Neck Straps and Collarbones

[j44breaker]

Hi all,

I haven't heard of anyone with the problem, so let me bring it up...I find discomfort with my neck strap with the intersecting area of the padded section and the strap. Often, the strap (not the padded section) is too hard/thick, that once it's around my neck, this strap section will turn vertical, and dig into my collar bone. Believe me, it's a nasty feeling; it takes some time to adjust before I can finally get a comfortable position.

I've heard of the Brancher straps which costs $40, and I've heard only good remarks because of it's various sizes. I've tried the Neotech straps--but I don't necessarily like the bounce and occasionally the "adjuster" which moves up and down the strap that increases or reduces slack, would fall lower and lower and lower and lower as I played...what a drag!

How do other straps compare (or which others are recommended) with the Neotech, considering I don't like the bounce, the drooping "adjuster" that gets me cringing from irritation; and with the neckstrap that I have now, and it's painful intersection of pad and strap that kills my collarbone!

Thanks,
Joey

[Gregg W. Jackson]

Have you tried the Ray Hyman Super Sling? It is 1" wide nylon thoughout, which distributes the weight of the sax across a larger area. It lies flat across the collarbone. Best of all, it's inexpensive and easy to find.

The only drawbacks are that it's a little ungainly looking, it has a simple plastic hook with no provision for locking that strap to the horn, and some baritone players have had the plastic hook break.

There's a discussion "Ray Hyman Super Sling" on this page with more information.

[retread]

I've had better luck with the standard, narrow Ray Hyman strap. The wide one seems to bunch up. The narrow Hyman strap sits where it's supposed to and is comfortable for anything smaller than a baritone.

[super20dan]

i agree -for smaller saxes the ray hyman is the way to go -if you have one that dosnt slip

[retread]

I thought that's why they put rests in sax charts--to allow time to pull the neck strap up.