How wide should a ukulele strap be?

mikelz777

mikelz777

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Using a guitar strap (2"[+]) for a uke is certainly do-able but it seems like overkill. Then I see there are mandolin straps that can be used for a ukulele that are 1/2" wide. This width seems like it would be much more appropriate but is it too narrow?

I don't have experience with straps but I'm considering trying out a strap that would attach to an end pin and the headstock. What is a good width for a ukulele strap that is comfortable and not too wide?
 
Personal preference. Ukes are light enough that a skinnny strap isn’t going to bite into you, so really anything goes (some people use shoelaces or ribbons). You can get straps cheap enough that its easy to experiment, and so long as you’re in a reasonable range and not too picky any will be fine.

I like them a bit wider than Ukecaster does. That gives a bit more room for personalization.

Mine range from 1” to 2” and are all on the light side - cork or cotton or denim mostly on ukes and guitars, and a light leather mandolin strap. I have a few 1”-2” seatbelts that I’m less fond of texture wise, and I have heavier ones (multiple thicknesses of leather) for bass. The bass ones are too bulky for me on the small instruments.

Mandolin straps can work well but check the length if you have a larger uke. My baritone is larger enough than a mandolin that a not-adjustable-enough mandolin strap to the headstock was too short for me to wear with the uke in a playable position
 
I use 1" on my soprano and concerts. They work fine. This size is aesthetically pleasing to me and wider would seem to be a bit much for these two smaller sizes.
 
I like 1.5” straps But 1” is comfortable too. 2” straps though feel too big and cumbersome.
 
I also use 1.5" on my tenors, all leather, smooth outside, rough inside, with slide through adjustment cutouts, no buckles. I get them mainly from Levy (lee-vee) Leathers out of Canada.

This is Michael Kohan in Los Angeles, Beverly Grove near the Beverly Center
9 tenor cutaway ukes, 4 acoustic bass ukes, 12 solid body bass ukes, 14 mini electric bass guitars (Total: 39)

• Donate to The Ukulele Kids Club, they provide ukuleles to children in hospital music therapy programs. www.theukc.org
• Member The CC Strummers: YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/CCStrummers/video, Facebook: www.facebook.com/TheCCStrummers
 
A 10mm "mandolin" strap works perfectly well on my mandolin (there's a surprise!) ... I can't see any need for anything wider on a ukulele, even a baritone. If an instrument like this "feels heavy" it's probably because the instrument is being used as an arm rest! Possibly not a problem with the strap connected to the heel, but if it's fitted to the headstock I can visualise some unnecessary strain on the neck (of the instrument), which may well contribute to pulling it out of tune ;)

I use home-made straps on my ukuleles, cobbled together from "curtain tie-back" cord from the local haberdashery ... the money saved on buying commercial straps has probably paid for a few sets of strings ;)
 
There's no right or wrong - straps are super personal and fun to experiment with. I know I was always looking for the right guitar strap when I played guitar and, through tons of trial, found that I preferred a strap made for bass players that was super wide and padded. Other guitarists thought it was overkill, but I thought it was nothing short of comfortable. ;-)

When it comes to ukulele straps, I like Sarah Maisel's, but again: it's all personal.
 
My strap in a home made one about one inch wide. It is leather, and was formerly the shoulder strap of one of my wifes handbags,which was 'retired' by her, so I gave the strap a new use!
 
Ukecaster said:
1/2" - 3/4" wide works for me. Some like em wider. Just like ukes and strings, everyone has their personal preferences. Ukes are so light comapred to guitars, I see no need for anyting wider. Plus, I like to keep the strap attached when I put the uke in its case. Try that with a 2" strap. YMMV.
Click to expand...

I have them in various sizes, but wide is no good for me. In some cases, the leather strap weighs more than the uke. :D I like no more than 1.5".
 
My widest ukulele straps are about one inch on my brass body reso-uke and a Slingerland banjolele. These are my two heaviest ukes and one inch is quite comfortable. On my wood bodied concert and tenors, the straps are between 3/4" and 1/2" (braided leather boot laces). All of my ukulele and mandolin straps are repurposed belts or otherwise home made. I wear them over the right shoulder and don't stick my head through the strap.
 
1/2”-1” seem perfect to me. For my soprano, I like to keep it small and have a maybe 3/4” flat braided strap. If it were round braided, probably 1/2” would do. For my old bari I have a 1” strap.
 
Uke Leash is only 0.5" and it's my favorite. I have made a couple with simple paracord even thinner
 
I cut them at 1.5” .. One piece, soft leather. No hardware. Wider than that seems excessive, narrower than that is uncomfortable for me.
 
My friend gave me an Ernie Ball 2" poly guitar strap years ago and I really like it. I seldom use a strap on my ukulele though. But when I do, that is the one I use. I use the same one on my guitar as well. So it is my do it all strap.
 
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I like the 1.5 inch. 1" seems too narrow to me. But if I had a strap on a soprano I'd probably go for the 1".
 
I like a 2"w guitar strap on my tenors.

My tenor banjoleles each have straps that are 3-1/2" w neoprene at the shoulder and 2" Nylon web fore and aft of the shoulder portion.

I have a 5/8"w strap on a concert backpacker. And a 1-1/2"w strap on a soprano. (Neither of which are played very much.)
 
Bill1 said:
The strap should be as wide as you want it to be.

I mostly use bootlaces which are 5mm in diameter at the most, with a clip lock. They come in all shapes and colours and cost less than $5 each.

But how would it look to have a nice 6" wide strap for your ukulele, wider that your uke and maybe costing say 5 times as much. Real diamonds would be an issue because they would scratch the wood, maybe it would be better to just have 24 carat gold leaf and fittings? Or woven 24 carat gold? Another thing to look at is the strap hardware, if you have hardware that is easy to use maybe that is a problem and you should find something a lot more complicated for your ukulele strap, like a triple locking system which takes 20 minutes to fit or remove, just in case your 300gm instrument gets too heavy.
Click to expand...

Your mocking tone doesn't sound very welcoming friend. Are you having a bad day? It stands to reason that any strap I may eventually get will be as wide as I want it to be but there's nothing wrong in asking others what their experiences or recommendations might be in order to be better informed on something I don't currently have any experience with. Your contribution is noted.
 
I forgot to mention that if you search for a ukulele strap on Amazon, EBay, Etsy or at other instrument or music stores they will mostly show straps that are 1-1/2" wide. It seems to have become the defacto "standard width" for uke straps. Don't know when it happened.

I like the 2" guitar straps because they don't dig into my shoulders as much as a narrower strap does. And they come in many more art designs than ukulele straps.

A good friend made his tenor strap from his late dog's leather leash. It's a remembrance as well as a very strong and attractive leather strap.
 
Leather 3/4" mandolin straps and cloth 1/2" hockey skate laces.

.
 
My straps measure slightly more than an inch.

The thing that has caught my attention in this and a few other strap discussions is the use of the word "overkill." Why is that even a concern? The tacit assumption is that a strap should only be able to hold up the weight of a ukulele and anything else is wasteful. If that were the case, then the only legitimate ukulele straps would be cobwebs or fishing monofilament. Why do I have to make excuses if I use a leather strap that is half an inch thick?
 
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