Got new straps and they are painful

[Mike K]

My OLD straps finally gave out on me.   We were well acquainted with each other and got along well but they broke and had to be replaced.   The new shoulders straps are uncomfortable, maybe take some break in time but one problem is especially annoying and maybe someone else has experienced it.   The buckle on the top right strap digs into my chin when I am playing.  yes, I can lift my head up but it keeps coming down and rubbing against the buckle.   I tried playing with adjusting that top strap but it had no effect.   Thinking I am going to have to cover it with some sort of padding.

Anyone else experiences similar problem?   Any other solutions/ideas?   Thanks.

 

[Tom]

Hmmmm, sorry to hear that. I don't quite understand how the strap is near your chin. Maybe a picture?

 

[Sebastian Bravo]

maybe the accordion is too big for you? it's kinda strange to read that it digs into your chin, i am used to have +10 centimeter distance between the accordion and my chin

 

[debra]

Maybe the new straps are adjusted differently from the old ones. The right strap needs to be the longest and the left one shortest, to shift the accordion more towards the left for more comfortable playing (better right arm position). But if you overdo it the right strap may rub against the skin in your lower neck. Shortening the right strap (and lengthening the left strap) a bit may solve the problem. Its generally a good idea to initially try to replicate exactly the length of your old straps.
Carini (www.carinidena.it) sells pads (http://www.carinidena.it/MS5ECOMMERCE60/jsp/eco_cc_home_bs_portlet.jsp?p=dettarti&codarti=712701) that go around the strap buckles to reduce the problem of hurting yourself and to prevent the buckles from scratching the accordion when stored in its case. Of course you could make such pads yourself.

 

[Mike K]

Maybe I play differently than the rest of you. The accordion is the same one I have had since I was 12, so size has not changed. I tried various adjustments on straps including measuring against old ones. The top strap that connects to the loop on the accordion is thicker and the buckle is bigger. I have wrapped something around it, so the metal is not scratching my neck. My chin and neck sitting down playing are in very close proximity to this buckle. This is a video made a while ago, with my old straps but you can see my chin is close to the buckle there also. It just was not as large, so it did not present a problem.

I also do have some kyphosis, (I think caused by playing the accordion so much in my youth actually)...curvature of spine. Maybe this puts my head in a more forward position than others.

 

[Tom]

Ah, yes, I see your problem. I imagine it is difficult to consider changing your whole way of playing at this point to keep your head up and away from the strap. I'm glad to hear that you have found a solution.

 

[JerryPH]

New straps do indeed need to break in, but I would guesstimate that as being about 20-30 hours of time if they are heavy duty leather ones, so not a lot of time is needed. That said, no straps, new or old should be rubbing on your chin, and if the old straps were not rubbing, there are only 2 reasons why the new ones would be:
1 - they sit different from where your current ones are or...
2 - buckle design is different

#1 we can play with, but #2 is not easy to avoid unless you possibly adjust the length to maximum on that strap and bring it in on the bottom to compensate.

Back curvature is sadly the result of youngsters playing heavy accordions over long periods of time, and I did suffer from that some. A 13-year old cannot practice with a 35lb accordion for 10-12 hours a day and not suffer from this! Thankfully, a chiropractor caught it during the time I was no longer playing and gave me lots of exercises and adjustments and this lessened (but did not completely remove) the issue for me. Today its more of a forward roll of my shoulders but thankfully the spine curvature did not worsen over the years.

Best advice I can offer... play ONLY sitting nowadays and make sure the accordion's greatest weight is on the left thigh, not the shoulders.

 

[Mike K]

New straps do indeed need to break in, but I would guesstimate that as being about 20-30 hours of time if they are heavy duty leather ones, so not a lot of time is needed.  That said, no straps, new or old should be rubbing on your chin, and if the old straps were not rubbing, there are only 2 reasons why the new ones would be:
1 - they sit different from where your current ones are or...
2 - buckle design is different

#1 we can play with, but #2 is not easy to avoid unless you possibly adjust the length to maximum on that strap and bring it in on the bottom to compensate.

Back curvature is sadly the result of youngsters playing heavy accordions over long periods of time, and I did suffer from that some.  A 13-year old cannot practice with a 35lb accordion for 10-12 hours a day and not suffer from this!  Thankfully, a chiropractor caught it during the time I was no longer playing and gave me lots of exercises and adjustments and this lessened (but did not completely remove) the issue for me.  Today its more of a forward roll of my shoulders but thankfully the spine curvature did not worsen over the years.  

Best advice I can offer... play ONLY sitting nowadays and make sure the accordion's greatest weight is on the left thigh, not the shoulders.  

Straps are thicker....heavier leather and buckle is bigger.   Seems most of them are heavier than the originals.   Width of padded area of strap is same as original but the top buckle part is thicker and wider.   I guess if I lift my head up higher it does not rub but I tend to look down at the music, chin drops and it rubs.   I put some material over it, at least not rubbing against the metal buckle but still irritating.  

Actually standing pulls the buckle farther away from the chin but I rarely play standing.   To me, you have less control of the instrument when you are standing.....and it is heavy.   The keyboard moves too much when you are playing anything intricate.   Sitting you have more control.

 

[debra]

The way you are playing indeed causes your neck to be very close to or even touch the right belt. Im not suggesting you change the way you play because you do have the accordion in the right position.
Some newer accordions have an extra strap connector/loop further to the right, behind the keyboard. I know people who use that instead of the right one on the top of the accordion and they swear by it for being more comfortable. Such an extra loop can be retrofitted to existing accordions of course.
Found an image showing that extra loop (most pics of accordions do not show the back):

 

[jozz]

this would irritate me enough to keep on searching for proper replacements that don't rub at all

I mean your old ones were good right, so there's got to be alternatives somewhere

 

[landro]

Maybe I play differently than the rest of you.   The accordion is the same one I have had since I was 12, so size has not changed.   I tried various adjustments on straps including measuring against old ones.   The top strap that connects to the loop on the accordion is thicker and the buckle is bigger.  I have wrapped something around it, so the metal is not scratching my neck.  My chin and neck sitting down playing are in very close proximity to this buckle.     This is a video made a while ago, with my old straps but you can see my chin is close to the buckle there also.   It just was not as large, so it did not present a problem.

I also do have some kyphosis, (I think caused by playing the accordion so much in my youth actually)...curvature of spine.   Maybe this puts my head in a more forward position than others.

Mike, Watching your video it seems clear to me there are two reasons why you are experiencing pain. For one, the buckles are not pulled / buckled close enough to the accordion where they should also be shrouded with a protective covering.
 The second thing I see is you have a habit of lowering your head sideways towards the accordion where your neck rubs against the bare buckle.

 

[Mike K]

Debra, the extra connector loop is interesting, it would get the buckle farther away. Not sure I can retrofit for that though.

landro, The video has my old straps not the new ones. I had no problem with those straps. I have tried the new straps in all three holes and not much difference. I presently have them in the tightest position trying to get the buckle away from my neck.

Lowering my head sideways for several reasons;
- I tend to put my music off to the right side when I am playing so I do not block the view of the instrument when I am playing in front of people. I also keep the music stand a little lower....sometimes I even put the music on top of my accordion case, which is really low but provides two benefits....I do not have to carry a stand with me, like when busking and it allows visibility to the audience of the instrument.
- If I need to look at the keys while playing you need to lower your head sideways. Some intricate passages may cause me to do this.

Sometimes it is just getting into the music and I hug my accordion. I am trying to lift my head up further as well as straightening out the back more.

I have wrapped some cloth around the buckle. A little better but still irritating. I tried two sets of straps that were at the place I got them, same issue. Those were all he had unless I went to a wider strap (mine are 2 1/2 same as old ones). My other accordion has 3 1/2 straps and they were really hard to break in. that is what they had when I bought them, they were brand new at that time.

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Looking at this Frank Morroco video, his neck is also quite close to the strap.

On this one the accordion is MUCH lower.

Another video of a pro reaching his head down and sideways.

Not sure how I could get the accordion like Frank has it in second video. Even if I loosen up strap which would cause other problems, the accordion when sitting is resting on my knee, so it only goes so low.

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https://neotechstraps.com/accordion-harness.html Anyone tried these? Much cheaper than the leather ones I bought. At $110 or more for good leather straps, i cannot necessarily keep trying other ones. These looked sort of interesting.

 

[Corinto]

https://neotechstraps.com/accordion-harness.html   Anyone tried these?   Much cheaper than the leather ones I bought.   At $110 or more for good leather straps, i cannot necessarily keep trying other ones.   These looked sort of interesting.

I have three of these neotech accordion harness and as far as Im concerned they are very good, and the buckle to fasten/unfasten is on the lower part of the accordion. 

More info about neotech straps look this thread = https://www.accordionists.info/showthread.php?tid=6138

ymmv.

 

[jozz]

I divide my playing between hohner cloth straps (90%) and neotech (10%) and never use leather anymore.

one of the reasons was to get rid of metal buckles against my body, plus you can stuff these in a tight fitting gig bag

I find the neotech very comfortable: they have this memory foam substance, or something like it

 

[fjsys]

My comment would be to go to a local leather worker and see if he has any suggestions about moving the buckle.
a couple of thoughts would be to get the top buckle as close to the accordion as possible by shortening the top strap and possibly putting another hole for the buckle closer to the top.
If this makes the strap too short and you are not able to get enough length I would suggest a cheap dog collar on the bottom buckle to lengthen the strap. (I have done this before and it actually works fairly well.
If you are willing to modify the straps yourself you could undo the top rivet and turn the buckle over?
These are just a couple of ideas off the top of my head.
Personally I use the same two tape types you would use to wrap an ankle on my buckles, but for a different reason of making sure it doesn't scratch the accordion.
The pre-wrap tape (or underwrap) may provide enough padding and the outer tape will provide durability and make it look nice.

HTH
Ben

 

[Dingo40]

My OLD straps finally gave out on me.   We were well acquainted with each other and got along well but they broke and had to be replaced.   The new shoulders straps are uncomfortable...

Anyone else experiences similar problem?   Any other solutions/ideas?   Thanks.

What about placing your music stand at abou 45 degrees to the left of your bass box, I.e. mirror image to what you do now?
You’ll still have a clear view of the music, which will still be as far away as if is now

 

[fjsys]

While playing tonight I noticed that my buckle seems to hit about the same spot on my neck that yours does. The reason that it doesn’t bother me is that the strap rolls so it is the padded part that hits my neck and the buckle goes away from me. Could it be that you just need to twist the strap so that the buckle rolls away from your neck?
Just a random thought...

 

[jozz]

Mike,

this is the top of the Neotech..reasonably flat and soft

maybe something for you...

 

[Thomas N]

Mike,

this is the top of the Neotech..reasonably flat and soft

maybe something for you...

I have these on all of my accordions.  Gone are the 4 Elephant Straps with the their strap on the back connecting the two straps.  These are light, minimalistic, stay in place and work well. I love them and highly recommend them.

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The way you are playing indeed causes your neck to be very close to or even touch the right belt. Im not suggesting you change the way you play because you do have the accordion in the right position.
Some newer accordions have an extra strap connector/loop further to the right, behind the keyboard. I know people who use that instead of the right one on the top of the accordion and they swear by it for being more comfortable. Such an extra loop can be retrofitted to existing accordions of course.
Found an image showing that extra loop (most pics of accordions do not show the back):

Wow, that backpad! Looks like velvet. I imagine it might get a bit hot and sweaty at times but it looks so incredibly comfortable!

 

[Mike K]

My OLD straps finally gave out on me.   We were well acquainted with each other and got along well but they broke and had to be replaced.   The new shoulders straps are uncomfortable...

Anyone else experiences similar problem?   Any other solutions/ideas?   Thanks.

What about placing your music stand at abou 45 degrees to the left of your bass box, I.e. mirror image to what you do now?
You’ll still have a clear view of the music, which will still be as far away as if is now

Bellows may hit it and harder to access to turn a page or change.