feet come in black or white depending on the colour.