Bass Strap on Hohner Student - not adjustable?

[sjr2]

A friend at my accordion class has a lovely sounding Hohner Student VM 48 (i think) with a bass strap that doesn't adjust at all - fixed length and captive at both ends with no adjuster wheel. At the moment, she adjusts the bass strap length buy inserting two wooden spoons between the strap and the top of the bass end...

Short of cutting and re-terminating the the strap, (we don't want to do this as the Hohner box is on loan to her) is there a solution to this? Does anyone know where I can get a replacement bass strap with a velcro adjuster and loop that will fit at Hohner Student VM and have the right end clips and so on? I'd like to be able to do any change in a reversible way so that if/when the instrument is returned, we can put the original un-adjustable bass strap back.

Thanks

Steve

 

[maugein96]

Hi Steve,

Hohner dealers sell the velcro bass straps for about 9 Euro, although I dont know where you are based.

Heres a link to a German website that shows what they are like.

http://www.hohner-cshop.de/en/Accor...d-strap-textile-with-velcro-black-HOHNER.html

Now for the bad bit:-

These straps are secured with two Philips type screws top and bottom to wooden blocks on the inside of the accordion body. To get access to the screw mountings youll need to unscrew the two little black feet under the strap on the bass side. There should only be one screw securing each one, and youll need a very small Philips type screwdriver. Dont take out the bellows pins on the bass side, as all youll get by doing that is access to the bass reed blocks.

When you take the end panel off youll see how the strap is mounted. With a 48 bass you might be lucky and have sufficient access to get your screwdriver on the screws. Mine is an 80 bass and Id have to strip the entire bass mechanism out in order to be able to access them.

It would be worthwhile opening it up and seeing if there is any point in buying a velcro strap, as it might need a visit to a repairer if the bass system needs removed. I have removed bass systems from accordions before and reassembled them, and its not a job for the feint hearted. Quite a lot can go wrong and the bass mechanisms on these little Hohners do not look very amateur friendly at all.

Maybe somebody with better knowledge of them will have more idea. As and when mine needs replaced Ill tackle the job myself, but I wouldnt like working on an instrument that wasnt mine.

 

[Glenn]

Sounds like cutting and fitting your own section of heavy duty velcro would be the easiest solution. Sounds crazy it is not adjustable since these instruments are often played by youngsters

 

[ChrisH]

I had a similar problem with my Hohner Concerto 1 48 bass box. The previous owner had shortened the leather strap and it was far too tight for me.

I replaced it with a length of 30mm webbing cut from the shoulder strap of an old laptop bag. On the Concerto the fixing is quite simple.. the metal end plates are held down by two woodscrews which go through the strap straight into the woodwork. I cut the webbing a few inches longer than I needed and folded the ends under before screwing down. Using webbing rather than leather means that you can go back and adjust it, because the screw-holes close over when the screw is removed.

Chris

 

[Tony M]

Making the assumption that the strap is longer than you want:

Take a piece of old towel, or similar material with a bit of thickness to it - you want a piece nearly as long as the bass strap, and wide enough to fold right around the width of the bass strap one or more times, to form packing round the strap. Wrapping more than once round increases the packing - stick in place temporarily by wrapping a couple of bits of sticky tape round it. Experiment till you've got enough packing to give a "feel" that you like, then stitch the packing to itself, forming a tube around the bass strap (and throw away the sticky tape!).

You can add more, later, or take some out - and there's no long-term effect on the box.

I've used this a couple of times - works for me.

Best of luck,

Tony M.

 

[george garside]

Often the 'slack' can be taken up by just arching the wrist slightly , assuming the hand is well through the strap so the strap is where a watch would be.

george

 

[maugein96]

Tony M's solution appears to be the best option rather than risk damage to the box. Yvette Horner (not Hohner!) used to wear bandages on her left wrist, which I presume was to take up the slack on her Cavagnolo bellows straps. She is a very petite lady and I would imagine even at its tightest setting her bellows straps may have been loose.

Then again I could be wrong, I often am, but I'd go for Tony's option.

 

[artidots]

A friend at my accordion class has a lovely sounding Hohner Student VM 48 (i think) with a bass strap that doesnt adjust at all - fixed length and captive at both ends with no adjuster wheel. At the moment, she adjusts the bass strap length buy inserting two wooden spoons between the strap and the top of the bass end...
Steve

Steve, I had a nostalgic smile when I read this. Many years ago (at the end of the fifties) my parents gave me a new Hohner Student VM for my 21st birthday and I suffered exactly the same problem with the bass strap (lovely sound though). By then I had just finished my aviation engineering apprenticeship at the Supermarine works of Vickers Armstrongs near Swindon (they were no longer making those wonderful Spitfires and had moved on to Swifts and Scimitars) and was working in Product Development Design where there was a small well equipped experimental workshop attached to the design office. In that workshop I found (stole!) some half-inch diameter brass rod and (at lunchtime) turned a spherical ended dumbell shape piece where the length of the thinner central part matched the width of the Hohner bass strap. This fitted neatly and securely underneath the strap upper end, and produced just the right fit over my wrist. I polished it well so that it looked quite good too. It always lived loose in the hard case with the PA, and I just popped it in whenever I started to play. I kept it for years after I sold the Hohner but sorry to say, I no longer have it now, so cannot offer it to your friend.

More anecdotal than helpful Im afraid, but there is plenty of good advice above.

 

[Anyanka]

It's the same on my Student and on my Hohner Amati. Rather than mess about with the bass strap, I use a leather wrist support to get the fit right - it prevents chafing from the leather edge at the same time. For someone skinnier than me, a tennis player's wrist thingie might do the trick.

 

[sjr2]

Thanks for all the hints, tips and reminiscences! I'm glad we're not alone....
I'll off up your suggestions to my Student-VM owning friend and see how she gets on.

Many thanks

 

[artidots]

For someone skinnier than me, a tennis player's wrist thingie might do the trick.

I used a well varied selection of those on Melodeon bass end wrist for years Anyanka, and they were a regular feature in the domestic laundry. I suppose with playing hard out in the street it was more to do with sweaty wrist syndrome on the bass plate than the strap adjustment. For some unaccountable reason though, I no longer use them (but neither do I play out on the street anymore).

 

[Glenn]

Maybe you now at last have your sweaty wrist syndrome under control.
I did Google the syndrome in some pretty well regarded medical journals but drew a blank.