Bass Straps - Dual Straps

[jolo]

I have been looking around for a Bass Guitar strap for my new bass.

I do have a lot of experience workwise, in Information Technology where I make recommendations and purchasing. When it comes to Notebook PC cases, for those who travel frequently, the Backpack Style seems to be the overwhelming favorite

With that in mind, I was looking to see about a "Dual shoulder" strap type of Bass Guitar strap.

I was looking at the "Slider Dual Shoulder Straps".
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I would like to know if anyone has had experience with The Glider Straps or any other "Dual Straps".

Thanks very much,

Beginner Jon

 

[DeanT]

There have been a bunch of threads on this subject:

Check here to get started.

 

[jolo]

Thanks for the heads up Dean.

I honestly tried searching the forum first, before sending out my post.


Regardless, there might be more companies making "dual" straps anyway that some might be using or be aware of.

Jon

 

[damianerskine]

I also made my own... just get some leather scraps and rivets and take a little time to experiment with placement. I attached a strap to my regular strap behind my right shoulder blade. It runs over my right shoulder and has a loop in front to go over the upper horn opf my bass. Works really well (and much better than any I've seen produced anywhere else.......) There are pictures of it floating around here and on my websites/myspace pages...

 

[agfrag]

I tried one of these. The bass was held out and tilted down from my body. No matter what I did, I could not get it to be comfortable. At the time I bought it, I was about 5'10", and 175lbs. I figured it should fit me well, but blah!!!

Now I use Carvin straps.

 

[jolo]

damianerskine,

Thanks for the reply.

I would really be interested in seeing what you made.
Have you thought of marketing your invention. It appears that the competition would be sparse.

I am sure that over the years, I can recall seeing musicians playing with dual straps on various TV shows, etc. I don't remember any specifics.
Since, surprisingly, I only see two companies making anything with a dual strap, they were probably "home made", like yours.

I wonder why their aren't a host of companies having a dual strap as part of their inventory. Heck, I just went to get a Lacrosse bag for my son and saw a couple of very well designed "BackPack" style, dual strap Lacrosse bags.

Jon

As a PS, I read some older posts with some of the purchasers of the Slider complaining that their straps were too long. At the Glider web site, the Bass straps are sold in three different sizes, but I noticed on some of the larger web stores, more than one size is not offered.

I am starting to look more at the Dare.
The reason is that some people has had some negative issues with the quality of the connection of the Glider to their bass. The Dare, might handle that better, from the pictures I have seen.

Maybe, I can find a really good pair of wide pants suspenders, make a small customization, then use that for a Bass Strap ??

In a last comment. I am not concerned about the "not cool" look of a Bass Strap, but I am more concerned about function.

Thanks,

Jon

 

[jolo]

I tried one of these. The bass was held out and tilted down from my body. No matter what I did, I could not get it to be comfortable. At the time I bought it, I was about 5'10", and 175lbs. I figured it should fit me well, but blah!!!

Now I use Carvin straps.

agfrag,

Could you share which "dual" strap you used ??
I only am only aware of two of them and they are both designed differently. The DARE and The Slider

Jon

 

[lhoward]

I tried the Slider a year or so ago, but couldn't get it to feel comfortable and wound up returning it. I also had trouble trying to find a vendor which carried all the different sizes and went with the middle size.

Anyone have any comments on "The Dare" mentioned by Jolo?

Lloyd Howard

 

[jolo]

I tried the Slider a year or so ago, but couldn't get it to feel comfortable and wound up returning it. I think I'm also had trouble trying to find a vendor which carried all the different sizes and went with the middle size.

Anyone have any comments on "The Dare" mentioned by Jolo?

Lloyd Howard

Lloyd,

Maybe Lloyd, you can link to the Sliderweb site that I list below and ask them to exchange your Slider for a more appropriate size. Or certainly ask the storer you got it from to exchange it for you.

Believe me, I am just trying to learn and I have nothing for or against The Slider. The name is The Slider, not The Glider. I think I am probably guilty of calling it by both names.
I do think both names are rather poor, as I don't think anyone wants a strap the slides or glides all over the place. Somethink like "The Back Safer" or "The BackStrap", might be somewhat more enticing. Maybe if damianerskine markets his dual strap invention, it can call it "The Bass BackStrap" ?

For factual reasons, I will mention, and send you a link, to show you that The Slider comes in three sizes for the Bass.
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It is worth going to link, just to see how unfortunately "cheesy", their web site is. BUT .... I wouldn't use the web site as an indication of their product, positively or negatively.

There seems to be a problem is that when I see The Slider sold at the large Web Retail stores, there isn't an option for size. I wonder which of the three sizes they are shipping.

Jon

 

[agfrag]

Hi Jolo, it was the Slider for sure. I remember even contacting the company, and asking if there was anything wrong about it, or how I was wearing it. There wasn't. But, I have seen people who play bass really low such that their right arm (if they're right handed) is almost perfectly straight, and their basses seem to lean out a bit. My left wrist would hurt like crazy if I did that!

 

[jolo]

Hi Jolo, it was the Slider for sure. I remember even contacting the company, and asking if there was anything wrong about it, or how I was wearing it. There wasn't. But, I have seen people who play bass really low such that their right arm (if they're right handed) is almost perfectly straight, and their basses seem to lean out a bit. My left wrist would hurt like crazy if I did that!

I just found out something the other day. The company that has the Web Site for The Slider, is in charge of the cheesy Web Site for the Slider, that I posted a link to, is a total mess !!
The Slideris made by, marketed by, supported by and distributed by LM Products. Any queries about The Glider need to go to them.
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To email them for support go here: [email protected]
The contact page, the includes LM Products phone, fax, address, etc is here Contact Page for LM Products

It is rather unbelievable about how screwed up LM Products is and their company that is supposed to be selling it online.

But ....if anyone has the wrong size and wants to change it, or get some help with it, try the contact information above.

Jon

 

[jolo]

I tried the Slider a year or so ago, but couldn't get it to feel comfortable and wound up returning it. I also had trouble trying to find a vendor which carried all the different sizes and went with the middle size.

Anyone have any comments on "The Dare" mentioned by Jolo?

Lloyd Howard

Lloyd,

I also am curious about "The Dare". That is a totally different business and support situation than The Slider

I found the email site for the creator of The DareI received an email directly from the CEO and creator of The Dare, Troy Dare.
Troy is involved with some others to get some ergonomics into the instrument business.
Troy told me that basically, the design seems similar to what damianerskine did !!. He combined two straps together.
Troy also has a partnership with D'Addario and The Dare is part of the Planet Waves line.

The darn thing can be purchased for $14.99 and it has one size.
I couldn't find it today at my local Guitar Center store (I HATE going into that store), and I am going to order it. I mean for $14.99 on most of the large web sites, it is not much of a risk. Sometime, on another string, I will share with you my experience going into the Guitar Center store today. :scowl:

So I will let you know how it works. One thing I know, when comparing it to The Slider, The Dareis much easier to get in and out of, and is like a "strap", where The Glideris more of a harness.

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The page in the Planet Waves online catalog where The Dare is shown

There is something in the picture that is shown, where you see a guitar player holding it by their side. That picture has created confusion in that some people think that they are NOT supposed to hold their Bass or Guitar in front of them, but at their side. I hope that Troy Dare gets all of the sites that sell The Dare to remove that photo. The photos of Walter Trout playing the guitar are more accurate.

 

[LzeroKI]

Not entirely related to bass, but I got one of the Slider brand dual saxophone straps back when I played bassoon in high school, so I could play my solo pieces standing up; as the posts above said regarding the Slider dual bass strap, it did alleviate pressure (in my case moving it from the neck to the shoulders) but was incredibly uncomfortable.

 

[jolo]

Not entirely related to bass, but I got one of the Slider brand dual saxophone straps back when I played bassoon in high school, so I could play my solo pieces standing up; as the posts above said regarding the Slider dual bass strap, it did alleviate pressure (in my case moving it from the neck to the shoulders) but was incredibly uncomfortable.

Thanks for sharing your experience with The Slider.
LzeroKI,

What was uncomfortable about it. I know that there is a different design for different instruments.
I am just curious, if The Slider helped with the pressure, what made it uncomfortable. Was it when you tried to move your instrument ?

Jon

 

[LzeroKI]

It was more of just how the instrument hung from it in relation to the harness itself, the clip on the saxophone harness lays in the high center of your chest, where was the heaviest part of my bassoon (or a saxophone as well) would be off the the right side of my body, almost below my waist, because of this the harness had a tendency to slide to that one side, which caused the horizontal straps on it to dig into the sides of my body, not a good thing for a wind player. Whenever I had it on I just had a general feeling of tight restrictiveness in my chest, which is why I eventually gave up on it and sprang for a high end padded neck strap. All the weight of the instrument would now be resting on my neck, but my body on the whole felt much more relaxed.

 

[ProfGumby]

I am all for the idea of the dual strap systems, especially on a heavier bass or a neck diver. Heck for any bass for that matter!

I am seriously considering a dual strap after listening to a few TB'ers issues from years of slinging a bass over one shoulder with a cheap or unpadded strap.....

However, I have to ask, does using the straps in the OP link make you look like a class a Dorkwad like the people in their promotional photos? I mean I know they are guitar players but come on....

And I mean no offense to anyones life choices by portraying these people as guitar players....

 

[Jazzdogg]

I have been trying to find a strap that will enable me to get through a 4-hour gig without pain radiating across my left shoulder for the past few years.

I've tried at least a dozen different straps, including the Dare strap, and none have worked better than the Comfort Strapp, which is what I gig with these days: better than any other single strap I've tried, but the pain persists; if I could figure out the geometry, I think a double Comfort Strapp would be fantastic.

As much as I like the idea of a double strap, I have yet to try one that didn't position my bass in a way that felt uncomfortable, which is probably why the advertisements usually show photos of guitar players (a short scale-length instrument) using them. One (I don't recall which), "scissored" my neck uncomfortably.

Even though I wear my basses fairly high on my torso, all of the double straps I've tried positioned my bass body too far to my left, extending the headstock uncomfortably out of reach. Jolo, take a look at the photo in your avatar - the bass body is NOT centered on the player's torso; it's shifted to the player's right - something none of the double straps I've tried will accommodate.

There have been days when I've considered covering the front of a vest and the entire back of my bass with velcro, but I figured such an effort would be more appropriate for Letterman's "Stupid Human Tricks."

Good luck in your quest! Let us know if you actually find a double strap that's suitable for a long-necked bass

 

[awakefie]

My wife took my Planet strap and added velcro to the underside of the slider. She then custom cut a nice thick piece of foam rubber and put the other part of the velcro on it.

I can play for 4 or 5 hours now without pain. Used to hurt me to play for 2 hours (back and shoulder). You can use dimpled foam for a massaging action as well. When the bass moves around it kind of massages your shoulder

I've seen one in music stores but it was like $37 USD. My Planet cost 10 bucks, 1 dollar for the velcro and like 50 cents for the foam rubber.
.

 

[wildcard]

I'm going to make a nice soft leather four inch harness strap, with some memory foam between the strap , & a thin layer of suede underneath the memory foam, to stop any slippage. If this works out , I just might be selling high quality leather comfort harness straps.

 

[jolo]

It was more of just how the instrument hung from it in relation to the harness itself, the clip on the saxophone harness lays in the high center of your chest, where was the heaviest part of my bassoon (or a saxophone as well) would be off the the right side of my body, almost below my waist, because of this the harness had a tendency to slide to that one side, which caused the horizontal straps on it to dig into the sides of my body, not a good thing for a wind player. Whenever I had it on I just had a general feeling of tight restrictiveness in my chest, which is why I eventually gave up on it and sprang for a high end padded neck strap. All the weight of the instrument would now be resting on my neck, but my body on the whole felt much more relaxed.

Interesting post.

I never have tried The Sliderior see it, except fpr pictures. What I CAN tell you is that the company LM Products doesn't give a crap about the product or its customers.
As per why most stores only offer one of the three sizes available and don't give any information about other sizes, the told me that they have no control on which of the three Bass Slider sizes they sell, and have "no control" over it.

LM Products also does not care about they cheesy little The Slidersite and when sending them a direct email, there is an auto reply telling the sender to get in touch with LM Products directly. Get this one, the Email Address listed for support that goes to LM Products is incorrect !! They have no interest in changing it on the auto-reply either.

Jon