Those two hook neck straps...

SOTSDO

SOTSDO

Old King Log
Staff member
CE/Moderator
What's with the two neck strap rings on bass clarinets? Sure, you can sling a horn up that way, but most every bass player that I've known since the advent of the properly installed peg use that as the primary support for the horn. I've heard of one person who plays using both the peg and the double hook neck strap, which seems to be a recipe for a tangled up mess.

Even when standing, I've pretty much given up on a neck strap for the bass. I can play off of my right thumb for a pretty long time, and if that isn't feasible, I can put the peg down on a stool or something like that.

What do you do?

(I did find a use for the double hook strap that I got with my bass back in 1971 or so. Pulling it from the plastic bag where it had rested for over thirty five years, I took it apart and used the hooks to have two custom made seat straps made for my bassoon playing. Thanks for thinking ahead for me, Selmer...)
 
I played a wooden Selmer bass in high school that had the two rings -- but one was removed.

I used a strap on only the Buffet bass I played, primarily because the peg was missing. I used pegs on the two Vitos I played and the aforementioned Selmer.

I actually *had* a strap with two hooks on it. Never used it in that capacity, tho.
 
Maybe it's a ploy to get saxophonists to move to bass clarinet! When I started on bass clarinet I used the strap. Once I gained confidence with the instrument, on a couple of levels, I just used the peg. I went to bass clarinet because there were none in the band and we had some exposed bass clarinet parts to cover. Plus, I've always luved the sound.

But truth be known, shortly after I started two other 'real' bass clarinetists showed up and I move back to the sax section. Both lusted after my bass clarinet and Walter Grabner mouthpiece, but I refuse to loan my babies to anyone. The both used the peg. They never said a peep about me using the strap, but the peer pressure was there.
 
When I played bass clarinet in middle school, I thought it looked cooler to use a neckstrap than to use the peg. Silly me, now I know it's impossible to look cool playing bass clarinet! As an adult I have found it much easier to use the peg.
 
I have never in my life, ever, looked cool, so playing a bass clarinet has little effect on that one way or the other.

(I do have a photo that I have used on Sax On The Web that looks "relatively" cool. (It's a head shot that my son took for the website, and it shows me seated leaning on a baritone.) But, I can't seem to get it uploaded here, so you'll just have to imagine my degree of coolness...)
 
Terry, if you want me to, I could probably fix that. Just e-mail me the pic. My brother-in-law is in a number of hard-rock bands. He was recently informed by one of his nieces that he is no longer cool. I'm wondering if that means he'll get rid of the eyebrow ring and/or get a haircut :).
 
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