Pirastro KorfkerRest for viola

Description

First of all, it is important to remember that each element on the viola will influence its sound. It is not only about masses, densities, interfaces, and absorptions that are combined to become the ingredients of a unique recipe – the tone of your instrument. An accessory that is often dismissed is the shoulder rest – and it can have huge impacts on the sound and on the musician’s health. That is why I present here different advantages of the really famous Pirastro KorfkerRest for viola.

 

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Manufacture

Factory-made

 

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Maker

Pirastro – Berent Korfker

 

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Origin

Made in Germany

 

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Advantages of Pirastro KorfkerRest for viola

First of all, the greatest argument of this shoulder rest is that it is the lightest in the world, weighing only 32 grammes! To compare, a classic model by Kun weighs 58 grammes and even 80 grammes for the Wolf Forte Secondo.

Then, it is possible to adapt the shape of the maple bar as many times as you like. Thus, it can fit your shoulder and body shapes so as to split equally the support. Moreover, you can customise the “claws” to control the position, height and angle of your violin.

Finally, a minimal use of rubber prevents vibration absorption.

 

 

What does it bring regarding comfort?

Featherweight as well as endless possible adjustments truly offer a higher comfort. It is indeed important for playing pleasure, but it also prevents body strain. Tension, which comes from poor posture, quickly stresses muscles and also leads to injuries and to “musician’s aches”. In addition, tension is very bad for sound propagation.

Improving your playing comfort and your posture offer more technical skills, stamina, and tone.

 

What does it bring regarding tone?

Besides the physical (and sound) advantages, the Pirastro KorfkerRest shoulder rest improves the viola vibration. In fact, it feels like it isn’t even here. Your instrument vibrates freely. It means that, compared to other shoulder rests, the Pirastro offers a wider range of expressiveness, a richer diversity in hinges, and the player feels a lot of slight changes that happen between the bow and the strings.

 

Moreover, it is undoubtedly a beautiful object that perfectly matches the allure of violas. Whether the instruments are old or modern.

 

Today, we’re at the 2.0 version.

Since it was released, the shoulder rest has gone through some improvements. Hinges and contact points with the shoulder or the instrument have mostly been maximised. Furthermore, spare parts are provided to ensure a longer lifespan.

 

My review on Pirastro KorfkerRest for viola

I’ve long thought about how useful this shoulder rest is. Yet, my lengthy skepticism vanished when I finally talked a lot to musicians for whom the shoulder rest has had an incredible impact. The feelings that mostly came up were of being free and of having a clearer tone. And it was soon obvious that it was thanks to the shoulder rest.

Of course, like other similar accessories, it is important to take time at the beginning to shape the shoulder rest bar and to adjust the overall position. However, be careful: once you try it, you’ll love it!

Furthermore, it is without considering all the advantages that it brings to your posture which will undoubtedly make a difference in your life.

Finally, although it is an important investment, there is no other shoulder rest with the same feelings. Moreover, if we only take into account money, the tone improvement leads to surprising saving. Indeed, the strings seem to loose their tone more slowly thanks to the shoulder rest. That’s why you’ll be able to use them for a longer period of time and so, to save some money, especially if you happen to restring your instrument regularly. But then, we can wonder… has Pirastro really thought this through before releasing an accessory that could lower their strings sales?