Recently, all the cork that was between the base of my violin's chin rest and the instrument's body has been rubbed off and, as a result, the chin rest is "flowing around" the lower left part of the instrument's body. The time I realized this was during a live concert when I needed to adjust my shoulder rest and, suddenly, the chin rest moved from its position. At that time, I placed it back and tightened it a little bit using the two ledgers it has - my chin rest is exactly like this one; only black-coloured, if that matters.
So, now, I will need to replace it - I don't think that this is a reason to change my whole chin rest. As for that I have some questions:
- Can I do this using some other material, for instance very soft cardboard - I cannot translate it nicely in english - or something else or will it affect my instruments sound colour, quality, etc?
- Is it difficult to replace it, or it is just as simple as it seems; untighten the ledgers, insert carefully the cork and then tighten them again?
- What can I do for maintenance of that part of my instrument?