Siren Arm Rest

[Lane Pryce]

Where can I purchase one? Lp

[John Flynn]

http://www.janetdavismusic.com/sirenarmrest.html

[Doug Edwards]

Direct from Mr Smith at Siren Works, listed in the builders section.

[aries753]

Last week I was all set to buy one of these from Janet Davis Music, $35.99 plus shipping. They were $50.00 on Sirens' web site.
Had to fix the car instead.
Today I was all set to order one of these armrests and now they are $44.99 from Janet Davis Music. GRRRR!

[Lane Pryce]

Have any of you tried the armrests at Greg Boyds?I see they are available in rosewood,ebony and maple for $29.00.They do not look as thick as the siren though. Lp

[ab4usa]

I just got one from King Brown ($45.50 includes shipping) he put shrink wrap (black) on the connecting arms to protect the side of the mandolin.

[Jonathan James]

I have one of the Sirens and one from Greg Boyd. I like the size/thickness of the Siren armrests better. Just your preference...

[jim simpson]

"I just got one from King Brown ($45.50 includes shipping) he put shrink wrap (black) on the connecting arms to protect the side of the mandolin."

A.L.,
I guess he made the little holes through the shrink tubing to allow for adjustment? I like the idea of the shrink tube for protection. I made both of the ones I am using on my mandos. I think I will try the tubing idea.
Thanks!

[ab4usa]

Exactly. Two tiny holes on each arm.

[Lane Pryce]

I ordered the Siren from J.Davis this morning and I am looking forward to trying it out.Incidentally I was at a jam friday night and spoke with a very good picker re the Siren.He had one on his A9 and he said it was the best thing he had done for his mandolin and his playing.BTW he had a toneguard on that A9 too.Man was it ripping!!! http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/mandosmiley.gif Lp

[duuuude]

I had those same results with my F-9, tonegard & armrest both helped more than expected.

[TeleMark]

I'll third this... Put my Siren armrest on about 35 minutes after a 14 hour flight from Germany, and played all weekend Amazing difference! Comfort alone is reason enough to switch, but the volume and tone improvements were quite impressive!

[mikeyes]

I have Sirens on three of my mandolins and I have to say that they help my hand position more than anything else. In addition they are very comfortable to use and they save the finish on my varnished instrument.

Mostly they keep my hand position at the same angle and I find that I can pick cleaner. To me that is what makes them worthwhile.

[siren_20]

When I put the Siren (armrest) on my Siren (mandolin) I noticed that it helped the tone as much as the addition of a tone gard did about a year earlier. Also, the other armrests out there dont' seem to have as much surface area as the Siren, or add as much height/thickness...those two things seem to be the key, getting the arm off the top and up about an inch or so.

[aries753]

I am weak!!
I bought one of these from JanetDavis Music anyway.

I think it really does help the volume, problem is it does not fit my mado very well. I have 2 Pac-Rim mandos. A MF $50 wonder and a Dean A.
The only contact is directly where the clamp goes. Has anyone else had this problem?

Thanks,

http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wink.gif

[Doug Edwards]

I've had a Siren arm rest for 3 years. The only problem I encountered was when I changed mandos to my SA. The rim was not as thick as the MM50 and would not fit. I ended up buying a violin chin rest and changing out the hardware. Worked out OK the new chin rest fit my fiddle. I am considering using a Dremmel to scoop out part of the arm rest to fit over the tail piece some.

[Scotti Adams]

..how does the Siren arm rest compare to the 'rests' that are for sale in the classifieds?....shape..size..etc....Im thinkin about gettin one of these puppies...why are the Sirens $50 and the ones in the classifieds alot less....Im too lazy to look it up myself..Im teetering on buying Laynes ...which he just bought and put up for sale...or the cheaper model...I wanna know the difference...thanx..oh...these are the others http://www.mandolincafe.com/cgi-bin....trieval (http://www.mandolincafe.com/cgi-bin/classifieds/classifieds.cgi?search_and_display_db_button=on&db_id=12844&query=retrieval)

[Doug Edwards]

Mine cost $35 from FQMS when I got it. Seems like prices have gone up, supply and demand? I don't see a lot of difference between most of them, except the over the tail piece ones.

[Scotti Adams]

...thanks Doug....whats your opinion on what it did to the sound? and who makes the ones from FQMS

[Doug Edwards]

Good Morning,
Steve Smith, Siren String Works, made the arm rest I purchased. He sold them off his site for MSRP and apparently discounted to retailers. FQMS, Elderly, Janet Davis all sold them for $5 or so less than dealing direct with Siren String Works (seems they still do). At the time I first ordered they were back ordered or not available, it took an extra week or so to get it.

The arm rest works simular to a tone guard, in that it helps you to keep your arm off the top, thus allowing the mandolin to have potentialy better tone and volume. #It also allows better hand position (a prop or brace if you will) for cleaner picking. #I have found it helps me to get a better grasp on things and hold the mandolin more away from my body (ala tone guard effect).
Now if I could just learn to play the mandolin.

One thing else, my Siren is cut to where only about 5mm actually comes in contact with the top of the mandolin. I cannot speak how others are made or if it makes any difference.

[Scotti Adams]

..ordered one from Steve at Cumberland Acoustics last night...shot an email off to him at about midnight last night and he immediatley shot one back to me....now thats service.

[Stillpicking]

2 out of 4 of my mandos have a Siren the 2 that don't are a 12 string and a resonator neither of which would benefit sound wise from one. The 2 mandolins that have them on I play a lot and I would not go back to playing without one, my arm & wrist are much more relaxed with the Siren .