Straps for playing heavy accordion standing up

[PhilipRowe]

Hello everyone. Just joined up and have a query I hope someone can help me with...

I play a big heavy accordion in a folk band and I like to do it standing up.
Im looking for accordion straps that make this possible without wrecking my back.

About 25 years ago, a member of staff at Bell Accordions went on holiday to Italy and came back with a load of accordion straps of an unusual design. I was lucky enough to get a set, and they were perfect for the purpose, but now theyve worn out and I cant find anything remotely similar to replace them with. Theres no makers name or brand to suggest where they came from.

The fundamental problem with playing a heavy accordion standing up is that the normal design of straps puts the weight on your shoulders and this puts stress on your back. The straps I used to have had a very low backstrap that allowed me to hang most of the weight of the instrument from my waist and this takes the weight off my back.

Each of the two straps had one piece that buckled onto the accordion at the bottom, and these two lower sections linked together with a hook (the back-strap) to provide a continuous strap that ran from the lower bracket on the accordion, around my back at waist level and this took most of the weight. Then each strap had another section connected at right-angles that went up over my shoulders and buckled to the bracket on the top of the accordion.

Ive tried modifying conventional straps and lowering the backstrap but it makes the strap twist in uncomfortable ways, so it really needs to be designed in with a suitably shaped strap.

The nearest I can find online is the neotech harness
http://neotechstraps.com/accordion-harness.html
I cant find anyone within reach who stocks it so difficult to go and look before I buy.
Does anyone use it? Id be interested in your comments.
Amazon reviews suggest I need the mega harness for a big accordion, but it is likely to be too long for me. The pictures online show the backstrap looking much too high too support the weight properly. Im 56 (165cm) tall and slim-ish build so Ill want a shorter strap than average. I have 96 and 120 bass accordions.

A friend who is a bespoke shoe-maker tried to copy my original straps for me. His prototype copy is much better than anything else Ive found, but has some issues. Unfortunately, he didnt enjoy the departure from his normal shoe-making activities so I havent persuaded him to try again and improve the design.
Ive also managed to modify a standard commercially produced set of straps, lowering the back-strap and rotating the length-adjusting buckle through 90 degrees to produce something fairly similar. The padding on these straps is inadequate in certain areas so they arent very comfortable. Ive added extra padding, but its still not ideal.

Ive looked around for leather workers who might make something to my design but without success. Accordion straps work best when made of stiff leather. People making shoes and handbags are tooled up to add padding, but tend not to have machinery to sew stiff leather. People who do work with stiff leather tend to be involved in saddles and bridles for horses and arent able to do the padding an accordion strap needs.

Ive seen various add-on back-straps around. Most of them are stupidly expensive and look a bit clumsy. I need to be able to strap the accordion on quickly. I play in a ceilidh band, and swap between accordion and fiddle. I generally put the accordion down while the dancers are having a walk-through, then pick it up in time to play for the dance. Ill probably strap it on 20 times or so during the evening, so velcro-type solutions will wear out quickly.

Has anyone seen for sale the style of strap I describe? Does anyone know a leather worker who works across both disciplines and might like a challenge?
I live in North Yorkshire, UK so would need someone within reach.

 

[Soulsaver]

Hi and welcome here.

The ones you describe from 25 years ago sound similar to the alexander technique ones on page 9 of the Italinte catalogue.. http://www.italcinte.it/wp-content/uploads/2014/03/catalog_NEW.pdf

But the Neotechs should workout ok for you; they can be adjusted a lot and one model allows you to have the back strap in 3 different places to suit you. I use them and Im not much bigger than you. There are a couple of other options to position the backstrap better - you can lengthen the top connectors and shorten the bottom loops, which will allow you to position the back strap further down your back. And failing a solution there, you can get an inexpensive additional backstrap.
And have a look here for options/additional back strap : http://www.accordions.co.uk/Accessories.htm

 

[Deleted member 48]

Then there is the easy alternative, choose a much lighter 60 bass or 80 bass accordion (you've got all the chords in all keys) with 2 or 3 voices reed blocks.
Lots of brands are available from 5,5 kg to 8 kg.

Many professional accordionists have these alternative smaller accordions when doing stand up concerts or shows for a couple of hours.

careful not to develop shoulder or back pain...

 

[PhilipRowe]

Thanks for replies.
A smaller accordion is something I'm saving up for, but a set of straps would be much cheaper! Even a small accordion can be a problem if not properly supported. I reckon a big accordion with the right straps is probably less strain on my back than a small one with the wrong straps. I'm aiming longer term for 96 basses in a smaller than normal box with the number of piano keys you'd usually get on a 72 bass. I couldn't manage with anything smaller for the repertoire I play. I'm not quick enough with my left hand to substitute a D flat chord when I really want a C sharp for example.

The Alexander Technique straps look a bit similar, but not quite the same and I doubt they would work for me. They are designed to give good support when sitting down. They might work standing up too, but more by luck than judgement I think. It looks as though it would take quite some time to climb inside them! Worth investigating though but for the difficulty of finding a UK stockist where I can go and look at them.

Neotech looks like the best bet - and not quite so much money to waste as the Alexander ones if they don't work out.
Hobgoblin in Leeds have the standard Neo and I've sent e-mail to see if they can get the 'mega'.

 

[Soulsaver]

FTAOD You do realise the mega doesn't have a backstrap?

 

[george garside]

Posture has a great deal to do with where the weight goes when playing standing i.e. it is best to stand very upright with shoulders back so the weight goes straight down and this is born out by the enormous weights people carry on their heads in some parts of the world - always with an upright stance. 50+ years of playing has made that my natural stance even when not playing and indeed many people have asked me if I am ex army - which I am not!.

The other thing I have found is that the widest possible well padded straps seem to distribute the weight better , making it feel lighter although obviously it isn't. As to back straps they make me feel trussed up and if worn very low would probably be a veritable pain in the arse to me!

george

 

[PhilipRowe]

The mega doesn't have a back-strap? Thanks for that - it's not at all clear from the literature. They show pictures of the harness with back-strap and the words suggest that mega and deluxe are just heavier duty versions.
The pictures of the basic harness show the lowest position for the back-strap only just below shoulder-blade level, so that doesn't look hopeful for me either.

 

[Soulsaver]

Ok sounds more like you want something like the hip strap designed for use with Hohner Morinos which slots into an aperture bracket on the accordion .. c€200. http://www.thomann.de/se/hohner_hueftgurt_einzeln_hoaz5500.htm
But youd have to find the/a fixture that you could attach it to, maybe worth a word with Thomann and/or with Charlie at CGM and/or Emilio at Allodi

An option on making your own design is to find a horse harness/saddle maker, they will do it... probably costly but they have the heavy duty equipment for strap leather that cobblers dont have/carry.

 

[JIM D.]

For a while this was unavailable - it is now being shipped. A friend of mine that performs while standing with his FR-8x uses a neotech mega harness and a MurlStrap and claims this to be the best he ever used -- http://murlallensanders.com/murlstrap.html
http://www.petosa.com/preowned/2012/06/27/the-new-murlstrap-accordion-back-strap/

 

[PhilipRowe]

How quickly can you get strapped in when using a Murl? It looks a bit clumsier than the simple hook and eye on my current straps.
I'm keen to have something that straps on quickly because I play for dancing and I like to put the accordion down between dances while they are walking through the next one.
The Hohner hip strap looks like it might separate with some kind of quick release, but it's hard to tell - there's some kind of button arrangement in the middle, but not clear what it does.
Either of these look like they'd provide a solution, but both are a bit of a compromise - I'd really prefer to have a single pair of straps with an integral back-strap in the right place. It's frustrating that this just isn't available.

I did find someone in the saddlery business but he said he wasn't interested in making any kind of strap that involved adding padding.

 

[Soulsaver]

Have you got a picture of what you have got that you want replicated? Found?

 

[PhilipRowe]

Here are some photos of the straps made by my local cobbler. They are a reasonably good copy of the original design.
They do the job, but ideally I'd like them lined with something different that grips my shoulders better - I've had to cover one of the straps with a piece cut from a non-slip rubber mat. They are a little too big - I've put extra holes in a few places where they don't really fit. I'd like the back-strap even a bit lower but that's the limit with these straps. If I did manage to lower the back-strap I'd have even more of a problem with the straps slipping off my shoulders. Also, the leather is too soft and they are not wearing well.
The really low back-strap is great for supporting the weight, but I'd have a bit more padding on it next time round. The shape of the strap means that it doesn't twist in an uncomfortable way around my waist. That's generally what happens if I take a standard straight strap and move the backstrap down much lower - trying to force that right-angle bend into a straight strap has consequences.
I've had several years good service from them, and they will last a while longer yet, so I'll keep looking and hope to find something to replace them with that's even better. I'm sure my original straps that these were based on must still be available somewhere. But there's probably no market for them in the UK because hardly anyone plays a heavy accordion standing up. So far, everything I've seen looks to be even more of a compromise. I've been wondering what's available in Eastern Europe - you tend to get more young, strong accordionists over there.