Ergonomic back straps

[FingersPhil]

Has anyone used Claudio Jacomucci's Alexander Technique back strap set-up (e.g. here)?

Alternatively, does anyone know what Vincent Peirani straps himself into at the beginning of this video? Maybe it's the same thing - hard to tell...

Generally, does anyone have advice for back straps that work well with reasonably heavy accordions (CBA or piano)?
Thank you in advance!

 

[Scuromondo]

In my limited experience, the root cause of the problem generally has to do with poor posture, improperly adjusted shoulder/back straps, and incorrect positioning of the instrument; and possibly sometimes also aggravated by selecting an instrument that is either not well balanced or not an ideal size for the player.

So I guess that, if all of the above concerns have been addressed with no improvement, or if a physical problem with the player’s back/neck is involved, this new system could be a last-resort method to help. But overall, for most people/situations, it strikes me as a high-tech solution to a low-tech problem.

 

[lordzedd]

I have issues with muscle tone in my neck and shoulders and sought out Jacomucci straps as a way to allow my arms to work more freely while playing. They definitely distribute weight differently than shoulder straps alone or shoulder straps with back strap. Peirani looks to be using that system, having put on the shoulder harness before his jacket but leaving the hip strap on the accordion. Even with practice, it takes longer to get hooked in than just slipping through normal straps. Charlie Abel sells them and has a video somewhere showing how they look. There are some other threads around where folks mention their success with various back strap systems.

 

[JerryPH]

Those straps look very interesting. The bottom strap looks like it would keep the base of the accordion closer to the body. Now where I have concerns with are the top ones. Unless you make them VERY tight, they do not look like they would support anything very well. Look in the pictures in the region of the arm pits, its very loose and to be able to maintain control of the top of the accordion (more important than the bottom as the bottom bellows are sitting normally on the left thigh), they'd have to be tight but still lack horizontal/top of accordion control.

To get the control back, you would need to somehow link the upper and lower accordion connection points, and suddenly... you have the same support of any ordinary accordion straps that have a back-strap.

OK, I've managed to talk myself in to not really being a big fan of these straps... lol.