Wittner Isny Viola Shoulder rest No.281.131

I am a violin/viola player with a long neck. I have tried countless combinations of chin rests and shoulder rests. Right now I am working with the viola and decided to try the Wittner. I opted for the Wittner chin rest w/ shoulder rest. You can get it for your own chin rest or no chin rest. As some people have said, it takes a bit of time to get the setup correct, but once you have it, you can just put the shoulder piece in place and you do not have to worry about it falling off or adjusting it over and over. I had resorted to a variety of rubber bands do secure my previous rests. My first comment is that the attachment juncture from chin rest to shoulder rest, is a bit loose. It is not loose enough to come off but there is a small bit of movement. The other thing is that the pad is attached to the shoulder rest arm with a ball and socket joint. The pad is replaceable so it pops off easily but it can pop too off easily if you try to shape the pad in a curve. I think the pad is meant to be able to curve because it has little arms that snap into place to hold the curve. But if you do, the pad pops off. I ended up putting a little tissue in the joint to hold it and I just don't curve the piece. Overall this has the makings of a good shoulder rest. I am sticking with it and plan to add it to each of my other violins. I would like to talk to Wittner to help design a should/chin rest for the long neck challenged, especially for a heavy viola. Making a long story longer I think it was worth the try.