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Re: Ton Kooiman Etude rest

Author: David Niethamer
Date: 2006-06-20 03:35

I've had the expensive Kooiman on my clarinets for the past 4 years, and wish I'd discovered them many years before. They do change the balance of the instrument in your hands, though, and that takes some getting used to!Also, it takes careful setup to make it do what it is meant to do. I very nearly sold mine because I didn't notice much relief for my thumb, until a physical therapist friend helped me to set it up properly.

I have a student with the Etude model. For her thin fingers, it is a help, because it distributes the weight on her thumb in a better way and makes the "grip" of the clarinet a bit "fatter." Her finger action is now much less tense, and she can stand to play, which was too painful in the past. Installation can be tricky if you attempt to use the thumb rest screws from your original thumbrest. SuperGlue solved that problem (thanks Walter). I notice that the new packaging includes slightly longer and wider screws for installation. Haven't tried them, but it must help.

One of my colleagues uses the FHRED. It is simple to set up and looks comfortable. It's also less intrusive on the instrument than either Kooiman.

My $0.02

David
niethamer@aol.com
http://members.aol.com/dbnclar1/index.html

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Ton Kooiman Etude rest new

punkinn

2006-06-18 03:39