Wrist Rascal - Small

I have twin 7 year old daughters who have played the violin for quite some time. One of them was plagued with "Pizza Wrist" and the other had over compensated from that malady by adopting what we call "Pterodactyl Wrist." Which is basically a hyperflexed very tight wrist. So I purchased two of the small Wrist Rascals. Almost immediately both of the girls had their problems substantionally resolved. It is a great product IMO. One of the initial Wrist Rascals I bought had an issue with staying on the violin and so I emailed the maker of the product. He called me 3 hours later and we discussed the problem. That was last Thursday. Yesterday, I received two of the latest version of the device in the mail and both work well.5 stars for the product. It is a great aid for the young or beginning student to learn to feel the proper wrist position.

I tried 1/8 and 1/4. It did not work at all. Bad design.

If anyone has any complaints about the "finish" of this product, e-mail me at [email protected] and I will send you a new one made of a different hard rubber material for free. Thanks! And... Remember to use on and off to develop a strength and flexibility for the left hand. :) -Paul

Didn't work at all. Didn't meet expectations. Just waisted $20

** UPDATED 4/8/2016 **The inventor of this device contacted me after seeing my review on Amazon and offered me his latest version of the Wrist Rascal to see if I would re-review it. To be clear, I was offered nothing more than to try the new Wrist Rascal at no charge and then give my honest review of the updated device. I am under no obligations to provide a positive review.The Wrist Rascal is now made of a hard rubber, has an indentation on each edge to allow it to fit more gently against the rims along the shoulder of the violin, and has two straps instead of one. These modifications make a massive difference in how well it works. It was very gentle against the finish of the violin, eliminating the previous issue of rough texture against the wood. I was really pleased to find it also now has a bit of give, which allows it to better flex to the individual shape of the instrument it is used on. The friction of the rubber in combination with the extra strap to attach to the other shoulder improved the stability dramatically. It now stays stable even when little hands bump into it.I was thrilled to see that all of the issues I had experienced in the previous version have been completely resolved by the manufacturing improvements. I was also very appreciative that the inventor took the time to listen to feedback and incorporate it into improving his product. The new version of the Wrist Rascal is something I can recommend wholeheartedly. It now works flawlessly as a method for helping newbies muscle-train their wrist position without interfering with the student's ability to play.** REVIEW OF PREVIOUS VERSION WRIST RASCAL (left for contextual reference only) **I LOVED the idea of this - other "wrist correction" devices attach directly to the student, and my fairly sensitive six-year-old son would freak out over that. This seemed like the perfect solution - attaches to the violin very quickly, prevents pancake hand (which we are really struggling to overcome), still allows the pinky finger access to the fingerboard in first position. We're in the first half of Suzuki - Vol 1, so this meets all our needs.When I looked at the photo and watched YouTube videos of this product, it looked to me like it might be made of like a hard rubber or plastic - I just assumed it would have a bit of give to it and be made of something that would have enough friction to sort of grab onto the violin a bit. Instead, what came was something that was hard as a rock and was painted with some kind of glitter paint that is literally the texture of sand paper. I was baffled - why would you want something the texture of sand paper against a wooden instrument with a finish? Perhaps foolishly, I strapped it on anyway, thinking maybe it just wouldn't move enough to scratch. Two things happened: 1) I immediately scratched my son's violin in three different places on the shoulder and neck during my attempt to get it on, and 2) it clearly didn't come anywhere close to fitting his violin in a way that brought any sort of stability. I bought the small size, and my son's violin is a 1/10, so I figured it should come pretty close to working out right. First, the part that sits along the shoulder was not flat, it was at a fairly dramatic angle. This caused the Wrist Rascal to tip at such a severe angle that it cause the corners of it to dig into the violin with even more force. Second, the Wrist Rascal was so thick that it didn't fit neatly between the rims of the front and back panels of the violin at all. Instead, it extended a good half an inch over the back rim, again causing misalignment and more scraping on the body. Third, the curved part that sits over the bump where the neck meets the shoulders was a good solid 1/4" too wide all around, as was the part that curves around the neck itself. This prevented it from grasping the body of the violin properly, which meant it slipped easily, and again, was nearly impossible to align in a way that minimized damage to the body of the violin.I fought with this thing for probably 20 minutes trying to get it to work. Then I decided modifying it was the only way to make it functional and prevent damage to the violin. First, I tried using this thick non-slip padding that you can buy in small sheets. It comes with an adhesive on the back, and it is meant for cutting into shapes and stick on the bottom of furniture legs, like couches and chairs, to prevent the furniture from slipping and/or scratching wood floors. I cut several pieces and stuck them all along the parts of the Wrist Rascal that touched the violin. This definitely solved the issue of the sand paper glitter paint stuff wrecking the finish, but it didn't solve the problems of making the curved parts fit the body enough to prevent slipping or popping out of alignment. So I resorted to stealing a chunk of my son's Model Magic clay stuff. I pressed it onto the Wrist Rascal, and then pressed the violin into the Model Magic so that it would form the right shape for his violin, and then trimmed away the excess. It took about an hour to get it all worked out, and then I had to carefully, carefully pull the violin away from the Model Magic so I wouldn't ruin the finish on the violin and the Model Magic could dry out at least a bit. The Model Magic still isn't totally dry, so it still has a bit of give, which is great - I think it will eventually dry out, though, and may wind up being a bit more abrasive when it does (although still nothing like the paint on the Wrist Rascal). Maybe by then I'll figure out a better way to make this thing work.I'm giving it two stars, because once I made all of my own modifications, it actually did work quite well at preventing my son from collapsing his hand (although it could easily become a crutch if left on for too long, or if the student only practiced with it on and didn't attempt to try on his own for at least part of each practice, I think). So, two stars for the concept, but this product requires a significant manufacturing overhaul for me to recommend it to other parents and teachers.

This was great for my students. Easy on and off. Every violin teacher should have some on hand.

very useful for my beginners.