Ukulele Strap with no drilling?

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cursive88

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Hi all,

I am got my wife an acoustic concert ukulele for her birthday. It doesn't have anything on either end to place a strap. I would prefer not drilling into it, and I've heard clip straps are potentially damaging to the uke.

Do y'all have any recommendations on what type/kind of strap I can get? Or is the claim that clip straps are damaging unfound? I'm also interested in knowing whether or not a clip strap ruins the sound of the acoustics at all?

Thanks. :)
 
I don’t use a strap, so take this with a grain of salt. Check out the Uke Leash.
 
Unless you bought her a super expensive ukulele just drill it and install a strap. Its not hard to do.

If you bought her a super expensive uke, take it to a shop and have them install the strap buttons.

And if its a nice ukulele then get nice strap buttons like ILUAK or one of the other nice brands.
 
Also: the Mobius Strap, The Uke Leash, and the Hug Strap. I owned the latter 2 when I didn’t want strap buttons (I moved in that opinion), and the Mobius Strap is well received here on UU, too.

My nylon strap by The Hug Strap...no longer used...is the most comfortable that I have owned.

I converted the Hug Straps to a regular strap and cannot find the second part (I have no idea where I would have put them), but I do have Maroon and Black Uke Leashes in the XL format, which went around the waist of the ukulele. If you would like to buy either of those used, send me a DM and we can talk about a price ($25 for both, shipped?), as I use regular straps these days. Both also have the button adapter if you are interested.

(This isn’t the marketplace, but as I look at my collection of straps and what I’m not using...someone else might as well benefit from them).
 
After going through a variety of straps, I came to the conclusion that two strap buttons are the way to go so I just drill all my ukes, no matter what the price.

8 tenor cutaway ukes, 3 acoustic bass ukes, 8 solid body bass ukes, 7 mini electric bass guitars

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children's hospital music therapy programs. http://www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: https://www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/videos
 
Or use 3M Comamand Strip adhesive hooks.
 
I have a sound hole hook neck strap. You could search with those 4 words or even better try find a local music store and if possible try one there.

Regarding the above post from PereBourik, Id rather have a little scratch on my uke's local surface than deal with any adhesives spreading on surface.

The sound hole hook neck strap principle is very sound and does not load your ukulele top much at all and with good hooks also no scratches at all. It is very supportive for the uke playing styles.
 
D'Addario makes an ECO strap. Basically a sound hole clip strap. The nice thing about it is the rubber coated clip, it will not scratch the finish. Also the "Y" connector on the strap itself is soft, so it won't scratch the back of the ukulele. I have used it for a month and it works fine. I don't think the sound was affected.
But the best way is still the good old fashion strap button drilled to the uke bottom IMHO.
 
I use straps on all my ukuleles. I have tried a variety of types....sound hole kind, HUG strap, Uke Leash, one strap button & tie to headstock. I wasn't satisfied with any of those. I much prefer two strap buttons, one at the tail block and one at the heel of the neck. I have the strap buttons installed at my local acoustic guitar/uke/banjo shop. Even then, I'm picky and there's only one guy at the shop that I'll have put them on for me.

I do however own one ukulele that, because of how the neck is attached, could not have a strap button placed on the heel of the neck. I found another alternative. It's not the most discreet attachment, but it works great.....

http://www.honupicks.com/honupicks/products_ukeloop.html
http://honupicks.com/xinha_user/files/UkeLoopStrapSystem12.3.2012.pdf
 
cursive88 said:
Hi all,

I am got my wife an acoustic concert ukulele for her birthday. It doesn't have anything on either end to place a strap. I would prefer not drilling into it, and I've heard clip straps are potentially damaging to the uke.

Do y'all have any recommendations on what type/kind of strap I can get? Or is the claim that clip straps are damaging unfound? I'm also interested in knowing whether or not a clip strap ruins the sound of the acoustics at all?

Thanks. :)
Click to expand...

If you haven't already, you may want to check out my Mobius Strap -- true hands-free support with no drilling, glues, hooks, etc., at http://www.mobiusstrap.com. I find that any strap is helpful!
 
Different straps will give you different results. A sound hole hook style will balance the uke from the sound hole, but will not help steady the neck. Be careful not to let go of it since it might barrel roll and put stress on the sound board. A full strap with a button is helpful for standing and playing. Once again, balance is key here, and top heavy ukes might work better with attachment to the headstock instead of a heel button. My Uke Leash is my preferred solution, since it holds the neck steady, and I can sit with the uke a few inches away from my body, allowing for the sound to be full and loud. My main uke has a strap button, but I don't use it unless I have to stand and play. The Uke Leash is my preferred strap.

–Lori
 
Lori said:
Different straps will give you different results. A sound hole hook style will balance the uke from the sound hole, but will not help steady the neck.
–Lori
Click to expand...

You are so wrong in that. The only thing a soundhole strap won't do is that it won't allow the instrument be hold without hands. What you should have emphasized and you did not.

A sound hole strap to normal figure 8 ukuleles will give a great neck support and overall support in general to these kind of ukes.
 
I use a 3M Command mini hooks on my Tiny Tenor (super high gloss polish), Kala (some sort of lacquer or poly gloss finish), and my Islander Matte or bare finish). The 3M works great. Really strong. But, won't damage the surface even after several months of leaving them on. I repositioned one after a long while and although it was harder to remove, no damage to the wood.

View attachment 106483
 
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I use Uke Leash on all my high end ukes. Each has its own "at nut" loop to which I then attach one of my two over shoulder loops. Very convenient. I find that with my hands free it is easier to adjust songbooks, stands, glasses of water, metronomes, etc., without limiting to one hand.
 
I should clarify my post above. I did try a strap button on the tail block, combined with the headstock attachment from Uke Leash. It did work well, but I'm not a fan of anything up on my headstock. I find it bothersome with my left hand. I prefer attaching to the heel of the neck. That's why I found an alternative for my Gary Gill ukulele where drilling into the neck was not recommended.
 
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Second this if you don’t want to drill. I placed one of these on the side of my Fluke near the base. Works perfectly.

cyber3d said:
I use a 3M Command mini hooks on my Tiny Tenor (super high gloss polish), Kala (some sort of lacquer or poly gloss finish), and my Islander Matte or bare finish). The 3M works great. Really strong. But, won't damage the surface even after several months of leaving them on. I repositioned one after a long while and although it was harder to remove, no damage to the wood.

View attachment 106483
Click to expand...
 
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