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A true innovation: the Saxholder (plus review)

102K views 361 replies 101 participants last post by  Scotssax 
#1 ·
I took delivery of a Jazzlab Saxholder the other day. I had seen these at Frankfurt earlier in the year but was not impressed as they seemed to slip to one side. I mentioned that to the manufacturer and he has now altered the design so it stays put.

I must say I am totally impressed, especially as I've had a bad neck recently. I hate harnesses, and this thing just makes me feel so much less restricted, and it really does take all the weight off your neck and distributes it to your shoulders and your abdomen.

I was previously using a Cebulla, but of course you still get all the weight on your neck (though not on your spine), and I'm going to give this Saxholder doodad a big trial over the next few weeks to see how it works out in the long run. It does take some getting used to and I imagine if you haven't developed good abdominal muscles it could be a bit disconcerting, but then it's an incentive to get to work on them I suppose.

Anyway I did a review here:

http://tamingthesaxophone.com/saxophone-straps.html
 
#3 ·
Stephen???

It looks great for standing still and playing. I am curious how it holds up to moving on stage...Not necessarily dancing (though a lot of sections have routines), but just bending over or twisting with or without the horn in your mouth. Steve
Well, I'm not a great one for keeping still while playing on stage. It is not an issue, you can move just as much as with a strap. I thought "no way" when I first saw it, but you have to try it to appreciate how it really works.
 
#8 ·
No, it actually works well, but you must have good abs (which we all should have). I showed it to my osteopath who thought it was way better than a conventional strap or harness, he thought the abdominal pad was good unless you rested on your actual diapghragm. Otherwise it's better to have the weight there than on your neck or spine or constricting your lungs (which a harness could do)
 
#10 ·
Pete, I'm not sure if this is what Stephen was getting at, but does it feel secure? Looking at the pictures on the maker's website, it looks like a recipe for disaster if/when the shoulder hooks happen to spring loose or whatever.

If that is truly not a concern, then as you say, it does indeed look like a great "piece of kit" (I love that turn of phrase).

The idea seems related to the Zappatini harness:

 
#13 ·
Pete - read your review - great... one short story in regards to having the weight of the horn on the stomach - I used a similar strap/pad designed set up with the help of my Alexander teacher.... I used it for several months - it was by far the best system I'd ever tried for my posture, hands and wrists, however, I began to get horrible acid reflux... which I never had before - I had to go to the doctors, take pills etc... finally we figured out that the pressure on my stomach from the stap and pad was causing it - the light saxophone weight for 3 - 6 hours per day was enough to cause it really bad... the reflux went away days after I stopped using it and never returned... This may not be a problem for everyone or with this type of strap model - just a word of caution and somthing to look out for. Best, Matt.
 
#15 · (Edited)
I've been using a Saxholder for the past week and wore it on a gig for the first time a couple of days ago. So far, I'm impressed. Compared with wearing any kind of neck strap that I've tried, including ones that relieve direct pressure on the spine, using the saxholder is like playing a saxophone in outer space in weightless conditions. A tenor feels less than the weight of an alto. It's that good.

I've haven't found that wearing it while playing when standing restricted movement but I only dance about a bit. Rock style sax up in the air moves or laying on your back while playing might
be possible but tricky. For me, it's not really comfortable to use when playing sitting down. I'm fairly tall and skinny and because this design fits me so well it probably means, because we're all different shapes and sizes, that some players may find it unsuitable or, like Matt Otto, find it actually causes problems. In my limited experience, the pressure on the abdominal area is so slight that I hardly notice it. It feels to me as though less than 10% of the weight of the instrument is distributed there.

Although this product appears to be well made only time will tell if it is robust enough to withstand everyday use. I think you need to treat this design with the same degree of respect as you do your horn. It wouldn't be difficult to damage the rather lightweight construction. I had a Neotech shoulder sling with me on the gig as back up just in case something did go wrong with the Saxholder. Like any new, unproven product, it really needs to build a good word of mouth reputation and that, if it does acquire one, will take time.

What you get. The holder, a black carry bag, spare cord and instructions.


You're meant to be able to be stow it in the bell. Yes, in a tenor, or larger, but not in a alto.
 
#20 ·
Re: A true variation: the Saxholder (plus review)

This isn't an innovation, it's a variation on this drum harness:

I didn't mean to imply there's nothing like it in the world, I"m sure there are plenty of holders of things that spread some weight on the abdomen. If you think about it, some of the weight of a guitar on a strap is distributed onto the abdomen.

I considered this to be an innovation in the world of saxophones.
 
#31 ·
@Pete Thomas, with your continued testing of the Saxholder have you discovered any additional note worthy issues? I'm eager to try this.
@Hubooo54, did you get the Saxholder shipment in? Can you provide pricing and shipping information for Pennsylvania? You can PM me, thanks in advance.
 
#32 ·
As I told Huesax already, I did get the shipment of saXholders and I already had to order the next one. The price including shipment for the US is $75.

My own experience with it has been great so far. This really is a totally new feeling and it it makes the sax feel really light. If I do an hour warm up (technical/finger exercises etc) with the saXholder and then I switch back to the regular strap, my tenor feels about twice as heavy. That is partly because you don't have to push the horn forward as much with your right hand because the center of the weight is in front of your chest instead of your neck. It's also a new feeling to have part of the weight on your stomach, which actually made me concentrate more on a proper support from down there.
One thing I'm personally not sure yet is if it works well when I sit. But I haven't really tried that much yet. Most others that tried it said they find it ok though.
I'm also still experimenting with different positions to figure out the perfect setting for me. There are multiple ways how you can adjust it. The two shoulder handles are made of aluminium and you can bend them into perfect shape. There's a screw on the center part that allows you to chose between 3 different neck-width settings. The stomach-pad is extendable and there's a replacement chord which is longer than the original one in case it's too short.

I've shown the saXholder to a bunch of sax players around Berklee College and they all were quite surprised and interested in this new concept. The biggest fan I found so far was my teacher the great George Garzone who asked for an endorsement right away. He said he couldn't feel the weight of the horn at all.
Of course, he got the endorsement.
 
#33 ·
One thing I'm personally not sure yet is if it works well when I sit. But I haven't really tried that much yet.
This is where I find it a slight issue. I don't like to sit down to play normally, but often I'm recording and frequently going between live room and control room, and in the control room I like to sit down sometimes so that is the only slight difficulty for me.
 
#34 ·
I agree with Pete, it works best when standing.
If I want to sit down without playing though, I just retract the stomach pad a bit and then it works pretty well.

But as I mentioned earlier, some people told me they didn't find a problem at all when sitting down. George Garzone was among them, but he found the cord to be too short when sitting down. The replacement cord, which is longer, took care of that problem.
 
#39 ·
Ok, I admit I´m an accessoire geek so I ordered a saxholder just to give it a try. The store has a 30 day trial money-back policy so I have nothing to loose. After trying this I have to say it really works. I have a secure feeling and you hardly feel the weight of the sax (tenor). No more neck pain. I also have a free-neck, a cebulla strap and a couple of rather normal neck straps. But at the moment the saxholder beats them all. It´s as close it can get to a normal neck strap without the weight. I will report back after doing some gigs with it.
 
#42 ·
I was able to try the Saxholder briefly at the latest NAMM trade show. It worked really well on the tenor sax. It felt the natural and enjoyable. Tenor really did seem lighter because the saxholder takes some of the support job away from your thumbs. Alto sax also felt fine. Bari sax was just okay, but then again, the maker did not design the current model for baritone. I did not try the holder while sitting because I didn't think of that until after reading this thread. The stomach pad felt fine. I would really like to try one of these on a job.

While at the show, i introduced the maker of the Saxholder to Curt Altarac at Sax Medic. Curt was interested and I think he may be carrying the product soon.
 
#43 ·
How do I spell neck relief ...... SaxHolder

I have had mine for several hours now and I am amazed at the feeling of weightlessness and no neck problems after a few hours.

Pete .... Thanks so much for the OP and the review.
 
#45 ·
A true innovation: the Saxholder :idea:

:yikes!: After all this " bagarre" around the Saxholder I tried to resist going with the SOTW flow, but, at this point I had to........ especially after having developed a serious problem with something called shoulder impingement ( you have no idea of the pain this condition gives and if you do, you have all my sympathy!) I caved in and today I've bought one Saxholder.

Well I have to say.......not all things in life are perfect .......but the Saxholder, apparently, is!

Man this thing is great!

I have done nothing to it aside from opening the package and extend the abdomen support, put it on and away I went. One hour after that, there is no extra pain that wasn't there before ( let's face it this thing is good but hasn't yet shown healing properties so I still have my impingement) and I felt the lightest that a saxophone has ever been around my neck and on my right thumb ever since 6 years ago I started playing again.

The wonderful thing is that, by sheer luck, this wonderful apparatus is perfect to fit my size and I can play from soprano to tenor (I don't know yet about a baritone I will have another one again in a week so I will try that too).

I was a bit worried about the hook, I saw this thing was a simple hook with somer rubber coating (anathema! anathema!........I hear you think......rubber will kill de oh! so precious vibrations on the hook.........:tsk: :whistle: [rolleyes] :faceinpalm: ) , anyway the hook turned out to work just fine.

The abdominal rest is a great thing, takes most of the weight and makes you very aware of what your abdomen does, so my subtones are greatly improved (well, having brought the sax , again, to the shop to take care of some minute leaks helped too!)

Playing sitting down is no problem too.........folded fits in the bell of my tenor

All in all, money well spent !:cheers:
 
#46 ·
Now I've got one too!
With the Saxholder an alto doesn't weight anything. I never had a real problem with alto weight but the saxholder feels much better in 2 ways:
There is absolute no pressure on the neck and it doesn't constrict the throat like a usual strap especially with alto when the strap is shortened.

It's not as good on bari. That's pretty obvious because bari is so much heavier and hangs more on the side.
Still it's a massive improvement over a normal strap and I prefer it over a basic harness I have.
I guess it would benefit on bending the shoulder parts to better match the shape of my shoulders but so far is good enough just the way it is.

I don't like the hook although it works. I prefer the normal plastic carabiner style. This one is bit more cumbersome to take off if the hook ring is thicker metal.
When not in use the Saxholder is not as convenient as normal strap. It takes more space, it's an odd-shaped object to put aside and it's little bit more difficult to put on. All these are manageable but I wanted to mention the conventional strap still has some advantages.

Anyway the best strap I've ever tried so far.
The only reason not use have one would be if you have a sax case where the neck is stored inside the bell. Then there wouldn't be any room left for the Saxholder.
 
#47 ·
I purchased one and didn't care for it. I will sell it, brand new, for the first $45 I get for it. Shipping included to conus.
 
#48 ·
well, saxxsymbol you certainly prove that there are different strokes for different folks. As much as I like good straps (like Joe’s, really a very good product in its genre) the saxholder is way more comfortable than any strap that I’ve ever tried . I use it now even for soprano and my shoulders and neck have never felt better (I have developed a problem with impingement of the shoulder).
 
#49 · (Edited)
I bought a saxholder yesterday, and thought I'd post my impressions here, rather than starting a new thread.

First of all, it WORKS. And I mean man it works. It makes a tenor feel lighter than an alto. I usually use a Neotech super harness, and the saxholder makes the sax feel lighter than with the harness. I practiced for some 4 hours today with the saxholder, and felt much better and was more productive than usual.

The drawbacks, however, are significant. Firstly, it feels relatively cheap. I could easily snap it in two (the front bar part is all plastic, including the swiveling abdominal plate. That said, to be stronger it would have to be made of metal, and then rubber-coated, significantly increasing the weight.

Secondly, if you play with the sax on the side, things get weird. Straight in front of you, it's great. Move the sax to the right a bit, and it gets weird. Move it fully to your right side, and it's game over. It's hard to describe what's going on, but basically the whole apparatus will lean onto it's right side, so the right side of the ab plate is going into your belly (rather than flat onto it), and the right shoulder hook cuts into your neck as the left shoulder hook lifts up. So playing sitting down isn't all it should be. I think a sling is the best option for sitting with a tenor or bari.

Third, there were some strange design choices. The shoulder hooks are bendable metal (perfect), covered in rubber treads (***!!!). There's a reason why all other straps use things like neoprene, leather, or memory foam-- because they're GOOD. I also think the hooks should be flat metal, rather than tubes (see snare and bass drum harnesses for what would work well).

Also, the ab plate is about 3 times smaller than it should be, the wrong shape (flat), and the wrong material (plastic). It also doesn't go down as far as I would like. Additionally, it only pivots on one axis. It should really be a ball joint so the plate would stay in place when you move the sax to the side (rather than tilting on edge, what it currently does).

Finally, if I stand up straight with my shoulders back and chest up (like I should ;-) ), then the plastic bar in front pushes against my sternum. So there's pressure on my sternum as well as on the abs. This last point may just be due to my build, though I am quite average. I think the front bar should arc out.

If I keep it, I'm going to glue a gel wrist pad (the type that goes under your wrist when using a mouse on a computer, about 4 inches by 5 inches by 1 inch) onto the ab plate. I have one taped there now, and it's much better.

I will then cut some thick neoprene like is on the neotech harness and make sleeves to go over the shoulder hooks. I put on the neotech harness and then the saxholder on top of it and the saxholder becomes WAY more comfortable (shoulder hooks over the neoprene).

I should mention that within about one minute of testing the saxholder in the store, the rubber parts on the shoulder hooks pulled threads out of a brand new shirt I was wearing (higher-end polo). DON'T wear the saxholder directly on a shirt you care about.

I'm still trying to work out the physics/ergonomics to see if it's possible to make it stay relatively in place while the sax is on the right side, but I'm guessing that if the designers couldn't do it, then I can't either.

My recommendation to the curious is to wait for a version 2. If you have back pain and play bari or bass, then maybe give it a shot. If you play alto or tenor, probably try a good quality yoke strap, harness, and/or sling first. If you're a rocker, move around a lot, swing the sax to the side, and bend back and lift the sax up (and that kind of stuff), try a sling. If you have an opportunity to try out the saxholder before buying, definitely do so; it will trip you out!


EDIT: I want to mention that I have a yani tenor. The default cord on the saxholder is supposed to be the right length for tenor (I think), but I had to shorten it quite a bit. Maybe the hook hold on yanis are located at a different place than other saxes. Also, presumably using the saxholder with bari or bass would have the cord longer, so you may have better mobility/swing/side-playing with those than tenor. I don't have a bari to try it on.
 
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