Re: ToneGuard Question
Originally Posted by
Jeff Mando
To assist with this all the old school players wear their strap over their right shoulder, NOT their left like 99.9% of modern players (who started on guitar, probably) -- just an observation, but.....
It isn't true that ALL the old school players wear their strap over their right shoulder. I've seen old pics (predating Monroe's fame) of mandolin players with the strap over their left shoulder, and I've seen more recent but still traditional bluegrass mandolin players with the strap over their left shoulder. Yes, Bill Monroe wore it that way so it's easy to see why some folks would emulate Monroe and wear the strap the same way, but despite your argument, the choice of right shoulder might not have been specifically for volume. Wearing a cowboy hat (as Bill and many of his contemporaries did) was a practical reason to wear the strap on the right shoulder. I read that Earl Scruggs explained that he went from wearing his banjo strap on his right shoulder to over his head and across his left shoulder when he stopped wearing cowboy hats.
Doug Brock
2018 Kimble 2 point (#259), Eastman MD315, Eastman MDA315, some guitars, banjos, and fiddles
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