My 4 rocker Excelsior NY needs a new bass strap. Is there anything peculiar about the bass strap setup on this model? I’m particularly concerned about getting to the mounting screws on the bottom/fixed end of the strap. Is the repair procedure straight forward on this model?
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Bass strap replacement on Excelsior NY
- Thread starter Wheezer
- Start date
I don't know the internals of this specific model. There is often not very much space between where the bass belt is held in place and the bass mechanism, but when you get an "angle extension" for a screwdriver (like https://www.amazon.com/Extension-Screwdriver-Attachment-Magnetic-Multifunction/dp/B072JZLBX1) there may be enough room.
In the past the bass belt was often held in place with a hook so that it could be removed and replaced without the need to screw anything into the wood. Some manufacturers have started to hold the belt in place using screws through the belt and into the wood. This is a recipe for disaster (as the screws tend to let go precisely during a concert and not during rehearsals...) With any luck you have the hook and don't need the angled screwdriver.
Alan Polivka
Active member
What's more likely to be "peculiar" is the top end of the strap, that feeds into the adjuster. The earliest Excelsior rocker boxes had an external adjustment wheel, which is different than that found on accordions from about 1940 on. Most important is to make sure the upper end "screw" has the right number of threads per inch to work with the adjuster in your accordion. While the number of threads per inch on those mechanisms is fairly standard nowadays, that wasn't always the case.
That is one of my worries, but if necessary, I think that the screw from the existing strap can be reused. With Italy using the metric system and the US using the English(?) system, there is a potential compatibility issue.
I’m guessing that I have an early 50’s vintage NY Excelsior.
Alan Polivka
Active member
If you tell me its serial number, I can tell you its vintage.
Alan Polivka
Active member
It's a 1946 model.
You were right. The threads on the adjuster don’t match the modern standard. Rather than mess with it, my wife made a tight fitting sleeve that we slid down over the top. It works very well, and is quite comfortable. It is snug enough that it doesn’t want to slide down or sag.
Dingo40
Been here for ages!
Good thinking!
I myself am a big believer in such sleeves, which also cope with sweaty backs of hands in warm weather.
All but one of my accordions (which came already lined with velvet) have been fitted with such sleeves: they last for decades!
Alan Polivka
Active member
I have sleeves on the bass straps of many of my accordions as well. Mine are made of leatherette (faux leather).Good thinking!
I myself am a big believer in such sleeves, which also cope with sweaty backs of hands in warm weather.
All but one of my accordions (which came already lined with velvet) have been fitted with such sleeves: they last for decades!
I think that the ultimate goal of performance is all about 3 things, being very slippery for minimal drag as one moves the wrist up and down and, if lucky, have a material that wicks perspiration and finally is affordable and relatively easily available.
My personal choice was to use a nice padded leather strap, it seems that it slides easier for me than velvet or other materials, but I wanted to gain more. I did that by looking at what some others were using and then making my own for a few dollars.
One of the slipperiest materials I ever had the chance to wear were sports rash guards. Mine cost me $10 and from that I was able to make several from one t-shirt. The material is a bit like spandex but more importantly it wicks perspiration and slips incredibly well… so well that the first few times that I was using it to practice large bass jumps and instead of missing the jump, overshot it by 3 rows.
Via the kindness of my mother and her sewing machine where each set took about 20 minutes each to cut and sew, we made 2 grey and 2 black ones later on from that one rash guard. I gave the grey ones to my uncle who uses them and I kept the black ones. You can check them out HERE.
Of note, I specifically made them way longer to accommodate the fact that when playing my Morino free bass, it is so huge that my forearm rests where other accordionists have their wrists, most will not need that extra length and therefore even easier to make.
My personal choice was to use a nice padded leather strap, it seems that it slides easier for me than velvet or other materials, but I wanted to gain more. I did that by looking at what some others were using and then making my own for a few dollars.
One of the slipperiest materials I ever had the chance to wear were sports rash guards. Mine cost me $10 and from that I was able to make several from one t-shirt. The material is a bit like spandex but more importantly it wicks perspiration and slips incredibly well… so well that the first few times that I was using it to practice large bass jumps and instead of missing the jump, overshot it by 3 rows.
Via the kindness of my mother and her sewing machine where each set took about 20 minutes each to cut and sew, we made 2 grey and 2 black ones later on from that one rash guard. I gave the grey ones to my uncle who uses them and I kept the black ones. You can check them out HERE.
Of note, I specifically made them way longer to accommodate the fact that when playing my Morino free bass, it is so huge that my forearm rests where other accordionists have their wrists, most will not need that extra length and therefore even easier to make.
