The Art Of
Buying An Acoustic Guitar Strap
Acoustic Guitar
Straps
If you are a musician,
especially one who plays guitar, you don't know how
blessed you are to have an instrument that allows
you to express yourself by customizing its
appearance.
I've been playing harmonica
for about 30 years now, so I have grown up playing
an instrument which no one can see when you are
performing. With this musical instrument, there's
no point in adding chrome, painting it, or coming
up with musical accessories to decorate your
instrument.
Acoustic Guitar Straps
Show Personal Expression
With a string instrument,
however, you can do a lot to give yourself a
particular look as a musician. You can paint a
guiter, put stickers on it, refinish it, and even
glue toys on to it if you want to. Even an acoustic
guitar strap can be a way to express
yourself.
-
In the music store where I
work, there are literally dozens of different
straps for acoustic guitars. Many of them have a
pretty standard look to them. A classic acoustic
guitar strap is usually black, thick, and padded.
It is a so-so design. You
see, unlike electric guitars, acoustic straps have
to be wide enough to carry a fairly heavy
instruments. Acoustic guitars can get pretty big,
so using a thin strap around your neck can really
start to hurt soon. Even people who use a more
fashionable straps usually prefer a fairly thick
one with plenty of width to carry the
weight.
Selection Of
Straps
Of course, there are
exceptions. You see, there are so many different
sorts of acoustic guitars, and they come in many
different sizes.
If you are playing a
dreadnought guitar, you need a heavy-duty,
industrial strength acoustic guitar strap to really
handle the weight properly. If you are playing one
of the small guitars often used in Spanish music.
However, you can get away
with something much lighter weight and thinner. It
will actually look better and feel more comfortable
to use a smaller strap. With back pack guitars, you
can use an even more minimalist approach. It really
depends on what type instrument you're
playing.
Improvising Straps For
Acoustics
Some guitarists I know don't
even use a store-bought acoustic guitar strap at
all. Instead, they improvise. One of the most
popular approaches is to use a converted luggage
strap to hold your guitar.
Luggage straps are about the
right thickness for an acoustic guitar strap, and
they also are easy to customize. You can adjust
them very easily too, which makes them ideally
suited for use as acoustic guitar straps.
And many of them come in
bright, pretty colors which will give your guitar
just the right Look to express who you are.
Want To Have Your Strap
Designed?
Then again, there are some
pretty innovative acoustic strap designers out
there. You might want to look to see what they have
to offer before you choose to cut up your luggage.
Besides, what are you going to do if you have to
travel across the country to your next
gig?
|
