Nifty Arm Rest

Heres my cool little armrest.

[jmkatcher]

Take a look at the King Brown ones:
http://www.kingbrownhandcrafts.com/mandolin.html

I especially recommend the one that wraps over the tailpiece. Very slick and definitely a help to my finish and volume.

[Yellowmandolin]

That arm rest looks similar to a old time fiddling chin rest. How did you come accros it? Or did you make it?

It is made by Martin Brunkalla

[mad dawg]

Dem: Sweet --- how much do they cost, and how did you acquire it? (I could find neither violin chinrests nor mandolin armrests on Brunkalla.com.)

Hey dawg glad you dig the armrest, he's building me a mandolin so thats somewhere in the cost. He also made me a great pickguard.

Does anybody else have an armrest they like to post a pic of?

[Joe F]

Here's the King Brown armrest on my Freshwater deep-box mandolin.

[mandough]

Here's one that I made. #I made mine a little bigger than the one's that I've seen.
There's also another one that I am making with a slightly different shape and angle.
Also, the ivory top bridge piece that I made.

[mad dawg]

Joe: the King Brown looks good on your Freshwater. I have been afraid to order an armrest for mine since most armrests---as with the King Brown---seem to be made with standard Gibson body shapes in mind, but the King Brown nevertheless seems to follow the curve on the Freshwater quite nicely (and the ebony color works with the body trim). How do you like yours?

Oh thats great

[wolfsong]

How are these things attached without marring the back of your mando. Is the hardware covered in rubber or what?

[Bill Snyder]

Cork.

[phiddlepicker]

GDAE_boy,

Pretty nice rest. I've got a similar one on an F-9. Bought it from Cumberland Acoustic. Also put on a matching ebony truss rod cover and an abbreviated ebony pickguard. (Forgive me folks, I like pickguards.)

[Joe F]

mad dawg,
When I first received the arm rest, I had trouble keeping it on the instrument because of the radius between the sides and back. #The bottom plate of the arm rest (which is actually a chinrest clamp for a viola) is designed for a sharper corner. #I mentioned this to David, and he sent me another bottom piece, specially modified with a wider plate that fits perfectly. #It works great, and gives me a noticeable increase in volume (and the Freshwater is pretty loud to begin with). #I also no longer have to worry about damaging the finish from my sweaty forearm, or irritation from my arm resting on the sharp corner of the top binding.

If you order one, mention that you have a Freshwater with the edge radius on the back, and he'll take care of you.

[Dfyngravity]

i've got me a siren arm rest....i love it and now have a hard time realizing how i use to play with my arm resting on the mando. it was a great improvement. chris thile is even using one. here's a link...ARM REST

[mandopete]

Love the design of the King Brown arm rest. It's the only one I've seen that goes over the tailpiece. For me, the tailpiece is what bothers me the most and I used to drape a piece of cloth over it to keep it from digging into my arm. Very cool indeed!

[phiddlepicker]

I tried a Siren armrest on my F-9 and my 1915 F-4, it didn't follow the contour at all, so I threw it on my ###### old Oscar Schmidt that I use when I go camping (Doesn't really fit there either but it works).It really is a good looking armrest though....maybe mine was just an anomaly? I'm thinking of putting a blonde armrest on my new blonde F-5.....feels weird playing without one now.

[mad dawg]

Thanks for the tip Joe! (I had wondered if that would be a problem.)

Heres one on the Brunkalla mandolin

[Yellowmandolin]

I have a Gibson F5-G and have found the side to be very sharp and uncomfortable to play on. Are these arm rests very comfortable and do they dampen the sound any?

Jacob Hawkins

ok ill let you know tommorow

[jmkatcher]

Not at all. I was surprised that my playing was louder and more annoying than ever with the armrest.

[jim simpson]

Yellowmandolin,
I have one on my F5-G and it is very comfortable and does not dampen the sound. If anyone the opposite is true! I copied the Siren design. I bought the Viola chin rest and ground down the plastic and glued the ebony on top. It works! The other one I made looked the same but it was all wood and I had to rout out the underside so the wood would only touch the rim. I just got another mandolin and I can't wait till I can put one on it.

[Yellowmandolin]

There are some armrests like the siren that cost $45 and then there is one at Gregboyd.com for only $30. #Is there that much of a difference between them?

Jacob Hawkins