Most INTERESTING violin shoulder rest?
G Model Ultralight Violin Shoulder Rest
We have a very special first impressions video of the G model ultralight shoulder rest. It's one of the most interesting shoulder rests that I have come across in today's market.
Before we get to the first impressions i just want to thank violinists Giora Schmidt and Marcelo Gonzalez who have kindly sent me this wonderful ultralight shoulder rest for me to review.
Now, a few impressions of this really cool and different shoulder rest is that you notice that there aren't any handles that would grip the violin.
We're going to get to that in a second because in my previous video which I have deleted i actually installed the shoulder rest wrong so as a courtesy I want to make sure that all of you are getting the most out of this video so that way it's installed correctly when you first open (the shoulder rest) in the box.
I was able to look at Giora Schmidt's videos on his website which helped me a lot but I want to make sure that this community gets the proper installation.
The Ultra Light shoulder rest comes at just a few grams (20/21 grams to be exact) and it is very very light. You can see that this is Giora Schmidt's new logo that he recently announced on his instagram, and we have, of course, the logo of the ultralight shoulder rest. Again you don't see so much of the the grip and the handle and again we're gonna get to that but let me tell you what the shoulder rest comes with.
It comes with a special non-harmful glue.
And I know what you're thinking glue, "I'm not going to put glue on my instrument!"
Well, this isn't that kind of glue and i'll explain why.
It also comes with this with this elastic band and it also comes with these little these little plastic circles.
I'm really liking how light this shoulder rest is. What i'm also enjoying is how thin the foam is on the shoulder rest. Something a lot of shoulder rests lack is like a proper cushion. The Kuns and the Everests, they tend to have a nice cushion but sometimes it's a little too much. I want to feel more of my instrument. I want to feel more connected with my instrument and this shoulder rest does the job.
A couple of fun facts about this shoulder is that it's designed out of the the fibonacci sequence (the golden ratio) so the maker of the Ultra Light has really thought this through so that way the the golden ratio proportions are laser etched out of this really beautiful Chilean wood.
I also want to mention that these corks are non-removable as far as I know but you can order the corks in different heights so that is a plus. If you have a longer neck or if you have a shorter neck and you have a different body build then that's good news for you because you can order the corks pre-made, unfortunately. You cannot replace the cork easily and I think the cork comes designed with the shoulder rest so. That i would say is something that you have to just order in advance. You have to make sure that you measure yourself out before you get the shoulder rest.
You will also notice is that there's a small circular foam on top of the cork, this is where we get into the conversation of this non-harmful varnish glue. You're going to use some of this glue and you're going to apply it right on the top of the foam. I applied maybe five or six coats and as when i talked to the the maker of the shoulder rest it is normal for you to apply five to six coats or as many coats as you need. But, in my experience I was able to put this on in about five coats. Ideally what you want in what Giora Schmidt explained in his video is that you want a shiny surface and that is when you know you are allowed to install the shoulder rest so when it comes to the actual installation of the shoulder rest the way you see the logos is actually the way you install it.
There's no gripping of the sides or the corners of the instrument so my violin actually resonates more while not interfering with the actual acoustics of the instrument. So that is a plus, kudos to this team for really thinking this through and designing this.
Let's say you have this glue at home where you're at a gig or you're performing somewhere. Well, have no fear because this is where these elastic bands come in. so i'm going to install these very quickly on the violin and this is what it looks like from the from the back of the violin so the way i installed it with the elastic is these little loopholes are designed to be at the corners of the instrument and then i would put the big the big elastic circle on the button down here
What do you think of this shoulder rest? I'm curious to know your thoughts!