While I was eventually able to get this strap into a usable configuration to support a 10.5 lb five-string bass, it took considerable effort and tools to do so.
First of all, I’m a 5’4” woman and the strap is barely long enough for me, and I wear the bass high on my body. One of the two plastic anchors broke immediately when I was moving them, but it didn’t matter because I had to move the adjustable portion of the strap so far down toward the bottom that there wasn’t room for more than one anchor anyway.
Next, I discovered that the “chicago” screw holding in the shorter, second strap is positioned in exactly the right place to stab me in my right shoulder blade. If I moved it to another hole so that wasn’t happening then the neck was parallel to the floor, making it hard to play. Also, with the screw only extending through two layers of strap, the pressure on the outside strap would press the screw inward toward my body, enhancing the stabbing sensation. So I broke out my leather hole punch and created a new hole, closer to the edge of the strap and in such a way that I could put the screw through three layers. Then I reversed it so the flat side was against my body. Finally, the stabbing was fixed. Had I not had that tool, I couldn’t have fixed the problem.
Finally, there is the issue of the second strap for the bass horn. There’s just a brass button that you put through a hole, but there’s no way to secure it, so each time I take the bass off, the strap pops off the brass button. Total pain. I ended up rigging up a paper clip to secure the strap in place. I will look for a thick piece of rubber that I can use to create something akin to a mini straplock.
Now that I’ve McGyvered the strap into something usable, it is helpful indeed. I have a 3-hour show coming up and had no idea how I was going to get through it with this boat anchor of a bass. I’m feeling confident now that I won’t collapse under the weight. The strap works well once you figure out exactly where to position things and try it out for a while.
