I’ve just undergone total knee replacement to my right leg and I am having trouble getting comfortable playing guitar again. I’ve done a number of things including using a folded up blanket to distribute the pressure over the right thigh, which seems to be aching due to the tourniquet application during the operation.
I’m toying with the idea of temporarily attaching a strap button to the heel of the neck at the body to work in conjunction with the strap button on the bottom of the guitar. I’ve included pictures below and would like to entertain some ideas on placement.
I would consider removing the button after a while and filling the hole and refinishing the area, but, who knows, maybe I’ll like playing with a strap. I’ve seen a few comments on players who do play standing up with a strap. Some have used an around the neck Guitar holder . I experimented with one and did not like it, but I may need to give it another look. I don’t like the idea that the plastic hook is putting pressure on the lip of the grand bouche. It seems like a delicate area that could be damaged easily.
Comments
I would just do a strap attached at the headstock if its going to be temporary. You also might try one of those pillows classical players use.
If you have a jack or bottom strap button you can use these two products together
I use it on one of my guitars to play gigs standing up.
I'll second the Quick Release strap that Geese linked to. Used it on one of my acoustics for many years before I got into Django. Super easy and no damage.
Ended up with a nice strap and tied this stretchy cord to the head. The stretch in the cord offers a little shock absorption. I bought the D’addario quick release cord gizmo and it is more elegant, but I like the little “give” this stretch cord gives me. I think I got the stuff at a marine supply store for use in my kayak to secure gear.
The surprise is that it is amazingly comfortable! Having the guitar suspended high without any need for me to think about it has the added bonus of allowing me to be very relaxed when I play. I may switch to this idea permanently.
That reminds me of the sailor's phrase "if you can't tie knots, tie lots" :)
I had a strap on my first GJ guitar and I liked it a lot at the time.
We used to call it a "hope" knot, as in tie something and hope it holds. To Chief's defense, though, that springy/bungee stuff that he used doesn't hold a knot very well. So, erring on the safe side as he did is a prudent act.
Exactly right, billyshakes. I chose the springy bungee-type cord because of the stretchy shock absorbing quality of the cord. If I need to use this longer, I’ll try to look for a more elegant looking knot that works with this material.
Just use a zip tie.
If you can learn to tie one (not that hard once you try), a monkey's fist might look cool! Because of the way it is tied, it doesn't really come "untied", just maybe looser until you snug it up? It is just 3 loops in 3 difft directions and is a fun knot to tie. If you strung it through one of the slots in the headstock with the knot in the back, it could just be a sort of stopper from behind and because of its bulk, not able to pull through (if that makes any sense).