Shoulder Rest vln/vla super flex (W4610), WLF-SR11

Wolf Super Flexible shoulder rest for violin and viola. As with all Wolf rests, you bend the bar by hand into the shape of your own body.

• Wolf rest with adjustable pad tension
• Height up to 8 cm, angle freely adjustable
• Fits violin 3/4 to 4/4 and all viola sizes

Technical data

Features

• Super Flexible model
• For violin and viola
• Wolf Music Products manufactures in Harmelen, the Netherlands

In practice

• The adjustable pad tension is this model's particular feature.
• At the heart of the Wolf rests is a rubber bar with an aluminium rail on top. You bend it by hand into the shape of your own body.
• Important when you first unpack it: from the factory the bar is flat and not yet shaped to your body. It only becomes right over days or weeks of re-bending.
• Wolf is the choice for players looking for a rest shaped to their own body. The bar can reach over the collarbone and follow the upper chest.
• A recurring point from practice: after bending, the metal arm of the width adjustment can stick out. Tape the tip or fit a rubber cap, and the varnish stays untouched.
• According to the maker all Wolf products are latex free.
• 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.

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.

Violas are sized by body length in centimetres or inches; adult sizes range from 15.5 to 17 inches.

The dimensions a shoulder rest engages with grow with the body length.

The construction principle of back, ribs and lower bout is the same as on the violin, in larger dimensions. A viola rest therefore needs a wider span than a rest for the violin, and its feet grip taller ribs.

Wolf rests have a bendable bar that can be shaped by hand to your own body. Among players the Forte Secondo is regarded as the choice for very long necks.

The Standard models Primo and Secondo work with a fixed height. As a spare part Wolf supplies the rubber foot ends, WLF-SR58, but not complete feet.

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 who prefer to set their rest with screws and drums will find the right partner in the Kun Original or the Kun Super.

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.

What should I look for in a shoulder rest for my viola?

What counts are the lower bout width and rib height of your own instrument; on a viola with a 42 cm body they are 244 mm and 39 mm. If in doubt, measure the lower bout across at its widest point.

Why are there separate shoulder rests for the viola?

Violas are built wider and have taller ribs than violins, so the rest needs a wider span.

Are there replacement feet for Wolf shoulder rests?

The rubber foot ends are offered as spare part WLF-SR58; Wolf does not offer complete feet separately.