Kreddle Chinrest Unboxing, Assembly, and Review

[@tullochgorum6323]

Scottish fiddler here. The demonstration tune is a Scottish traditional march with the wonderful name Hey Tuttie Tatie. According to legend, it was played by the army of Robert the Bruce at the Battle of Bannockburn in 1314, so it's probably very old. It's the tune used by Robert Burns for his famous patriotic song lyric Scots Wha Hae. I presume this is the version from Bruch's Scottish Fantasy?

[@Kwee_Music]

@tullochgorum6323 wow that's awesome to learn about! Yes this version is from Bruch Scottish Fantasy. Thanks for dropping some knowledge!!

[@waetos]

Excellent ears! I was struggling to put a title to that wonderful tune. Thank you!😊

[@petertuason]

thank you for your direct unbias comments on kreddle . i ended up buying one

[@teolubecke3944]

Seem like a solid product. Just ordered mine with the center mount and cusion

[@stephaniecgilmore]

I’m planning on trying it out soon with the cushion and will try to give a review after some use. I have not used a shoulder rest for roughly 2 years now I have been needing a taller chin rest due to the lack of height for my neck, so I hope this will do the trick.

[@petertuason]

The Kreddle definitely makes the violin sound bigger and better. Surprising how a chin rest could affect the overall tone. :)

[@waetos]

Even my viola sounds bigger and better!

[@cjmichael]

Good review...I tried one and just returned it.. You could have mentioned that Kreddle has an excellent return policy if for any reason you are not happy with the chin rest. Thank you.

[@ssmabecrelis6443]

Hello, Why did you return it?

[@lwalter9998]

Kreddle website has instructions for changing the chin plate that look a lot easier than your struggle. 😊

[@waetos]

Height... not heighDTH. Why do people add DTH to the word height? Width has the DTH, but HEIGHT doesn't... Now that I had my rant about the English language (sorry!), I just bought a Kréddle for my viola. The centre mount was the only option they had, but both are said to allow the same positioning. My luthier told me that a centre mount reduces the risk of squeezing your instruments' sides because the centre (where the tail-piece button goes in) has a block of hard wood between the ribs, making it very unlikely to cause a bulge on the left side of your violin or viola when tightening your chin rest barrels; and I'm certainly all for protecting my investment from self-induced damage. I'm sure you are too! It's still your choice. With KUN shoulder-rest left as it currently was (pretty tall - I have a fairly long neck), it wasn't very good because it was all simply too thick, forcing my neck to tilt to the right. So I left the Kréddle with its 2nd tallest chin height adapter as it came out of the box. Instead, I screwed the legs deeper into the KUN shoulder rest in order to make it thinner, thus lowering my viola onto my shoulder a lot more. Now I was getting somewhere! It was then only a matter of getting the right tilt, angle, and depth (inward versus outward). I'm still not quite there yet because I did this all while wearing only a T-shirt - that's too thin compared to what I wear during rehearsals, and especially when performing at concerts! In closing, I am feeling very confident that I'll find the optimal adjustment given an hour or so - with playing in between, of course. All in all, this chin rest allows one to minimise the height of their shoulder rest while allowing the chin rest to go up in order to take up the slack. This brings your instrument down onto your shoulder to a much better position for easier bowing and without the tension that a high shoulder rest can cause. This is the 4th chin rest I've purchased and, so far, it surely seems to be the way to go - for me, at least. It's the only chin rest that allows adjustments to every parameter from height to its left-right, its tilt, and to its inward-outward (relative to your neck) positioning. Agreed - it's fairly expensive at $150 Australian, which is currently around $115 US. I wish that I knew about it before spending much more on 3 other high-end chin rests that I'll very likely never use. Live and learn! Good luck, folks, on your endeavour to play beautifully without unnecessary strain. 😊

[@jytte47]

I tried the kreddle for my viola but even with the smallest height piece the kreddle is to high for me, so I will aks them to accept the return :o(

[@AVToth]

Could it be used with just the chin rest base?

[@Kwee_Music]

Hi Amy, both the Kreddle chin rest plate and its bracket to clamp onto the violin need to be used together, they can't be mixed/matched with other brands or used separately from each other.

[@incib2583]

this is very useful video.thanks a lot

[@kemi3883]

What was the excerpt you played for the demonstration

[@stephenbarbour4726]

Bruch - Scottish Fantasy in E-flat major, Op. 46

[@kemi3883]

@@stephenbarbour4726 thank you so much! I really appreciate it ❤❤

[@poonchop]

So, are you still using it? What do you think now?

[@Kwee_Music]

I'm still using it- the sound is great because there's less touching the violin so it doesn't dampen the sound. I am getting a little bit of a violin hickey again but not really bad, just texture in that spot. If you have a long neck and/or are interested in playing violin without the shoulder rest, then the kreddle is definitely for you. For me, the shortest height is still just a tiny bit tall for me (probably because I also use the bonmusica shoulder rest, but even when everything is at it's shortest adjustment, the setup is just slightly too tall for my neck). I'm going to get a shorter shoulder rest because I do like the kreddle, but purely for the better sound, rather than all the adjustments.

[@poonchop]

@@Kwee_Music Thanks. I have a long neck and narrow collarbone. I've tried all the chin rests available in a London shop and the assistant agreed none looked right. She suggested the Kreddle although they don't sell it. I tried a friend's briefly. It was enough to confirm I will never play without a shoulder rest, but obviously I need to experiment with my own settings. Thanks again!

[@waetos]

​@Kwee_Music Being a professional piano tuner-technician, I cut 2 pieces of piano grade bushing leather (I have a few full pelts) and fabricated a "pouch" out of them by sewing them a little more than halfway around the perimeter. I then slid that pouch over the chin rest (I left a small hole in the lower half for the ball joint to extend through) then I sewed it shut using strong, piano grade chord of the same dark brown colour. Now I don't suffer with anymore jaw hickeys!! It also adds a LOT more grip and tons more comfort. Wish I could add a photo of it here.. You can buy chin rest pouches but they're not very good, nor are they made from good quality leather. I got the idea of making my own during an online shopping spree!

[@waetos]

If anyone wants me to make a pouch for them, let me know by leaving a request here. I'll check back regularly.

[@roberth5435]

Why change a chinrest? Plenty of people shoot a shotgun with a stock as is comes from the factory. Good shooters know that a stock fitted to them will improve their shooting. It's no different with a violin, another tool that fits into the shoulder and needs to be the right distance from the face. The value is not in the adjustment range, but the expertise of the fitter. Yes, the Kreddle is infinitely adjustable. There just isn't much guidance on how to use it to create a firm, comfortable structure between collarbone and jawbone. Look at the permutations of adjustment: * Choice of chin plate (2) * Choice of post height (4) * Orientation of post (360 degrees) displacing the pad longitudinally and laterally * Angle of plate longitudinally (tipping it toward or away from scroll) * Angle of plate laterally (tipping it right or left) * Rotation of the plate (clockwise or anti-clockwise) Some of the fine adjustments are just what feels good. It would be nice to have a guide to getting into the ballpark first. There are rules of thumb for setting the stirrup leather length on a saddle and the height of a piano bench. For an analog, search "How to fit a gun." It would help most of all if there were similar guidance as to the choice of Kreddle post and how one might set its initial orientation. Otherwise, too much choice is worse than no choice at all.

[@bruno.fusato]

Very simple product made by simple plastic and no easy ideia ... seems to me a product lower level ... $89 on this??? No, no and no ... You need to use a key and 4 different parts to adjust the height ... is not easy adjustable... I didnt like ...