I have tied my strap between the tuners to keep it away from the nut for several decades. I prefer A mandolins and have had no problems. I also prefer the balance of the strap there.
THE WORLD IS A BETTER PLACE JUST FOR YOUR SMILE!
I don't see how it could damage it under normal use. However if you pulled hard enough on the strap, I could see how the tuner shaft might bend, but I can't imagine that happening during regular usage.
There's three main options for a strap on an A:
- Attach it to the peghead somehow, like in the pic
- Loop it under the fretboard extension, if there is one
- Attach a strap button on the heel
A quarter tone flat and a half a beat behind.
I doubt you'd damage the tuners but, depending on the material your strap is made of, it's possible that it might wear the finish on the edges. I've had a leather thong strap end on the heel end of a Collings mandola (beneath the fingerboard) for a year or so and, looking carefully, I can see where the leather is starting to wear the edges of the top.
I won't mention a strap button on the heel as that will only encourage all the usual protagonists to join in
Could looping it under the fretboard extension hurt the top at all?
Sell it and buy an F-style . . . problem solved.
Editors Note: This is what is referred to as a 'joke' . . . not real advice.
No, not unless you use a very abrasive strap. I've done that for years. I actually prefer that method.
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"It's comparable to playing a cheese slicer."
--M. Stillion
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--J. Garber
Ditto to what Mike said. It also balances the instrument better.
Bill
IM(NS)HO
So the leather thong on my Collings is the exception then?
It seems so... I've had straps tied like that on my Furch for years and never had any Problems.
Concerning tha balance: My Furch's head is heavier than its body, so it will tilt with the strap attached underneath the fretboard extension. But as soon as I place my arm in playing position it keeps the instrument in place. And mounting a toneguard might also help as it adds weight on the body side ;-)
Mandolins: 1920s (?) Meinel & Herold Bowlback, 2006 Furch "Redwood MA-1" A5
Octaves: 2004 Fender FMO-66 Flat-Top, 2015 A. Karperien 5 String Electric
Banjos: 2007 Gold Tone IT-250F Irish Tenor, 1963 Vega Vox No. 1 Plectrum, 2016 Recording King RK-OT25 Clawhammer
JP, your solution of between the G and E tuners is what my strap position has evolved to be. The mandolin is less steady the farther away the strap is tied, and steadier closer to the nut. i prefer just behind the nut but it's in the way of the fretting hand and the way your pic shows is a good trade off. i'm also not a fan of drilling into the heel, and i've passed up mandolins with a strap button there.
Everyone has their own way of holding the mandolin, and tying to a scroll isn't as solid for me as in your pic. F mandolins are beautiful, but not as practical for me. Yes, i've been down the road with multoples of both the F and A, and prefer the A.
I like tying a thong around the heel under the fb extension, but on my Collings a button had been installed before I got it. Works fine. As far as wear goes, any film finish can be expected to wear over time, but some are more durable than others and we all know there are variations in finishes on mandolins: lacquer, spirit varnish, oil varnish, polyurethanes, etc. so the type of finish and thickness of the film will have an impact on whether leather wear will show and how quickly; also, if you are in a dusty environment where abrasives like dust can get under the leather that will have an impact as well.
With me and my mandolin, there are other things that concern me way more than a bit of wear to the finish - like being able to make it sound good when I play. Very worrisome, that
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Hmmmmmmmm........
Here is Evan Marshall, one of the great mandolinists. Despite playing a Gilchrist F5C model, he attaches his strap to the peghead, not to the scroll. Granted, this is pretty unusual, and I have absolutely no idea why he prefers this orientation (maybe it's a balance issue? maybe it's for quicker on/off?), but you can see how he ties his strap to the headstock pretty clearly in the following photo. Click on it to enlarge it. And to the OP: NO, you do not seriously risk damaging your tuners or peghead doing it this way. And you can do it on virtually any model of mandolin: A, F, bowlback, flattop, etc.
Maybe he didn't want to spoil the look of the larger scroll with a strap? It is a posed photograph.
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