Can someone help me love the Korfkerrest??

May 12, 2017, 12:44 PM · The standard Korfker (the Kun-like form-factor) or the super-expensive one that basically has a scaffolding?

May 12, 2017, 12:57 PM · The standard $200 one :)

May 12, 2017, 1:03 PM · The Korfker is so adjustable that it's actually a real pain to get a good adjustment, especially because it is annoyingly non-adjustable in some respects.

Like all shoulder-rests, it's not comfy for everyone, no matter what you do to it, though.

May 12, 2017, 1:12 PM · Thank you! I want so badly to love it but I just cannot get a good comfy fit for the life of me! I've tried everything.

May 12, 2017, 1:21 PM · Maybe you don't love it because you don't love it? Maybe you spent $200 and now you want to be able to validate that?

And man, I sure hate the comford cradle. That was a rest I tried to love, too. It's just so awful; I can't imagine ever liking it, as much as I've tried.

But, since you manage to love such an unwieldy beast as the Comford, I must ask this: isn't it silly to switch your shoulder rest - something that will legitimately affect your playing if changed - simply because it doesn't fit nicely in your case?

Edited: May 12, 2017, 1:40 PM · If not already baked, send it to me. I can't guarantee I will love it, but rest assured that other discarded rests will.

Edited: May 12, 2017, 1:44 PM · "I love this rest but can't get a comfy fit" ???
Burn it and be free!

Cheers Carlo

May 12, 2017, 6:55 PM · You all are cracking me up! I'm sending it back. I'll just keep on with my beastly Comford Cradle and have my $200 back in the ol' pocketbook :)

Edited: May 12, 2017, 8:22 PM · I find this is the best, most comfortable shoulder rest of them all, and cheap too=)

May 12, 2017, 8:54 PM · The 'Invisi-rest' is the lightest rest available on the market, what's more, it is guaranteed never to fall off AND it fits inside every violin case. If your case can fit a violin then 100% of the time the 'Invisi-rest' will fit too.

Cheers Carlo

May 13, 2017, 9:17 AM · Jamie, why don't you attach a bag to your case to house the Comford shoulder rest?

May 14, 2017, 7:35 AM · Jason: i once used such chamois during an orchestra rehearsal. Everyone, including violists and cellists looked at me and grinned.

May 14, 2017, 11:56 AM · I also bought the korfkerrest after briefly trying a friends rest last summer. I comes with a quite pronounced hook that to me was uncomfortable in the long run. Also the position of that hook was too close to the edge of the violin for me - I want the violin a bit higher on the shoulder than that. And although it is reshapeable I had problems getting rid of that hook. I finally clamped the rest down on a table for a few days and that made the hook less pronounced and allowed me to form the bend where I want it. I also found the lowest position on the left leg a bit too high, so I shortened it a little. I now find my combination of wave chinrest and korfker shoulder rest very comfortable. It is very light and does not lock the violin in one place but still gives me the secure hold I lack when playing restless.

May 14, 2017, 12:39 PM · That's a bit odd -- the default initial position is essentially Kun-like curve.

May 14, 2017, 1:20 PM · The overall curve is similar to the Kun, but the leftmost end on my korfker had a quite sharp hook that is not present on the Kun.

May 14, 2017, 1:46 PM · I tried Pirastro shoulder rest, but for long neck doesn't work too much, I still using Diamond viva la musica, I tried many shoulder rest, for me the best is Augustin Diamond Viva la Musica.

May 14, 2017, 1:46 PM · I tried Pirastro shoulder rest, but for long neck doesn't work too much, I still using Diamond viva la musica, I tried many shoulder rest, for me the best is Augustin Diamond Viva la Musica.

Edited: May 14, 2017, 2:24 PM · @Vanessa. You should have tried the "Invisi-rest" as there is nothing to see at all.

Cheers Carlo

May 14, 2017, 6:55 PM · @Vanessa: Grins of jealousy and approval? :)

I use nothing but CR, but I will ditch if I can play modern rep. With just a bit of chamois, or maybe even no chamois either!

Yes, I'm nuts, don't judge me... ;D

May 15, 2017, 1:36 AM · @ A.O. It's always nice to meet another "Invisi-rest" user!

Cheers Carlo

May 15, 2017, 2:04 AM · I'm waiting for the invisarest to go on sale. No way I'm paying full price for that thing!

May 15, 2017, 2:09 AM · Craig, the InvisA-rest is obviously a cheap knockoff. The original is the InvsI-rest!

Cheers Carlo

May 15, 2017, 2:52 AM · A typo on my part.

I hear that some Invisi-rests are made in China.

May 15, 2017, 3:12 AM · Craig, wash your mouth out with some American made soap!

Cheers Carlo

May 15, 2017, 4:08 AM · AO: they found it funny.

Carlos and A.O.: playing restless or not depends on my health, actually. Sometime, like this morning, i used SR because i'm not feeling well.

May 15, 2017, 4:56 AM · Carlo- I think you spar with me simply out of spite--since I have TWO scrolls as my avatar to your single one...

;^)

.

May 15, 2017, 5:30 AM · I once look for an invisi-rest... couldn't see it anywhere!

May 15, 2017, 7:21 AM · @Craig and Carlo: Lol

Vanessa: Madness! Ignorant, unenlightened fools! They know not the freedom of a liberated fiddle, and will tremble before our prowess and our Heifetz, Milstein and Mischa Elman's!!! ;D

May 15, 2017, 8:30 AM · AO: I am tired of your same comment for years lol

May 15, 2017, 9:42 AM · I have only been here for less than 2, what'cha talkin' about?

Also, it was a joke. :D

Your cat seems to agree with me that you need to relax... ;D

Edited: May 15, 2017, 1:50 PM · AO: :D I am not logged in often but i must confess, i like reading your comments :D and Buri's

May 15, 2017, 2:31 PM · Much appreciated that someone finds me funny. :)

BTW, anyone know where Buri is? :(

May 16, 2017, 1:47 PM · A.O.: Yeah we miss Buri!

May 16, 2017, 2:13 PM · Maybe he was attacked by a spelling checker :-)

Cheers Carlo

May 16, 2017, 2:31 PM · Carlo: LOL

Edited: May 23, 2017, 9:09 AM · I have been using the Korfker for the last three or so years on my
J.B.Vuillaume violin and I can attest to that my never ending search for the perfect rest has ended with this one. It just cannot get any more comfortable than this. One has to be careful though to bend it manually, exactly to one's shoulder contours and adjust the feet accordingly. Everything is explained on the Korfker site http://www.pirastro-shoulderrests.com/
Visit and see what you are doing wrong or not doing.
I have to get a third Korfker though myself, because I gave mine to a friend for an audition as he felt so comfortable with it and now he will not retrurn it as he took it to a different country.

Edited: May 23, 2017, 11:33 AM · By the way, Pirastro is always at hand to solve any problems that might arise and also advise anyone on any question they might have concerning their products. I know this first hand as in the beginning I had an issue with the Korfker and none other than the same Berent Korfker who designed the rest contacted me and solved my issue instantly.
It's only fair to give Pirastro a chance about the shoulder rest as they designed it and know what's amiss if someone has any issues with it. The web address I posted in my previous post. Use it.

May 23, 2017, 5:01 PM · Kypros, how did you choose your Vuillaume? Have you played any better violins, or did you choose it based on price?

I was looking at one recently and I loved the sound more than any other violins I have played, (I think it was a later one, about 1873) but the asking price is $240,000, which I feel is a bit on the high side. It is a Del Gesu model.

May 23, 2017, 7:49 PM · That would seem to be a likely market value for one in good condition.

I picked mine on sound. Heard it played, instantly wanted it, and it turned out to feel just as terrific as it sounded. Wasn't even vaguely looking at the time.

Edited: May 24, 2017, 10:51 PM · Erik, I was quite lucky to have been offered it, as it's one of the very good ones, Guarneri copy 1857. I was told it's not a particular Gel-Gesu copy, but an amalgamant of Vuillaume's idears, incorporating the good points he saw in Del-Gesu. The body resembles the cannon, but the scroll is nothing like it. It was in a vault for many years unplayed. Initially the sound was not what it could be, but I saw the potential as it was a big sound full of colors but lacked concentration.It took sometime to set it up perfectly. It has beaten anything put against it even a real Del-Gesu. It's also in great condition, no cracks anywhere.
BTW, $240,000 for a Del-Gesu copy Vuillaume is cheap if in good condition.
But isn't this about the Korfker? And yes,I use the Korfker on the Vuillaume.

May 25, 2017, 1:59 PM · That's great to hear, kypros. This thread is indeed about the korfker, but you mentioning your Vuillaume was just coincidental to me. It's hard to get player-info on stuff like this!

Lydia, when you say you picked yours on sound, are you implying you have a Vuillaume? For some reason I was under the impression you play on a modern violin.

The one I played: the best way I can describe it is it made me sound like a professional; not just under my ear but also when recorded through my phone (the ULTIMATE test!). Very comfortable and easy and to play, and all notes were "fruitful" in a resonant way, very similar to the sound one gets when they play an A on the D-string and vibrate it, to where the sympathetic resonance from the open A is broken up by the vibrato and it makes the vibrato 10x more potent, even when very little width is given to the vibrato. Given that smaller vibrato yielded a larger effect, I found that the instrument was also far less tiring to play than others.

The feeling of having resonance on all notes - and not just notes where you're getting sympathetic vibrations from another string - was definitely an excellent one.

May 25, 2017, 2:13 PM · Yeah, I have a mid-1850s, Strad model, not one of the Messiah bench copies but apparently based on it. I used to have a late-19th-century Italian (an Enrico Marchetti), which I sold when I bought the Vuillaume about two years ago. And before that, I had a contemporary violin by Rafael Carrabba.

It is a thoroughly fabulous violin, and it's very versatile, though it really takes fine-grained control to play it well. I use a Korfker rest with it, and it really makes a huge difference. The instrument is sensitive to adjustments and it's surprisingly sensitive to both the weight of a rest and how tightly it clamps to the body of the violin.

Note, by the way, that I don't think the Korfker necessarily makes a significant tonal difference for all violins. But on this one, I find my VLM Diamond to be slightly more comfortable, but the sound difference from the Korfker -- a more open ring -- is significant enough that I've stuck with the Korfker.

May 25, 2017, 4:25 PM · The VLM diamond is the rest I use and is by far the best-sounding I've tried (although I never tried the korfker).

In fact, on many instruments I've put it on, I believe the tone and projection has improved as compared to w/o a shoulder rest (I know that sounds crazy, but try it before judging!).

I also like that it's non-conforming for the most part.... sort of feels more like a rigid pad than a typical shoulder-grabbing rest. Also you can position it much closer to the collarbone while the feet of the rest remain sturdily mounted in the ideal position, which is great.

Edited: May 26, 2017, 4:49 AM · I used to play with a VLM diamomd myself and I have a few, but there is no comparison between the VLM and the Korfker. When the Korker is set-up correctly to ones own physique, nothing can beat it. Now I can not even try the VLM as it feels so uncomfortable in comparison. With the Korfker, it's like having the back of the violin in perfect contour caressing the shoulder and I don't even feel it's there. such is the difference. Regarding sound enhancement, I did find that on the Vuillaume it made a slight difference to the better,but it's a poor test. This instrument sounds good anyway, as it's very well set-up. There are shoulder rests out there that will take away sound from the violin, but the good ones either enhance the sound or make a very little difference to it. The Korfker is a fiddle to adjust as there are so many adjustments to it,one has to approach every single adjustment on its own. For example the first thing I'll do is correct the comtour of the rest to follow my shoulder shape exactly, then the height and then the tilt. I use it on a low height. Pirastro as I pointed out before has a site that explains everything.