KUN Voce shoulder rest

August 28, 2008 at 12:10 AM · Sorry, I wish I knew, too. It is a gorgeous rest, light and doesn't slip.

But it is too high for me to use and it is somehow immoblizing and painful.

My own thought is that it just fits in one certain place and the pain comes from not moving anything. If any muscles are immoblized they become quite painful; we must move to be comfortable

August 28, 2008 at 12:10 AM · I do not use this shoulder rest, but to me the obvious answer is it can't be right for you. Get to a store that has a nice assortment of chin & shoulder rests, or better yet, a teacher who thinks this is a crucial topic and has a collection of rests you can swap out. Since you have a sense of where you want the violin, if you can describe that, or use your Voce to show, someone should be able to help you find something that isn't creating a BIG problem. Sue

August 28, 2008 at 01:34 AM · Assuming you have a shop with a variety of shoulder pads and chin rests, spend an afternoon and try out other options. Two violin rules I try to live by are: tension is the enemy and pain is bad.

August 28, 2008 at 01:52 AM · Switch shoulder rests! I HIGHLY reccomend the comford cradle shoulder rests. I doubt I'll ever switch, Frankly, I dont think I could! No other shoulder rests are comfortable for me.

It could take a few days to get used to, but I noticed improvement immediately.

Good luck!

August 28, 2008 at 12:55 PM · I know you've got a big "investment" in the Voce, which is one of the most expensive shoulder rests.

In my own experience it is a nice rest that may even (as advertised) help improve the sound (at least what the player hears), but I can use it with only one of my violins; it is not comfortable with any of the others.

You may have better luck with it if you:

1. vary the rest's placement angle across the back of the violin.

2. Try it with a different chinrest.

Usually for me, on most violins, I have my best luck with the Wolf Secondo shoulder rest (I don't need a height-adjustable "forte" style), when I use a rest at all. I usually keep one of these in each case, pre-adjusted to the violin in that case, and with an initial to indicate which violin it is fitted to.

Andy

August 28, 2008 at 01:48 PM · With the experience I've had with them, they actually do feel painful and stiff. So I never use them. However, I always used KUN, and until recently have stuck with the KUN Bravo.

However, that was a bit too low and I was hunching to get the violin placed securely, so I recently shifted to the Viva la Musica wooden rest.

From what I have heard, the VOCE actually dulls the sound. Carbon fibre doesn't ring as well as wood, and actually wood rests like the Mach, Bravo, and the Viva la Musica will help the tone even more.

However, do not use a rest if you are uncomfortable.

August 28, 2008 at 08:19 PM · Hi, thank you so much for the replies! I tried to change the angle, but it doesn't lessen the pain, and there isn't much else I could do (the shoulder rest is pretty rigid in every way, and yes, pretty expensive too). I was using the basic KUN model before, I'll go back to it for a while till I can try the others you recommended here, maybe I'll find one that allows me to hold the violin the way Voce does (minus the pain...)

September 2, 2008 at 04:40 PM · Could anyone tell me whether KUN Bravo is like the original KUN, just made of wood? Maybe it's been discussed before on v.com, but what are the main differences between the KUNs? Is the "Super" KUN the version of the "Original" for people with longer necks? The original KUN works for me and I did not expect the carbon fiber one to be so far removed!

September 9, 2008 at 02:32 AM · I also had the same problems with the Kun Voce. It just did not feel comfortable no matter how many times I adjusted it. It was an expensive piece of equipment but that doesn't mean anything if it hurts when you use it. I have finally decided that the Bon Musica feels and fits the best for me. I have given away the Voce to a friend who seems to like it. Different strokes as they say.

September 18, 2009 at 06:33 PM ·

For those who have experimented, is a Voce like a Wolf Shoulder rest but light weight, because I like the Wolf, just not the weight it adds to an instrument.

September 21, 2009 at 07:07 PM ·

 I've tried Voce in a store.  One word--ouch.  I wonder why they departed from their traditional design, which at least fits more people, and simply made a model with the carbon fiber frame.

To answer your question about wolf--I think that depends on the model you're asking about.  The Voce is different from Wolf Secondo--in a bad way.  It seemed totally inflexible, not curving with the body and pushing into the shoulder and the height was too great.  Of course, wolf was bad for me too, given my climbing accident.... but at least the Wolf was more adjustable. For me, shoulder rests such as kun (super or collapsible legs) and play-on-air push down less into the shoulder.  I have a neck like a swan and I still found those other rests to have too much height even with a low chinrest.

Yeah, I'm with you guys, I'm frustrated that a good idea (light weight shoulder rest) seems so fraught with problems.  I wish it was more adjustable.....

September 22, 2009 at 03:30 AM ·

The voce isn't flexible unless you break the fibers ; )

I think the wolf rest has that bendable metal so that you can shape it to fit your shoulder. The voce is solid and isn't flexible compare to the orginal but it's really light weight. I got rid of mine after a year and a half. It also startled to hurt after the form rubbed away.

September 22, 2009 at 09:07 PM ·

I used a Kun rest (probably a different model) and i got pain in the chest area so i switched to Mach one.. if you haven't tried it allready you should! It's light weight, easy to put on and handle, let's the violin ring and it looks good.

September 23, 2009 at 10:40 AM ·

Maybe the problem is that you are squeezing the shoulder rest too much between your shoulder and your chin. Have you asked your teacher about it? I used to get a sore spot on my shoulder so i now wrap my shoulder rest in a cloth and that has worked for me. If it's a tension/muscle thing then maybe you should talk to your teacher.

September 23, 2009 at 12:55 PM ·

I had the same problem with the Kun collapsable shoulder rest that Sarah mentions - after about twenty to thirty minutes of playing I would develop a sharp pain in the chest near the lower end of the rest.  I switched to the Voce, and problem solved.    So for me the Voce is just what was wanted. 

When I made the change, a friend mentioned she was having the same problem with her Kun collapsable.  She has also switched to the Voce.  Obviously, though, as some of the other comments point out, the Voce does not work well for all.

I