Jan supports a lifetime of healthy playing!
Rooted in a rich tradition and trusted by professionals worldwide, Jan is best known for the Dutch Leg Rest: an iconic support designed for Bassoon players to reduce physical strain and support healthy playing posture. Thoughtfully engineered, proven over the years and made for musicians who take their playing, and their bodies seriously.
What Jan stands for
Healthy playing posture
Completely adjustable to players preference
Tradition meets innovation
FOR MUSICIANS | Play healthier. Play with ease. Play without compromise.
Hours of practice demand more than dedication, they demand the right support. Jan helps musicians play with comfort, balance, and physical ease, supporting a lifetime of healthy music-making.
Used by professionals around the world, the Jan van Domburg Dutch Leg Rest has become a quiet essential on stage and in the practice room. Designed to reduce strain and support your natural posture, Jan supports you as a musician who wants to focus fully on your playing and sound, not on any discomfort.
Jan is the quiet force between you and your instrument: an ergonomic, high-quality support that makes your playing healthier, lighter and lasting.
FOR PARTNERS | Jan is trusted by musicians worldwide
Jan develops and supplies professional instrument playing supports trusted by musicians worldwide and relied upon for decades. Best known for the Dutch Leg Rest, Jan combines heritage, proven ergonomics, and consistent product quality into solutions that support healthy playing throughout a musician’s career.
As a B2B partner, Jan offers more than a product, we offer reliability, continuity, and a clear value proposition for musicians who demand comfort and long-term healthy playing.
The Dutch Legrest
The Dutch Legrest – Jan Pro
The Jan Pro, its predecessor internationally known as The Dutch Legrest, has supported professional players all over the world for decades now, solely by word of mouth. Designed in cooperation with Bassoon players themselves. The first design was made by Jan van Domburg in close cooperation with Bassoon legend Brian Pollard. Jan Pro is particularly important for the many intensive hours professionals spend practicing and rehearsing.
The Dutch Legrest – Brian Basic
The Brian Basic is the student version of the Dutch Leg Rest. Brian Basic gives beginning Bassoon players a head start to a healthy way of playing by releasing shoulder and neck tension from the very beginning of their career. The Brian Basic is a stepping stone to the Jan Pro as it builds on the same balancing principle and have the leg support the weight of the bassoon to give more freedom of playing.
Differences between the Jan Pro and the Brian Basic?
| Feature | Brian Basic | Jan Pro |
|---|---|---|
| Adjustment options | Basic height and angle adjustment. Designed to be simple to set up. | More extensive fine adjustment (multiple axes), allowing a more individualized fit that can easily be remembered with the personal setting rings. This assures that each time you play, you feel the same balance and keep your posture healthy. |
| Playing stability | Stable enough for most students and recreational players. | Greater rigidity and stability, especially appreciated during long rehearsals and professional performance. |
| Materials & construction | Simpler construction with fewer precision-machined components, helping keep cost down. | More robust, higher-grade hardware designed for frequent professional use. |
| Weight & portability | Slightly lighter and simpler, making it easier to transport. | Slightly heavier due to the more substantial construction and adjustment mechanisms. |
| Intended user | Best suited for beginners, students, and players who want the ergonomic benefits of a leg rest without many adjustments. | Aimed at advanced students, conservatory players, and professionals who want to optimize their exact playing position and are willing to spend more for that flexibility. |
Jan is the quiet force beneath your instrument: an ergonomic, high-quality support that makes playing healthier, lighter and lasting.
The beginning of Jan
A prototype of the leg support was designed decades ago by Brian Pollard, principal bassoonist of the Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra for over 40 years. Together with Jan van Domburg, a technically skilled and accomplished classical bass player himself, they began developing an ergonomic leg support to help Brian and other musicians play with greater stability and less physical strain.
Jan van Domburg produced and delivered the bassoon supports from his own home workshop for many years and sold hundreds to orchestras and musicians all over the world. When Jan was retiring from professional orchestra life in the early 2000’s, three family members of Jan agreed to adopt the legacy and take it to a more modern production level.
Jan today
The legacy is now safeguarded by brothers Victor Hijl and Thomas Hijl, who combine the family heritage with modern materials and production techniques, ensuring Jan remains a relevant and contemporary, innovative support for today’s musicians.
Decades of trust
Through years of use on stages, in studios and conservatories worldwide, the Jan van Domburg Dutch Leg Rest still proves its value. From becoming a trusted standard for healthy playing, it has now reached a new era of further modernization to support musicians worldwide for a lifetime of musical joy.
The people behind Jan
Jan van Domburg
Designer and developer
Jan van Domburg used to be a skilled elevator technician while he studied at the Royal Conservatory The Hague. He played bass guitar in local beat groups, and later became a professional double bass player in symphony orchestras. He took on Brian’s challenge to make a bassoon support.
Brian Pollard
Original Ideator
In 1953, Brian Pollard became the principal bassoonist of the Concertgebouw Orchestra and would stay in that position for the next 42 years. He once developed a prototype leg rest and frequently modified his bassoon keys and tone holes to enable freer, more natural music-making.
Victor Hijl
Co-owner Technical
Thomas Hijl
Co-owner Commercial
Where to buy
Jan Bassoon Supports are exclusively available through Sollie Bassoons in Leeuwarden, the Netherlands.
Developed in close collaboration with Yasmin Sollie — bassoonist and specialist in bassoon repair and setup — the latest generation of leg rests reflects a thorough understanding of both the instrument and the practical needs of today’s bassoon players.
Sollie Bassoons is the bassoon specialist of the Netherlands, serving a broad community of musicians at home and abroad. Their expertise covers instruments, accessories, maintenance, and individualized player solutions.
Both private customers and professional partners (B2B) are welcome. Sollie Bassoons offers tailored advice and supplies solutions for individual musicians, conservatories, and orchestras alike.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to get in touch about delivery, assembly or order related questions?
How to get in touch about purchasing, delivery, assembly or order related questions?
Contact Sollie Muziek.