I have noticed one recurring mistake that lutenists are making with straps. I'm no bigtime performer, just an amateur for fifty years, but I have built a number of Lutes and Vihuelas, and I see a problem some lutenists are making with their straps. Attaching a strap to a button that is pinned through the end of the lute and into the tail block is just fine. Attaching a strap to the pegbox is NOT. The pegbox is already under a great deal of tension from the strings. The added tension from a strap, no matter how slight, is just multiplying the chances for a difficulty to occur. It is always advisable to mount a button through the center stave and into the neck block less than an inch from the neck/body joint. On Vihuelas and Baroque and Renaissance Guitars the button should be pinned through the neck block centered and less than an inch from the heel, or into the heel itself if it is large enough. I have done this, and it works. Others have been happy with it as well.
Chris -----Original Message----- From: lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu [mailto:lute-...@cs.dartmouth.edu] On Behalf Of Charles Mokotoff Sent: Thursday, July 23, 2015 6:44 AM To: LuteNet list <lute@cs.dartmouth.edu> Subject: [LUTE] Re: Lute Strap Thanks to everyone for the replies. What is clear from my looking the URLs over is that: 1. No one in the USA is selling these 2. They are a bit expensive for what you get However, I understand that some of these are quite beautiful and much nicer than anything I could probably cobble together. More importantly, I played around with my version some more and noticed that, yes, the lute is sitting stable on the RIGHT thigh, rather than in between the thighs with a footstool, (essentially I hold the instrument as if it were a classical guitar). This used to work in my younger years, not so much now. But, playing thumb out and using the strap, it still is uncomfortable and tends to put my hand over the rose or even closer to the neck. Perhaps just needs some time to adjust? Nigel North's strap configuration looks a bit different than what Paul uses: [1]https://youtu.be/c7wLjIF1N5o Thanks, again. On Wed, Jul 22, 2015 at 4:07 PM, Charles Mokotoff <[2]mokot...@gmail.com> wrote: Does anyone know where I could get this strap that Paul O'Dette is referring to in this interview? [1][3]https://youtu.be/tQ5vltWA0IY?t=15m27s I have tried jury-rigging something similar but it isn't working all that well for me. My lute looks about the same size as the instrument Paul is holding. Thanks for any words of wisdom on this, I've been wanting to sit differently for some time. -- References 1. [4]https://youtu.be/tQ5vltWA0IY?t=15m27s To get on or off this list see list information at [5]http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html -- References 1. https://youtu.be/c7wLjIF1N5o 2. mailto:mokot...@gmail.com 3. https://youtu.be/tQ5vltWA0IY?t=15m27s 4. https://youtu.be/tQ5vltWA0IY?t=15m27s 5. http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
