Way back in the 80's, I bought one of those Earth II clear guitar straps like Will Lee used to use. I was so excited to get it, until about a month later when the vinyl ripped at the strap buttons. Never got another one, but I did love the idea.
Then 2010 rolled around, and Devo released a new album, their first in 20 years, called "Something For Everybody," and along with their incredibly hot new titanium thread track suits, their guitarists and bass player were sporting clear straps. Their friend Vahe told me that they wanted to do a video for the first single, and their straps were covering the Devo logo which was a bad bad thing, so Vahe gave them a few that he got from a Japanese company called Atelier Z.
I decided I wanted one, but Atelier Z rarely made them and they weren't cheap when they did. Found a couple other companies that made them, and they were pretty expensive as well, way more expensive than I wanted to spend, especially if they weren't going to last very long.
9 years later, Levy's Leathers got bought by Gator Cases, and what do you know? Yep, they brought out two clear straps this year, one plain, one with pockets, and best of all the price for the plain one is only $10!
So I bought one from Sweetwater and it'll be here later today, and I'll be stress testing it over the next couple months. The only problem I can foresee other than tearing apart at the strap buttons is they only come in a 2 1/2" width, and while I think it'll be fine with my very light Dano or violin basses, I'm afraid it's going to kill my shoulder with one of my Fenders. But if it works out otherwise, maybe I'll see if I can get one in a more orthopedic width.
Honestly, I'm almost as excited about this strap as I've been about getting new basses! Now I can rock like Devo! And if it doesn't work out, I'm only out $10. Only took 9 years but I did it!
Then 2010 rolled around, and Devo released a new album, their first in 20 years, called "Something For Everybody," and along with their incredibly hot new titanium thread track suits, their guitarists and bass player were sporting clear straps. Their friend Vahe told me that they wanted to do a video for the first single, and their straps were covering the Devo logo which was a bad bad thing, so Vahe gave them a few that he got from a Japanese company called Atelier Z.
I decided I wanted one, but Atelier Z rarely made them and they weren't cheap when they did. Found a couple other companies that made them, and they were pretty expensive as well, way more expensive than I wanted to spend, especially if they weren't going to last very long.
9 years later, Levy's Leathers got bought by Gator Cases, and what do you know? Yep, they brought out two clear straps this year, one plain, one with pockets, and best of all the price for the plain one is only $10!
So I bought one from Sweetwater and it'll be here later today, and I'll be stress testing it over the next couple months. The only problem I can foresee other than tearing apart at the strap buttons is they only come in a 2 1/2" width, and while I think it'll be fine with my very light Dano or violin basses, I'm afraid it's going to kill my shoulder with one of my Fenders. But if it works out otherwise, maybe I'll see if I can get one in a more orthopedic width.
Honestly, I'm almost as excited about this strap as I've been about getting new basses! Now I can rock like Devo! And if it doesn't work out, I'm only out $10. Only took 9 years but I did it!
