Chinrest with upwards slope needed

[New-violinist]

Dear friends,

I am looking to replace my chinrest. I now have a guarneri chinrest with an upwards slope. This is needed because the belly of my violin is rather arched. Also, there is a downwards slope from the edge of the violin which makes attaching a chinrest a challenge. On my current set-up, the cork is a bit less thick towards the edge of the violin. please see the attached pictures.
 

Would anyone know where I could find a similar chinrest? Or shoud this be custom made?

Regards!

new violinist

 

 

[David Burgess]

From the first photo, it doesn't look like you need that much of an upward slope to clear the arching.
But if you want a similar slope, that was probably done by bending the clamps, or by bushing and re-drilling the clamp holes in the chinrest at a different angle.

If you are going to attach another chinrest at that angle, I'd rather see the ebony underneath the cork reshaped to fit the top, rather than trying to do it all with just the cork.

[New-violinist]

Thanks! Is this something luthier can typically do? 

[Jacobus Drainer]

^Yes but he might suggest something different that would work better

[Michael Darnton]

Based on the second photo I'd say that the chinrest has not been properly fit to the violin, which is something that is sometimes required. This usually only requires shaping the cork to fit the scoop, around the edge, but in this case I'd take off a bit of the chinrest as well, then recork. That said, I don't know if farther up on the underside of the the cup would then rest on the top if it were properly fitted or not--you'd only know after trying. Regardless, the present situation strikes me as dodgy.

[Just Sayin’]

Looks like you’re using an over the tail piece end-block-clamped chinrest. Don’t see very many of those nowadays.

Most folks employ a side-clamped version chinrest which achieves a more resonant sound when compared to the former. You might consider experimenting with that.
 

 

[Will Turner]

Have you tried an assortment of other chinrests?

Worth testing them out at a shop that has a wide assortment.   I use a tall TEKA style myself.

 

[Michael Darnton]

1 hour ago, Just Sayin’ said:

Looks like you’re using an over the tail piece end-block-clamped chinrest. Don’t see very many of those nowadays.

Most folks employ a side-clamped version chinrest which achieves a more resonant sound when compared to the former. You might consider experimenting with that.
 

 

FWIW,  about 100% of the people I deal with use center mount Guarneri chinrests.

[nathan slobodkin]

2 hours ago, Michael Darnton said:

FWIW,  about 100% of the people I deal with use center mount Guarneri chinrests.

 

4 hours ago, Just Sayin’ said:

Looks like you’re using an over the tail piece end-block-clamped chinrest. Don’t see very many of those nowadays.

Most folks employ a side-clamped version chinrest which achieves a more resonant sound when compared to the former. You might consider experimenting with that.
 

 

I have also not seen many people using side mounted chin rests. In general I prefer over tailpiece Guarneri style unless some one specifically asks for something else or I see abnormal positioning of the instrument. Have any others noticed improved sound with side mouints?

[Michael Darnton]

@nathan slobodkin Sounds different, not usually better, at least on the type of instruments I work on / my customers. But I see people doing things all the time that I think have negative tonal effects and they don't agree. Player and instrument type matters a lot.