Toni, thanks for posting this info. Does this harness work well when you are seated? That rigid rod in the front looks like it could be a little problematical when seated.
Zappatini harness
I tried several saxophone harnesses, and not one of them really worked for me - until a found zappatini's "synthesis" harness, which is perfect. 
Here is Zappatini's web site:
http://www.musicom.zappatini.com/default.html
It's a Swiss product, so it's maybe a bit difficult to order in the States. (By the way, while I'm Swiss, I don't have any interest in Zappatini's firm.)
If you look at the pictures, you can probably build one yourself. The trick of this harness is the lightweight rod or bar in front that distributes the weight on your shoulders.
Here is Zappatini's web site:
http://www.musicom.zappatini.com/default.html
It's a Swiss product, so it's maybe a bit difficult to order in the States. (By the way, while I'm Swiss, I don't have any interest in Zappatini's firm.)
If you look at the pictures, you can probably build one yourself. The trick of this harness is the lightweight rod or bar in front that distributes the weight on your shoulders.
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Besides looking somewhat funny, it works without any problem wheter standing or sitting.
i would like to try one of these, but the manufactuer never emailed me back! cie la vie
After more than two years, I happened to stumble onto a Swiss dealer who handles Zappatini harnesses and who shipped to the United States. I also tried again to contact Gilberto Zappatini by email with a few questions before ordering. Previous efforts a couple of years ago by me and newking70 to email Zappatini were fruitless, so when I went a couple of weeks without a response this time I assumed he was still incommunicado. It turns out that he was ill and finally did respond to my email. Zappatini now ships to the U.S. and accepts Paypal, so the harness can be conveniently ordered directly from him. I had already placed my order with François Heredero at Top Music SA in Villeneuve, and as with a previous unrelated transaction with François, everything went perfectly with my harness order. The harness shipped in a couple of days, he sent me an email notifying me that it had shipped, and I had it in hand 4 business days later.
Here's a Cons/Pros review based on a couple of days of use. Zappatini sells several different harnesses; I bought the black saxophone Synthesis harness in the large size. I start out with the cons, which are substantial, but please read the whole review as I think this may be a very useful product for some readers.
Cons
Pros
Though I'm disappointed in a number of regards with this harness, I'm still extremely pleased overall. It combines the strength of the neckstrap (flexibility of instrument position) while minimizing any sense of supporting the instrument's weight on any part of the body.
Zappatini's harnesses are on the web here and here, and Gilberto Zappatini can be emailed at musicom at zappatini dot com.
Top Music SA is on the web here and François Heredero can be emailed at fheredero at topmusic dot ch.
As far as I know, the harness is not distributed in the U.S.
I'm pretty sure it's obvious, but I have no financial or business ties with Zappatini or Top Music.
Here's a Cons/Pros review based on a couple of days of use. Zappatini sells several different harnesses; I bought the black saxophone Synthesis harness in the large size. I start out with the cons, which are substantial, but please read the whole review as I think this may be a very useful product for some readers.
Cons
- Cost - Gulp! $100 shipped to the U.S. for a saxophone harness?!? There are many alternatives on the market, and I'm not aware of any of them going for more than about $50 plus shipping.
- Quality of materials - OK, it's a lot of bucks, but the materials are top quality, right? Not exactly. I took some comparison pictures with the BG harness I've been using until now. In each case the BG is on the left, the Zappatini on the right.
- Webbing - The Zappatini harness is made of standard quality and weight nylon webbing. In comparison to the BG's heavier, wider, softer, and more finely woven webbing, the Zappatini's seems downright cheap.
- Plastic spine - This is the defining feature of the harness. It's a lightweight plastic rod. I suspect the rod will be fine, but the openings for the webbing worry me slightly. Will the thin cutouts break through? I doubt it, but for $100 I wish I felt more certain.
- Clip - The picture on Zappatini's website shows a metal clip, so I was a little surprised when the harness arrived with a plastic clip, and even more surprised that it turned out to be so delicate looking. Contrast it to the beefy swivel clip on the BG. I intended the harness for use with alto and some tenor, and though it's advertised for use with baritone, I'll leave it to the judgement of the reader whether the clip should be trusted with the big horn. On a positive note, the clip does have a nice "springless" design that is very convenient and, I believe, will protect well against accidental slips of the horn off the clip.
- Ease of use - The harness webbing is adjustable in size but opens nowhere, so you have to pull it on over your head. It's an ungainly process that I'm starting to get familiar with, but I knocked my glasses off in a couple of my earlier tries.
- Customer support - Zappatini's web presence leaves something to be desired. It mentions that there are three sizes for saxophone, but gives no concrete guidelines on what size to order based on your own size. At 6" and 175 pounds, I assumed I'd need the regular adult size, but Zappatini's email response arrived just in the nick of time to change my order to the large that he recommended. The harness is also, according to Top Music, available in white, but I didn't notice any mention of this on Zappatini's web literature. This would be a minor annoyance if you didn't have to wait, depending on how you count, two weeks or two years for a response to email, but perhaps Zappatini has worked out his email problems by now.
Pros
- Stability - I've tried a few other harnesses of various designs, and none of them comes close to providing the stability that this one does. Once put in place, it stays in place, and doesn't require the constant fussing to maintain the proper adjustment that all the other harnesses I've tried required.
- Comfort and flexibility - Another huge drawback of most harnesses is that the saxophone is restricted to being very close to the body. Not with the Zappatini. In that regard, it's just like a neckstrap. The key, as mentioned above, is the plastic spine, which almost miraculously distributes the weight of the horn across both the front and back of the body. The result is a lightness that is almost uncanny - my alto almost felt like it had suspended itself in the air. The harness is equally comfortable sitting and standing, though Zappatini did indicate in his email that heavier people might push the spine out too far while seated to be comfortable.
Though I'm disappointed in a number of regards with this harness, I'm still extremely pleased overall. It combines the strength of the neckstrap (flexibility of instrument position) while minimizing any sense of supporting the instrument's weight on any part of the body.
Zappatini's harnesses are on the web here and here, and Gilberto Zappatini can be emailed at musicom at zappatini dot com.
Top Music SA is on the web here and François Heredero can be emailed at fheredero at topmusic dot ch.
As far as I know, the harness is not distributed in the U.S.
I'm pretty sure it's obvious, but I have no financial or business ties with Zappatini or Top Music.
Thanks for the excellent post.
A couple of followups.
In case you are wondering what else I've tried, this post on the North American Saxophone Alliance website discusses most of the other harnesses I've tried. That link doesn't mention the latest BG harness I've been using for a while which is the one in the photos above. You can see a good picture of that one here.
I failed to mention that I believe the Zappatini Synthesis harness would work fine for women, a problem with some other harnesses on the market.
In case you are wondering what else I've tried, this post on the North American Saxophone Alliance website discusses most of the other harnesses I've tried. That link doesn't mention the latest BG harness I've been using for a while which is the one in the photos above. You can see a good picture of that one here.
I failed to mention that I believe the Zappatini Synthesis harness would work fine for women, a problem with some other harnesses on the market.
I perhaps should also mention that it would be a simple matter to swap out the hook that comes with the strap for one of your choice. The harness may be offered with different hooks too, you could check with Gilberto Zappatini.
If anyone else tries one of these I would be very interested to hear your impressions here.
If anyone else tries one of these I would be very interested to hear your impressions here.
Have a look on www.ba-sling.com > BA Sling. It is neither strap nor harness and devides the weight between your neck and your back in any playing position, one size is completely adjustable from Children on an alto to Adults playing the Tenor/Baritone saxophone!
If you say so, but that site is short of any visual images that would convince the reader of that.Brassman said:... and devides the weight between your neck and your back in any playing position...
BA.Sling pictures
Have you looked under www.ba-sling.com > BA Sling > pictures allready?
Together with the manual and info it should give you (or is intended to do so at least) a good idea about the BA.Sling system.
The idea behind the BA.Sling is different to any other strap available, and maybe therefore a bit hard to explain without some pully-system knowledge..
It is meant to divert the weight in two ways, to your neck and to your middle-back-spine in whatever playing position.
The comfort will be much greater than that of a strap, maybe a little less as a harness, but you can stand, sit or groove with it without any difference in strain onto your (upper)neck, which will be 40 % less as compared to playing with a normal strap.
Adjustable to any size of (alto/tenor/baritone)saxophone or (child/adult)player..
Have you looked under www.ba-sling.com > BA Sling > pictures allready?
Together with the manual and info it should give you (or is intended to do so at least) a good idea about the BA.Sling system.
The idea behind the BA.Sling is different to any other strap available, and maybe therefore a bit hard to explain without some pully-system knowledge..
It is meant to divert the weight in two ways, to your neck and to your middle-back-spine in whatever playing position.
The comfort will be much greater than that of a strap, maybe a little less as a harness, but you can stand, sit or groove with it without any difference in strain onto your (upper)neck, which will be 40 % less as compared to playing with a normal strap.
Adjustable to any size of (alto/tenor/baritone)saxophone or (child/adult)player..
I'm always reading threads on harnesses. I use a Spin Strap and have for years. I went away from it for a while, but after a neck injury I went back.
a friend of mine picked up one of These harnesses off ebay and loved it. Last time I saw him perform he was back to using a regular strap. I forgot to ask him about it.
I tried this one one (though he is much smaller than me and we didn't have that much time) but it seemed pretty comfortable. I should probably pick one one, heck at that price, why not??
has anyone tried the one I linked to?
a friend of mine picked up one of These harnesses off ebay and loved it. Last time I saw him perform he was back to using a regular strap. I forgot to ask him about it.
I tried this one one (though he is much smaller than me and we didn't have that much time) but it seemed pretty comfortable. I should probably pick one one, heck at that price, why not??
has anyone tried the one I linked to?
Bill, I have one of those off eBay in white. Definitely a bargain. Only problem is it didn't work with my alto - and I haven't gotten around to trying it with my tenor since I play it so infrequently. But you are right, at that price...Bill Mecca said:I'm always reading threads on harnesses. I use a Spin Strap and have for years. I went away from it for a while, but after a neck injury I went back.
a friend of mine picked up one of These harnesses off ebay and loved it. Last time I saw him perform he was back to using a regular strap. I forgot to ask him about it.
I tried this one one (though he is much smaller than me and we didn't have that much time) but it seemed pretty comfortable. I should probably pick one one, heck at that price, why not??
has anyone tried the one I linked to?
Thanks you for your thorough review of the Zappatini Synthesis Saxophone Harness. It was most helpful in my search for a harness. Due to injuries I am no longer able to use a traditional neck strap and had tried virtually all the harnesses (and sling strap) available today in a effort to find a strap/sling/harness that would facilitate my playing again. Unfortunately, I encountered drawbacks with all that I tested. After much research and talking with Garrett Hype, a professional baritone player and owner of saxophone.com, in Las Vegas, NV, I decided to order a Zappatini Synthesis - Large, from Garrett (saxophone.com), who uses, imports, stocks and sells them. The harness arrived promptly and, after using it for several weeks, I can't say enough good about it! Hands down, its the best harness design I've tested. As for any concerns over the plastic spline on the front of the harness, it is as light and sturdy, as the rest of the harness, and does not interfere with its use or flexibility. The only negatives, as noted are: 1.) slipping the harness on and off (which I have already adjusted too), and 2.) the price. For saxophonist looking to take a load off their neck, shoulders and back, while retaining the flexibility of a traditional neck strap, the Zappatini Syntesis - Large is the only choice!
I have been using the Zappatini Harness for 2 months and think it is great. As stated the main draw back is, it has to go over your head to get it on. Also, I struggle with a way to store the harness so it is easy to get it in the correct orientation to put it on. I put it in my Tenor bell in the case and try to keep the short strap out of the bell but it seems to often get twisted. Anyone devise a way to have it always ready to go?Thanks you for your thorough review of the Zappatini Synthesis Saxophone Harness. It was most helpful in my search for a harness. Due to injuries I am no longer able to use a traditional neck strap and had tried virtually all the harnesses (and sling strap) available today in a effort to find a strap/sling/harness that would facilitate my playing again. Unfortunately, I encountered drawbacks with all that I tested. After much research and talking with Garrett Hype, a professional baritone player and owner of saxophone.com, in Las Vegas, NV, I decided to order a Zappatini Synthesis - Large, from Garrett (saxophone.com), who uses, imports, stocks and sells them. The harness arrived promptly and, after using it for several weeks, I can't say enough good about it! Hands down, its the best harness design I've tested. As for any concerns over the plastic spline on the front of the harness, it is as light and sturdy, as the rest of the harness, and does not interfere with its use or flexibility. The only negatives, as noted are: 1.) slipping the harness on and off (which I have already adjusted too), and 2.) the price. For saxophonist looking to take a load off their neck, shoulders and back, while retaining the flexibility of a traditional neck strap, the Zappatini Syntesis - Large is the only choice!
Thanks,
Shelley Yoelin
1 - 15 of 15 Posts
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