I got a lute strap, decades ago, which was quite a departure from what I'd seen before for straps. A web search gave no indication that they're still available, but the basic idea was this: it was a very long piece of light soft (sued) leather, colored a garish blue (probably to get more attention from the SCA crowd?). It was about 2" wide. The ends were unpierced, although the instructions said you could make holes and use them with pegs/buttons if you wanted to put those on your lute.
I used the supplied self-stick velcro. One patch went at the bottom end (where a peg would be for a guitar) and the other on the body near the neck. The strap went from the bottom patch, around my middle once and up over my left shoulder and down, where it connected with the other patch. This meant that the velcro on the strap was on opposite sides. It was very light, gave a very secure feeling to the lute when I stood with it, and worked well for two years or so that I used that lute (it was borrowed/rented from a local college, while I played in their Collegium). I think I left it with the lute, but removed the velcro (no damage to the lute finish whatsoever) and left a new set of patches in the case. I wish I'd kept it, now! If anyone knows of this kind of strap and where it is still being sold, I'd like to hear. Otherwise, it is something a person could figure out for themselves. It may have been patented or somesuch, but personal use (i.e., not selling) shouldn't upset anyone too much, if they're not being made anymore. ray On 7/9/07, Ed Durbrow <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > I may have mentioned that my old Basel roommate Robert Clancy used to > use that. I think he used a saxophone strap in place of a button on > his clothing. I found it completely unstable. The thing flopped all > over the place. > > On May 3, 2006, at 3:15 PM, Martyn Hodgson wrote: > > > Whilst the use of a loop round a button seemed, on the face of > > it, an eminently practical and sensible thoery; the difficulty I > > had was in making it work in practice. I asked if any one else had > > tried it and, I recall, only got a single response which echoed my > > own negative experience. > > > > Have you actually tried this method or do you know of anybody who > > has? More to the point if you, or others, have tried it what has > > been the experience? > > Ed Durbrow > Saitama, Japan > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > http://www9.plala.or.jp/edurbrow/ > > > > -- > > To get on or off this list see list information at > http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html >
