GelRest Violin/ Viola Chin Rest Pad

When I started playing every day, my viola hickey started getting out of hand - my skin was very irritated and it stung. This gel pad has solved my hickey problem. Right away it felt more comfortable and the irritation has completely subsided and my hickey is even receding. I don't know if it's the change of material (wood->gel) or the fact that the pressure on my chin bone is alleviated, but it was just what I needed.

This chinrest attached to my hard ebony chinrest is very comfortable. Makes longer practice and playing sessions much better. I'm happy.

I am a new violinist. After practicing about 2 hours a day, the chin rest really starts to feel hard. I started to place a piece of terry cloth over the chin rest during practice sessions and I was amazed how much better it felt and how much better control I had with my fingering. So, I "googled" other options and I found the GelRest. I found this violin chin rest pad to be well worth the price. It provides excellent chin, non-slip comfort. The black color blends in with my black chin rest and unless you really look, you will not even know I have one. I purchased one and was very pleased with the results. They are very inexpensive, so I purchased a second one and doubled my chin rest for even better results.UPDATE: December 2013I have had my GelRest for 12 months now and, after practicing 1-2 hours each day, they are still like new. Some reviewers indicated that they had adhesion problems. I found the original adhesive did not last very long. However, double-backed carpet tape works great ( and it is cheap!).

They slide around while playing leaving stickiness on my neck and chin. HORRIBLE!

It really didn't help make my chin rest more comfortable. When I received it I realized that the chin rest I have on my violin is quite small - probably because I've had my violin since the 4th grade! I guess it is kid sized. I'm in my 50's and was cast as Frau Blucher (cue horse whinny) in a production of Young Frankenstein so I've picked up my violin again and have been playing it in the show. Perhaps the gel pad would work better on a chin rest the same size; my chin rest is much smaller than the gel pad.

I got this chin rest pad few years ago and it looks completely like the image shown above, quite thick and feels soft, the gel rest would sit on the wooden chin rest without any adhesive, I quite love it. HOWEVER, when I ordered again recently, the product sent was different, the coloring is not black and is thinner as well. The pad also has a adhesive layer underneath where it is suppose to stick to the chin rest. I suppose they used a different material for that matter. Yes it would still work because you can feel the softness it gives, but I don't know if the adhesive layer would stick on long enough before it looses its stickiness.

I bought one a couple years ago and it never stuck to the chin rest very well. I bought this one, thinking it might be different, but it turned out to be the same one and still didn’t stick. I have had it 2 days and it is sliding around.

I just picked up the violin again after 20 years of not playing. This pad has so far (a few months, practicing 15-30 minutes per day) prevented me from getting any rashes or callouses under my jawline, which is a vast improvement over how things were when I was a teenager playing the violin. I would say this is a reasonable choice for people who are playing casually. I can't say how long it will hold up under heavier use.