Accessories Bass sax harness recommendations?

[Damflask]

My Thomann Bass Sax is on its way ( whoop ).
I think I am going to need a harness?
Any recommendations gratefully received.

 

[lydian]

My Adorence (Balam knock-off) works ok, but tends to slide down unless you have it adjusted perfectly. If your bass is anything like mine, it will use a relatively short strap.

I personally play bass with no strap or harness at all. I always play seated with the sax resting on my lap. I've played hundreds of hours and dozens of gigs that way. Works great. Another thing that makes playing it a lot more comfortable for me is to not use the R thumb rest at all, rather rest my thumb on the alt-F# rod. I got the idea from Bert Brandsma who does the same thing. I'm a big guy with large hands, but using the R thumb rest causes significant discomfort after several hours of playing.

If I were marching in the Mummers, I'd probably use something very substantial like a bass drum harness.

You'll probably need a stand too. I use a cheap bari stand with a couple of modifications - bend open the top and drill a new hole for the bottom support. Otherwise you'll have to spend another small fortune on a bass stand.

 

[Damflask]

My Adorence (Balam knock-off) works ok, but tends to slide down unless you have it adjusted perfectly. If your bass is anything like mine, it will use a relatively short strap.

View attachment 21451

I personally play bass with no strap or harness at all. I always play seated with the sax resting on my lap. I've played hundreds of hours and dozens of gigs that way. Works great. Another thing that makes playing it a lot more comfortable for me is to not use the R thumb rest at all, rather rest my thumb on the alt-F# rod. I got the idea from Bert Brandsma who does the same thing. I'm a big guy with large hands, but using the R thumb rest causes significant discomfort after several hours of playing.

If I were marching in the Mummers, I'd probably use something very substantial like a bass drum harness.

You'll probably need a stand too. I use a cheap bari stand with a couple of modifications - bend open the top and drill a new hole for the bottom support. Otherwise you'll have to spend another small fortune on a bass stand.
View attachment 21450

Thanks much for the detailed response!

 

[Colin the Bear]

Keep us informed. I'll be selling my soul soon.

 

[Damflask]

This the stand I have ordered.

View: https://youtu.be/j_dKxSf4ixg

 

[lydian]

This the stand I have ordered.

View: https://youtu.be/j_dKxSf4ixg

What a brilliant stand. Very nice. I'd love one of those, but at $260 plus international shipping, I think I'll stick with my $20 stand. I love when talking about accidents, he said, "of course, trombone players DO exist". Ain't that the truth.

 

[Hankenstine]

I just got this playing stand for my bass a few weeks ago. It really makes using the instrument so much more enjoyable.

View: https://youtu.be/_bdUEUmq0-4

 

[Damflask]

Wow!

 

[Colin the Bear]

Four legs are only more stable if the floor is even. You'll need to carry beer mats.

That metal stand looks very similar to a baritone stand I retired.
It looks quite top heavy. Careful at pub gigs etc.

 

[lydian]

Check out this one similar to what Rollini used back in the day.

https://m.facebook.com/adrianrollinimemorialbasssaxstand

 

[Damflask]

My Adorence (Balam knock-off) works ok, but tends to slide down unless you have it adjusted perfectly. If your bass is anything like mine, it will use a relatively short strap.

View attachment 21451

I personally play bass with no strap or harness at all. I always play seated with the sax resting on my lap. I've played hundreds of hours and dozens of gigs that way. Works great. Another thing that makes playing it a lot more comfortable for me is to not use the R thumb rest at all, rather rest my thumb on the alt-F# rod. I got the idea from Bert Brandsma who does the same thing. I'm a big guy with large hands, but using the R thumb rest causes significant discomfort after several hours of playing.

If I were marching in the Mummers, I'd probably use something very substantial like a bass drum harness.

You'll probably need a stand too. I use a cheap bari stand with a couple of modifications - bend open the top and drill a new hole for the bottom support. Otherwise you'll have to spend another small fortune on a bass stand.
View attachment 21450

Just did this today. Thanks for the advice!

 

[lydian]

@Damflask
Well done. It might be a bit more stable if you move the bottom support up maybe 2 inches so it meets right at the tangent of the bow curve and the leg. But if it feels stable (if pushed side to side) where it is, you're good. Mine is lower because the bell on my Beaugnier bass is apparently a bit longer.

I've modded 3 of these cheap stands so far so I can have one in the house, one in the car, and one at my bandmate's studio.

Your post and the strong dollar at the moment nudged me to buy a Thomann bass myself (currently on backorder for about a month) at a discount of a couple hundred bucks. Hoping it will enough of an upgrade that I can sell my Beaugnier.

 

[Damflask]

Great!
I'm happy to hear that you have bought one!
It will be nice to compare notes (no pun intended).

 

[Colin the Bear]

Up to £3k now.

 

[thomsax]

A good harness for the bigger saxes like baritone- and bass saxes. I can play for hours with this harness on my bari without any problems. I think it's the same when it comes to bassaxes. The crook and the ring is "plastic. I'm going to change to metal. The green hook made of aluminium and can carry 45 kg. I don't adjust my harness. Tight fit so the harnesss don't slip. I bought this harness from sax.co.uk. I can't say for sure if this harness is prefect for bassax. I owned a very beaten-up Selmer Mk VI bassax for 14 days. When I heard how much money I had to spend to get it to playing condition, I quickly sold it.

 

[Damflask]

This has made life a bit easier today.