Do you take your strap off before putting away

[pekoe1111]

I just got a hard case for my f-style and it is snug fit in the case. I have kept the strap on my a-style when putting it away in the cheesy chipboard case (plenty of room!) but there is no room for it in the new case without potentially rubbing the finish on my new mando.

So, people with snug-fitting cases: Do you take your strap off every time before putting your instrument in your case? One end of my strap is tied to the scroll with rawhide - a pain to do every time I just want to play for a few minutes.

Anything I am missing here?

Thanks,

BB

[JeffD]

I take the strap off and put it in my gig bag. Every time.

Its really no biggie. And I play without a strap a lot too.

[Gutbucket]

I always keep it on. I have a seperate piece of nylon thread tied between the endpin button and the strap to prevent the strap from coming off, so the strap always stays on my mandos. I just hope the endpin stays in.

[Rick Crenshaw]

Leave it on. You don't like wear on your mandolin? I keep spit drizzle on the base side from singing. I don't even wipe mine off! There's more dust at the bridge under the strings than under my bed!

[lmartnla]

I leave mine on, but they are soft thin straps with no metal or buckles.

(What is the best way for Rick and me to get off the spots from singing spit droplets? Also sometimes I drool when playing a lead.)---Lou

[JEStanek]

I leave it on. I've tied a knot just above the end pin loop to keep it tight. I had that come loose once and almost had my Eastman on the floor! Yikes.

Jamie

[pekoe1111]

Actually where the strap connects to the pin at the bottom of the mando is less of a problem as the 3" piece with the other holes lies fairly flat against the padding. The issue is the flat leather strap has to be tucked all along the side of the mando. It is tightest against the instrument at the scroll, where the flat strap attaches to the piece of thin rawhide - the extra I can tuck under the neck. Laying the extra across the top doesn't work because the lid padding presses agaist the top and bridge.

I thought about making the strap easier to take on and off by attaching a larger loop (black thin dress shoelace?) to the end of the strap that goes over the scroll. I did, see the photo of Grisman with the sax strap, though...

BB

[mandomick]

One of my mandos has a strap that I cut from "saddle strings" and is fairly stiff leather when new. I leave it on but lay a cloth on the top so that the strap doesn't come in direct contact with it.

[cheesecutter]

I'm able to lay my dude strap along the edge of my Calton and over the top along the finger board when its in the travelite. Also I use a 3/8" rubber grommet over the end pin to hold the strap on tight works real nice.

[Greg H.]

I always keep it on. I have a seperate piece of nylon thread tied between the endpin button and the strap to prevent the strap from coming off, so the strap always stays on my mandos. I just hope the endpin stays in.

I have a bit of 20lb fishing line between the endpin and the strap. I had a strap slip off of an Apitius F5 once when I was playing. . . .the mandolin crashed to the ground cracking the neck in two places (irreversable damage, the neck had to be replaced). So now the only way for the strap to some off is for me to cut it off.

That said, I do take the piece of leather out of the scroll and lay the strap along the top of the mandolin. Since the strings are higher than the strap at that point it seems to fit well.

[jasona]

Left on, curled up and stuffed into the scroll area of my Travelite, my A5 not needing it.

[Bertram Henze]

I leave it on, because it fits very tightly on the end pin and is not easy to remove (which is important for safety).

Even in a tight case there is always room for a strap to go over the top beside the bridge, and as for rubbing - rubbing implies motion, which should be prevented in a tight case, and should not do any damage anyway if there is no metal or other hard stuff on the strap.

Bertram

[Ivan Kelsall]

I sometimes take it off & sometimes leave it on. I suppose leaving it on leaves less of a chance of an accident when you put it on outside your own home,say at a gig or jam session. The more times you have to fiddle around with the strap the more chance of dropping the darn Mandolin - if you're me that is !.
When i leave it on,i place the Mandolin in the case & pull the strap at the tailpiece end up,vertical & then lay the strap on top of the Mandolin as there's not much space left to tuck the strap around the body,in fact what Bertram describes above,is exactly what i do,
Saska

[Mr. Loar]

I leave mine on. The straps are pretty soft.

[JeffD]

I used to have these great old straps, made in the 1920s. They were similar to suspenders of the same era, about an inch wide, and very thin and flexible. I could stuff them around the sides of an instrument with room to spare.

If only I could find them now.

[Mark Walker]

I always leave mine - a braided leather strap - on. #Like others, I have a small piece of waxed thread (often used for stitching canvas) tied in a clove hitch to my end pin, then around the strap, with the other end of course hooked in the scroll. #

As I play multiple instruments, (not at the same time of course!) I often 'sling' my mandolin over my back when I switch so it's important the strap stays put on the end pin. #(I have a bit of wood glue holding the end pin in as well as I was afraid that might come loose.)

My initial TraveLite case wouldn't accommodate the mandolin AND the strap, so I bought a nylon/foam Guardian-type rectangular case. #Just last week I picked up a very slightly used rectangular TKL hard-shell case from another Cafe' member and keep the strap on in that as well - I just run it alongside the bridge and up on the fretboard before covering with the blanket.

[mandroid]

Cotton webbing strap, & Peg case combo, no problem ..

[mburkes]

I leave mine on now.
After I bought a Duddette )sp?) strap, it fits nicely in my Calton. It is soft as a baby's behind and I am not worried about rub burn.

[Brady Smith]

Always on!

[Sean Greer]

I have to thank you guys for some great ideas regarding securing the strap to the end pin. I just got a new El Dorado strap and the end pin hole is a bit large. In addition the slit at the end pin hole is a tad long. The end result is that the strap comes off WAY to easily. I think I'll have to get some 20# test and use a rubber grommet.

Anyway, thanks for the great ideas! Would hate to end up with a broken neck, or worse. http://www.mandolincafe.net/iB_html/non-cgi/emoticons/wow.gif

[Steve Ostrander]

I use a loop over the scroll so it's easier to take it off. But I never take it off. I it on so I can grab it and play at the drop of a hat.

[stoney]

I've only ever had two kinds of straps: Spurgeon and Collings. Both were plyable and thin enough to leave on/attached and simply tuck under the strings in front of the bridge and then back under the strings behind the bridge; then I don't worry about the tight case mashing them against the instrument, etc..

[zakdl]

Another suggestion -

I have one of those neoprene straps with the plastic push clips on the ends (similar to a camera strap) so all I have to do is pop it off the clips and every thing remains adjusted correctly for when I take it out and clip it in next session. I then roll up the strap and put it in the case.

When I'm really lazy I just let the strap hang outside the closed case.

[pasturepicker]

I've heard that neoprene is bad for finishes.

[F5G WIZ]

Leave it.

[niaflsbob]

no

[surfandstrum]

I leave mine on...it fits nice in a Pag case...

[Jim MacDaniel]

I usually play seated nowadays, so I rarely attach a strap to my mandolins -- but when I used to own an F-style instrument, I usually left the strap on it all the time.

[pekoe1111]

After a bit of fooling around, I left the 1/2" leather strap attached to the scroll with a piece of rawhide, and put a flexible rubber grommet on the other end that I can easily take it off the tail pin. Then I fold the strap over the top next to the strings.

BB

[Dave Greenspoon]

I've got the Longhollow strap that Rigel sold for my A, and another Longhollow for my F-4. #They always come off before the mandolins are put away. #The pockets in the shaped Rigel case and the Travelite are not huge, but they are roomy enough for my needs. #I don't know if I'm just OCD or simply permanently tainted by too many years in the Navy, but I do know I'll not have to worry about worn finishes on my instruments from the leather straps.

[Jaminbanjo]

I have no choice with my mandolin case, but to take the strap off everytime I put it in. #There just ain't no room fer it!

[earthsave]

I leave it on.

[Tim Bowen]

With any instrument where the strap/case relationship is a problem, I leave the strap secured to the end pin and place the strap parallel with the neck, allowing the excess strap to reside under the backside of the headstock, within the case. As to hinky strap/pin relationships, I apply a velcro strip to the strap at the connection point, and use an X-Acto knife to cut a slit that will allow a more secure bond than does the strap's opening by itself. As to how straps as laid on instruments can create aesthetic considerations, I really couldn't be bothered; working instruments are hammers and screwdrivers, not museum pieces.

[pekoe1111]

But the first marks on a new mandolin, especially those caused by you that may be avoided, are painful...I hate it when I damage my stuff by not thinking things through.

[TomTyrrell]

I keep the strap on the mandolin I play every day. The ones that get played once a week or less don't even have the strap in the case with them. There is always the chance that something in the strap will react to the finish if you give it enough time. I prefer to avoid the risk.

[Denny Gies]

Mine is left on all the time and laid sort of along the bass side of the mando after it is put in the Calton Case. The excess length of strap is laid beside the neck, with some eventually laying on the headstock; case closes fine and there is no indication of wear from this drill. The piece on the scroll is also left in place. The strap is a braided one, soft leather.

[lovethemf5s]

It stays on all the time. It was a tight fit with the original case but since I bought a rectangular one it fits fine.

[Tim Bowen]

But the first marks on a new mandolin, especially those caused by you that may be avoided, are painful...I hate it when I damage my stuff by not thinking things through.
Everybody's different. I always feel a bit of relief after my instruments get their first dings. I call it "character". After that, I can relax and start playing the thing.

It cracks me up that people actually pay high dollar for "relic" guitars. I have some instruments... standard and high-strung electric and acoustic guitars, basses, banjos, mandolins, baritone guitar, lap steel. If they get used, they're going to develop "character". Most of the instruments that I've owned that remained pristine got sold down the river, meaning that they weren't getting used.

I'm not negligent of my instruments, but I don't sit around and polish them and admire them and babysit them. Because they get used 6-7 days per work to create my income, I use only hardshell cases. Nonetheless, my stuff gets tossed into the Toyota Highlander, along with the VOX and Fender amps, pedalboards, and whatnots. A bad fret crown concerns me, but a ding is comic relief!