back straps

[smdc66]

i tried my new back strap today with little success

i couldnt put in on and asked someone to help and they did but not easily as was very tight fitting

the accordion was then very tight against me and uncomfortable as am used to it being on my lap so i can glance at keys
as opposed to high up on my body

i took it off to try another day

it is a leather one with steel hook on one side and 4 snap buttons to hook over other strap and regulate it from 8 to 13 inches in width

are they supposed to sit over any particular part of back

:?:

 

[Russ]

I also can never attach the back strap without help from a friend, so even though I would like to use it I don't because it is too much hassle. It has given me sympathy with women when they have to ask for help buttoning or zipping their dress from the back.

 

[goldtopia]

Usuallly they are slightly above the middle of the back. Some of us have problems with them and have come up with various sollutions or improvising in some way. I use a single strap diagonally across the back from lower left clipped to a buckle up to top right to the joining loop in the right strap. Others use a scarf. I have tried it but it feels lumpy. Maybe one day someone will invent one that no one else has thought of to make it a lot easier. They do as you say pull the accordion nearer the body, I have notice on 120 bass accordions some people play with the lower end of the accordion slightly lower and a little way from the body. I'm glad I dont have that problem with my piano.

 

[smdc66]

.. without help from a friend, so even though I would like to use it I dont because it is too much hassle.

not just me then - i am not giving up just today though :!:

actually i remember i did use one once before when the back strap was part of the strap on a smaller accordion and i left it done up and contorted myself into it - but gave up on this after i felt i was straining a bit to climb in

this new one looks easier to use in theory though

 

[Glenn]

I use a webbing belt originally from z camera bag. If is adjustable and I poke it through the back and fasten it then pull the loose end to tighten. I had a purpose made strap originally but I couldn't get it on.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[george garside]

There is a strap set up that keeps the back strap attached to the shulder straps at all times. the left shoulder strap is attached to the box top anadbottom in the normal way but the right one has a 'dog lead' connector top and bottom . To put on insert left arm through shoulder strap in normal way. reach behind for bottom of left strap and clip to bottom strap bracket on box. lift right end over shoulder and clip to top strap bracket. sounds complicated but works very well. I first came across this setup on a Shand Morrino 117 bass .


george

 

[Anyanka]

I have a strap like yours on my 48-bass Morris box, smdc. I bought the strap for the big accordion but found it impossible to use (I'm not exactly small or narrow...). On the little box, which I always play standing up, I fasten that strap across the shoulder blades; works a treat.
For the big box, played sitting down, I use a scarf tied around the straps & across the lower back.

 

[smdc66]

maybe i need to loosen the straps a little if the back straps make the straps tighter as that's what makes it harder to put on and uncomfortable and also experiment with different strap locations as it seems people have the support on different parts of the back

i thought they were just straightforward to use and to re distribute the weight more evenly

 

[artidots]

French Diatonics (Melodeons) from Bernard Loffet are supplied with a permanently fixed backstrap which is riveted to each shoulder strap so that it positions somewhere just below the shoulder blades. The central fastening is one of those common plastic snap-buckles and adjustment is provided. Mine was extremely comfortable and very successful in firmly anchoring the instrument against Melodeon pushes and pulls. Bernard's sensible advice (on website or with instrument) is quite stern about setting up straps properly. (also he is equally assertive about bellow straps being superfluous …. lovely chap though)

The downside was that I could never fasten the backstrap myself and suffered many bra-strap jokes when, in the Folk Club I asked my partner to help. Undoing it was simple though.

Ah well, expect you all found that really useful eh !

 

[Tony M]

it is a leather one with steel hook on one side and 4 snap buttons to hook over other strap and regulate it from 8 to 13 inches in width

I have one of those (it goes on my right shoulder strap)- but, at full stretch, it doesnt get anywhere close to the other shoulder strap (Im of the larger persuasion!) - so:

I took a piece of old belt, and made another strap. This fixes round the left shoulder strap, and is adjustable cos I put velcro on it to hold it in place (same principle as the 4 press-studs on the proper one). At the free end of the new strap, I fitted a rectangular loop made from piano wire (about 3mm diameter - visit your local model shop - or pinch a suitable bit from a fence!) maybe 1.5 x 1 - the hook at the end of the first backstrap conveniently fits into this loop.

I can put the box on, take one side of the back strap in each hand, and fairly easily link the two ends (similarly to escape). It sits about the bottom of my ribs, I guess.

I dont use the backstrap in the house, but if Im playing standing up, or walking around (or even for the odd event where I need to concentrate and dont want the box shuffling around) its invaluable.

Since it just clips on, I can use it on any of my boxes (too many - dont ask!) - so only need the one.

Not sure how well Ive explained that . . . :?

All the best,

Tony

 

[smdc66]

velcro/piano wire - the hook at the end of the first backstrap conveniently fits into this loop.

actually today that dawned on me too , that the strap isnt long enough, and was thinking of a possible extension !

how did you attach the velcro and wire to the belt?

the other slight problem is my straps are padded italian ones and the hook doesnt attach easily

 

[Tony M]

how did you attach the velcro and wire to the belt?

the other slight problem is my straps are padded italian ones and the hook doesnt attach easily

I used self-adhesive velcro (I had a bit left over from something or other) - the belt was PVC, rather than real leather. If that hadnt worked adequately, I think it would have glued OK (something like ordinary clear Bostick would probably have worked). I could have stitched it, too.

For the wire loop, I just folded the belt through the loop with an overlap of about 2.5, and stitched along the two sides with heavy thread (actually, light sailmakers polyester thread - again, leftover from a long time ago!).

In either case, if you just want to try it out, you could simply wrap the folded bits with duct tape, electricians insulating tape, or whatever youve got handy - then sort it properly once youre happy with things.

As to fitting to wide straps, my backstrap probably sits below the widest parts, but you only need a couple of the press-studs fastened - you dont need all 4 fixed (and that, of course, provides a bit of length adjustment, too). Its not as though theres any significant strain on the backstrap, so you dont need to go overboard in the search for strength.

Does that help?

Tony

 

[smdc66]

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