Help me find a comfy strap!

[grass132456]

My current leather strap is killing my back: a 2 or 2.5 in. leather strap. I can't stand for 30 min. without my back hurting. What kind of straps can reduce the weight of the bass or at least make it more comfy to play?

[bass12]

The Sadowsky straps are great. Just make sure you get the length that's right for you (as they come in different lengths): https://secure.sadowsky.com/store/?cPath=29

[Adam Wright]

+1 for Sadowsky straps. I own 3. They're the best.

[JTE]

The Comfort Strapp. My search (I STILL have a milk crate full of straps I've collected over 30 years) ended with my first one in '98.

John

[Epitaph04]

I use a 3 1/2 wide Levy's leather strap with foam layer in it. Makes my Bongo 6 feel comfy. Those Mono Betty straps look pretty nice too.

[Floyd Eye]

Comfort Strapp.

[Sheldon681]

Originally Posted by Floyd Eye

Comfort Strapp.

+1 Great strap.

[tonym]

Comfort Strapp. Can't use anything else now that I'm used to it.

[bassybill]

Moody straps are the most comfortable I have used, but they're pricey. Worth the money to me.

That said, I think before I'd recommend anything, I'd pay a bit closer attention to the very specific question asked in the OP. Just because I find a strap comfy, it doesn't follow that it will help with this particular problem. I'm not sure whether a strap is going to alleviate your back pain that much. It might, or it might not. Spreading the weight over a larger area with a wide strap can do a great deal to help with shoulder discomfort. I speak from experience there. But I'm not sure it will make much difference to your back. Has anybody on here actually had any success reducing back pain by switching straps? I don't recall having read anyone on TB ever saying so. I'm curious and if I was the OP I'd wait for someone to chime in here about this aspect before jumping on any recommendations.

[kesslari]

The 4" Italia straps are comfortable for me, and distribute weight well. Also well made and not terribly expensive.

[One Bad Monkey]

Originally Posted by Epitaph04

I use a 3 1/2 wide Levy's leather strap with foam layer in it.

I use the Levy's MSS2-4 leather straps, which are 4.5" wide and work extremely well. They're comfy and do well in moving the weight of the bass off the shoulder and more towards the back.

Levy's endorsing artist.

[Pacman]

Comfort Strapp - all I use.

[Rodger Bryan]

I use both of these:
Mono GS1 "Betty"- my favorite; Great construction, not as stretchy as other neoprene straps; the only negative is that you have to be careful not to let the metal parts whack your instrument

Comfort Strapp- has a little more give, very comfy, doesn't slide around

[RichardCranium]

The comfort strapp is real comfy but it tends to be on the stretchy side if your bass is on the heavy side and you jump around a lot.

[duff beer]

I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but if you can't hold a 10 pound bass for 30 minutes and don't have any health issues, you probably need to hit the gym and build some muscle.

[Floyd Eye]

Originally Posted by duff beer

I'm not trying to be a smart ass, but if you can't hold a 10 pound bass for 30 minutes and don't have any health issues, you probably need to hit the gym and build some muscle.

Well, years back I broke my left ACU. Then got back into a band after about a 15 year hiatus. After the second practice with this band I could barely move my left arm above my head. A buddy of mine sent me a Comfort Strapp and I have never had a problem again. Believe me, I am in as good a shape as any 43 year old I know.

[Matt Lake]

I really like my Levy's straps. (Canadian company, not the blue jean company). It's probably 3 ? inches wide and has a quarter inch of high density foam padding in it that makes all the difference in the world. I ,too , have had back problems/surgery. Now ,I can do a 4 hour gig with 3 10 minute breaks using a 9-10 lb. bass. They are kind of pricey new, about $45 to $50 but I bought my second one on an online auction with some cords and other misc. stuff for cheap. They are also very good looking straps.
Just be sure to get the one with foam rubber in them.
Enjoy.

[BBox Bass]

I used to get major pains in my shoulder after holding a bass for half an hour until my guitar tech suggested that I glue a piece of neoprene where the strap hits my shoulder. He gave me part of an old wetsuit, which worked great. More recently I bought a few adhesive-backed neoprene sheets through Ebay.

[lowendfriend]

Originally Posted by grass132456

My current leather strap is killing my back: a 2 or 2.5 in. leather strap. I can't stand for 30 min. without my back hurting. What kind of straps can reduce the weight of the bass or at least make it more comfy to play?

Planet Waves makes a real nice wide, padded nylon strap. I would gauge it as about 3 inches wide. It has a nice little pick pocket in it for those that use such devices...

Here is the link on Amazon:

Amazon.com: Planet Waves 3 Inch Wide Bass Guitar Strap w/ Internal Pad, Black: Musical Instruments

I got it for my Warwick Corvette $$ 5string which is a 10+ lb piece of lumber. Makes it, as you say, as comfortable as a 10 lb bass is gonna be on a 61 y.o. back. I used to use one of those double shoulder straps but I could never really get comfortable in that thing.

[ksandvik]

Originally Posted by lowendfriend

Planet Waves makes a real nice wide, padded nylon strap. I would gauge it as about 3 inches wide. It has a nice little pick pocket in it for those that use such devices...

Here is the link on Amazon:

Amazon.com: Planet Waves 3 Inch Wide Bass Guitar Strap w/ Internal Pad, Black: Musical Instruments

I actually checked out the Planet Waves 3" strap last night. I was not impressed. The padding was very thin and stiff.