Viva la Musica VLM Diamond Light Maple VN 4/4

Despite looking simple, violin shoulder rests are complicated in their nature and each player is an individual so what works for one doesnt necessarily work for others.

That said, this shoulder rest is worth it. The design is not like the rest of the bunch. The ability to rotate the feet bases means you can position the rest right where you want it to be - not in some predetermined location. This means the feet can still be attached to the violin at the best (widest!) location - and they grip the violin exceedingly well - the violin never pops out of this rest. This security is brilliant....but it means that it will take you a few days to get this set up absolutely right for you - because it is so adjustable it takes time - but it *is* worth investing the time in getting this rest correct. Because once its there...its a dream. Complete freedom of movement whilst at the same time complete security. I know - thats often a contradiction. This just doesnt get in the way.

Ive used this for several years now and my only complaint is that the foam sometimes peels away at the edges. A bit of glue helps here - nothing to worry about.

Is the sound of the violin in any way compromised? Absolutely not - quite the opposite - its ability to not interfere is obvious when you start using it. Its well designed, my instrument has not suffered any wear regarding the feet. The feet are still going strong after several years of playing every single day.

Just going back to the adjust-ability - this rest will go lower than any other there is. The essential idea of a shoulder rest is not to lift the violin away from the body - the bottom edge of the violin should still contact the collar bone in a natural manner - the rest should "fill the gap". And because this rest is so adjustable, and will go exceedingly low it does just that.

All in all its superb. In 13 years of playing this is the rest I am happiest with - and I own a second one which I use on my other violin - purchased because this one was so good.

All in all...its brilliant - but understand that it will take time to get set up - it might even take a couple of weeks to find just the right settings - but when you do youll not regret it. No more shoulder pain for me!

Pros : made of beautiful figured maple wood, weighs as little as plastic shoulder rests, wide adjustment options for feet positions. The manufacturer-recommended feet position allows feet to be positioned nearer to the neck. I no longer find the need to readjust the shoulder rest between playing.
Cons : Feet do not tilt like Kun or Viva la Musica Professional shoulder rests, which can be an issue for some people. The "hook" is not as pronounced as Mach One, Bonmusica or even the Kun shoulder rest; can be a problem for people who rely on the hook to secure the violin on the shoulder.

This is a well designed shoulder rest. I had become frustrated with the Kun rest as I could not get it into the right position for me and stay in place. With the Viva la Musica you can adjust the angle of the legs so the feet can be positioned square across the back of the violin where it won't fall off and then angle the rest into the correct position on the shoulder. It gives a really stable secure playing position for the instrument.

My only small issue is that the little screw on nuts that hold the legs in place are slightly soft plastic. The first example I was sent one of the nuts would not tighten and kept slipping. Thomann replaced it immediately without any argument or postage cost to me and the second example has been fine. I am careful as I think it might be easy to cross the thread on one of the nuts and then it might not hold again. Small metal nuts would be better.

But it is a great shoulder rest in all other respects.

I've owned a number of chin rests for my violin in an attempt to get the best comfort and playing position. A friend of mine had one of these and after using his, I had to have one. The difference with this chin rest is that you can adjust it to move the violin closer to your neck and it's the only chin rest that I've seen that can do that. You can of course adjust the level of it to get it sitting comfortably into your shoulder but the ability to adjust it laterally is the reason I bought it. Now my position is so much more comfortable and I have no more shoulder and neck pain from straining to get into the correct position.