I´ve tried the BG shoulder sling, and some Dutch contrivance whose name I forget, and found them to be unsatisfactory.

My Yani B991 is a heavy old thing and it only takes 10 minutes for a neck strap to wear me down. I´m 6'3" and rather broad chested so I'm not exactly puny. Neither shoulder sling I've tried positions the bari in a comfortable place - generally, too off to one side.

My ultimate solution is the BG yoke strap - this transfers more of the weight on to the shoulders than a normal strap. It´s not a perfect solution, but it's a good compromise.

I loathe those harnesses - I feel trussed up like a chicken - but they do work best.

I use a normal strap on my Grassi low Bb bari - it's not much heavier than a tenor.

 

By the way, I saw Ronnie Cuber blowing up a storm at Ronnie Scott's this Summer. He's absolutely my no1 bari idol, but he's got quite a stoop - possibly the result of playing a Selmer MkVI low A with a neckstrap for 40 years!

 

Ok, I guess I'll get a harness then. As long as I just practice alone,(for at least a couple of years, I guess, if I ever get to the point of playing sax on a gig of any kind), the looks don't matter, and if I ever get to play for others, it will probably be short enough time to survive with a broad neck strap.

Thanks for advise.

 

Ok, I guess I'll get a harness then. As long as I just practice alone,(for at least a couple of years, I guess, if I ever get to the point of playing sax on a gig of any kind), the looks don't matter, and if I ever get to play for others, it will probably be short enough time to survive with a broad neck strap.

Don't kid yourself...a gig, especially where you're standing, is where a harness is MOST helpful. Yeah, they look dumb, but I'd look even worse all doubled over from back/neck problems, so I learn to deal with it.

 

I use the regular Neotech harness (not the Super Harness) for both Bari and Tenor. It is a little more trouble to take it on and off, but it really saves the Neck ank and Back. It's well worth the effort. On Gigs it can be worn under a button up shirt with the hook extended out. It's completely invisible to the audience. I've used it this way often. You can still adjust it by opening a few buttons and moving the slide up and down.

 

I used the neosling and was actually very pleased.
I hate those harnesses.

 

me too!

 

I think I've mentioned it before, but I'm a big fan of the Oleg Ergo Plus. I call it a "modified neck strap" rather than just a neck strap or harness. It works as follows: You can use it by itself as a regular neck strap, so you have that flexibility... On the back of the thickly padded neck part are two clips... you attach "drops" to these clips, and then loop these drops (via some more clips) onto your belt, belt loops, etc! When you're all said and done, it transfers the weight of your bari evenly on BOTH shoulders. If you're a good visualizer, you'll see that this looks more "nerdy" than "kinky", as the straps down your back remarkably resemble suspenders!

I marched bari this summer in a fireman's band, and think that this was quite possibly the best setup for such a "gig". I forgot the suspender straps once and that was enough to make sure I never forgot them again!

Whatever your plans may include, DO find a nice, solid, comfortable strap for bari. You neck, back, etc. will thank you for it!

 

Thanks again for the good advise, I decided to order a Neotech Super harness, it's better to look weird than hurt yourself, besides I don't look that cool anyway.

 

Murgo-

Don't worry about the hook. We hang 60+ pounds from them (for weeks, even months at a time) while testing them and they hold up just fine.

As a general observation, I notice that it seems EVERYONE seems to be concerned that a harness, regardless of what kind, will look weird/nerdy/silly/kinky etc. and I've always wondered why it can't simply look like what it is; a sax harness? I don't think that anyone would misinterpret what one is for! I have to laugh when it is sometimes said that they look like a bra... I always have to ask, "then where are the cups?"

Happy playing to all!

 

As a general observation, I notice that it seems EVERYONE seems to be concerned that a harness, regardless of what kind, will look weird/nerdy/silly/kinky etc.

Come to think of it, a sax neck strap is about the only thing that looks less dignified than a bolo tie. Maybe a harness isn't that bad.

 

duplicate post deleted. Is something haywire about the posting process?

 

I have the Neotech harness, and I love it. It works wonders during marching gigs. Yeah, it looks dorky or whatever, but I really don't care. It's way better than using the neck strap.

 

I have never like the Neotech because of the bounce that accompanies placing the weight on to the Neotech strap or harness. I have used a neck strap on bari for decades. I find that if I stand or sit as straight and as upright as I can and should the neck pain and back ache do not occur. I do play 4 hour gigs.

The thing about Cuber and his hunch. The man is almost 70 and he is overweight.

 

I have used a Neotech harness and a BG sling. Both worked, but didn't feel "natural". For the past year or two I've used the Neotech Wick-it neck strap. It's comfortable and not at all stretchy. I do play seated and can rest the bari on my lap during long rests.

 

Seems like I'm the only one here who actually uses the Neotech sling strap. I use it on bari and tenor and think it works well; the load (B990) is distributed pretty well for my build and I can play two hour gigs without collapsing. It does bounce a bit, as others have noticed, and I sometimes have to work at keeping the thing rotated around my body enough to keep the hook at the right height, but overall I prefer it to neckstraps or harnesses.

 

I've used a couple of them that went bad but I only used them on tenor. Neotech swore they were from a "bad batch". They had sent me a replacement each time it partially ripped. (BTW, great customer service) The second time I went with a wick-it model strap that I really like for alto.

Anyway, I really liked the concept of the sling as it distributed the weight more evenly.

 

I love the Neotech sling for alto through baritone, although I always replace the plastic hook with a metal one covered with rubber tubing for baritone.

I don't personally feel the need for a harness YET, but that may change shortly as I am already officially "over the hill" at 41.

No problems with the slings coming undone to date, knock on wood.

 

i have marched a neotech neck strap for three years on bari... my arm is stronger the strap smells like a pile of rotting fruit when moist but while playing i prefer the neck strap over the harness because of the hassle and harnesses are not comfortable for me. i am 5'10" broad shouldered and 17 years old so i am not too woried about long term effects but after about an hour and a half of marching i am sore on the neck. for sitting it dosen't matter for me.

P.S. in high school land harnesses are called bras for too reasons' it is emasculating and it does look like a bra

 

Neotech straps are washable. We recommend hand washing in mild detergent then laying out flat to dry. If wrinkles appear, lay it out in the sun for a few hours and wrinkles fall away.

The pad of the Wick-It Strap is made of an antimicrobial "memory foam", which might help your odor problem.

Again I have to ask, if a harness "does look like a bra" then where are the cups?

 

the 'cups' are not necessary. the pressure it puts on the area around the pectoral muscles make them appear larger

 

Ok, I really don't have a problem with the "plastic" hook, I'm well aware of the almost incredible strength characteristics of modern polymers. In fact I guess a high quality polymer hook would easily be stronger than a low quality metal one. Still it's reassuring to hear you've tested the hook you are using, since there's no way to know the strength of a polymer material by just looking at it (as opposed to a metal hook, where failure would probably be due to faulty design or workmanship rather than inferior material).

I also find my "grip" with my hands to be less secure on the bari than on the tenor because of the size of the horn and the location of keys and thumb hook. Adding to that the extra weigh, I think I really need a support I can trust, since the chances of catching the horn with the hands should the hook fail are smaller.

I will be playing standing, but I will not have to walk or do any vigorous coreographics, so the elasticity should not be a problem. As for the looks, not a really big problem either since I can (and usually do) wear a black shirt, which should make the harness quite unobtrusive.

Of course, should I ever end up playing a sax solo with the heavy metal band I play keyboards in, I could use a neckstrap (or a harness) made of chain. That would really be kinky :twisted: (our guitar player actually uses a guitar sling of steel chain and he says he's gotten used to it and likes it, I find it quite painful)

 

One other comment on the plastic hook - I have watched the hook stretch a bit when the horn is hanging from it, which made me a bit nervous. When I marched bari with the One More Time Around Again band I used the harness with an extra carabinier wrapped in black tape just to be secure.

 

The only problem I ever had wearing the Neo harness was playing at the university. I was wearing a jacket over my harness. Now when I took my jacket off I was quickly approached by campus security - guy was white as my shirt - he thought I was wearing a gun holster.

I use both neo neckstrap and the neo harness for bari. The shoulder sling scares me a bit...

 

gregcagle- You seem to have a strap with one of our older hooks. They have been redesigned several years ago to eliminate the slight stretching that could occur. The fiberglass-reinforced plastic was reformulated to be even stronger, and the shape of the hook was redesigned to give the support necessary to eliminate the problem.

joshuski- That's too funny! I believe this is the first time I've heard of a harness being perceived as a security risk!

There's no need to be scared of the Neo Sling. It is made using the same materials as our straps, but configured ergonomically to work across the shoulder.

 

Good to know - I have since replaced that harness with a newer one, so all should be cool :0.

 

I use a Neotech harness for bari and a Neotech strap for tenor and alto. I long ago got over worrying about how I look on a bandstand. (Except that I refuse to play a purple saxophone.)

 

I finally got the harness, there was a little hickup with the postal service which caused a delay, but today it arrived.

I'm extremely happy with it, I practiced for a straight 1,5 hours without taking the horn off and experienced only slight arm and shoulder fatigue, no neck pain whatsoever and no feeling of being slowly strangled as with the neckstrap. It's really comfortable, the bari is heavy enough to take up most of the little stretch in the material so there's no "yo-yo-effect", the hook seems rock solid with no springiness even when pulling the horn downwards and I actually like the feeling of the horn being close and secured. It's even easier to play as there's no need to use hands to keep the horn steady so my fingers are more relaxed.

For comfort like that I don't mind looking like a paratrooper