Uke Leash Hack

In a recent thread I talked about adding a strap to my new Gary Gill tenor. I use straps on all my ukes, and normally add a strap button to both the tail block and the heel of the neck. Both Mim & Gary recommended against drilling into the neck because of the metal piece in the neck. I'm not a big fan of tying onto the headstock. I really don't like the tie to be just above the nut, as it gets in the way of my left hand. Tying in between the tuners is ok, but I worry about the pressure of the cord against the tuners. I saw the Uke Leash and liked the wider webbing strap for the headstock. Problem was, I already had a Sherrins Threads strap on the uke that I liked. Plus I had the other end secured to the MiSi pick-up end pin with a Tapastring strap keeper that I also like a lot.

So.....I browsed the Uke Leash website and noticed the banjo strap adapters at the bottom of the page. There was my answer. A short piece with the male part of the buckle that easily ties onto my ST strap and snaps into the female headstock strap that can be purchased separately. This works great. The headstock strap is snug against the headstock and can be rotated in a way as to not put pressure on the tuners.

I thought I'd share this for others who might want to modify a strap they already have, or just get an entire Uke Leash.
https://store.ukeleash.com/products/additional-headstock-straps-leather-hsl
https://store.ukeleash.com/products/connectors

Thanks for pointing this out, RafterGirl - it looks like a great solution!

Neat idea. I think I'll use this. Thanks for sharing, RafterGirl!

RafterGirl said:

Both Mim & Gary recommended against drilling into the neck because of the metal piece in the neck.

Click to expand...

I totally respect what Mim has to say, but I've added strap buttons to the heal of the neck on a good ten or more ukes and never ran into a problem. In fact, I don't think I hit a metal piece on any of them.

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Raftergirl, I put my straps on the headstock like that too. Never gets in my way.

Thanks for sharing this discovery. I will have to try it out.
I have used both methods (headstock vs heel). I have never encountered any metal when drilling into the heel. I like the look of the heel method, just cleaner and less cluttered. The headstock method however put less pressure on my left shoulder and I have more support of the head of the uke, making the left hand movements easier.

Not all ukulele makes will have metal in the heel - it depends on how it was constructed. Some are nothing but wood.

I normally prefer the second button on the heel of the neck. Mim said no and I recalled another Gary Gill owner who posted awhile back about it being a problem. To be 100% sure I contacted Gary directly and he said no. His ukes have a metal attachment in the neck, plus a laminated walnut stripe up the neck. If the man that built the ukulele says not to drill into the neck that seals the deal for me.