@akos Yes! It’s a complete game changer! And, I now I have to ditch my Pirri guitar strap in favor of a real bass strap…
Some people invest in basses, I guess I’ll invest in straps since there’s no storefront to try them out at. Based on reviews, I ordered both the Levy and the Gruv Gear Solostap Neo to see which I liked best:
The Levy came in first. It fits very well, and I had no problems with getting it fit to the Schaller S-Locks. One of the big knocks against it in the reviews was packaging; too tight, creasing the strap. Looks like “they” listened. Mine came in a VERY oversized box, and was wrapped with a very light rubber band. The adjustment system is the same as my old Perri’s 2" guitar strip it replaced. The thing fits great! I was concerned it would crawl up my neck, but it’s no problem at all. It rests comfortably on my shoulder; very comfortably.
That was yesterday…
Gruv-Gear was waiting for me after work today. Packaged better than the Levy, but whoa! the odor of the VOCs from the thing strong! I was surprised not to see a Proposition 65 warning* anywhere on the box or packaging. The odor is VERY strong. However, the strap was sealed in a plastic bag; hopefully the VOCs will dissipate after awhile.
However, the strap feels really sturdy, and the pad for the shoulder feels really comfy. The material on the pad area is a bit more satin feeling than the Levy, so the strap can slip over the shoulder more easily. Whether that’s a plus or a minus, I am not sure. I’ll chalk that up to personal preference. If your bass has neck dive, this might be a concern. The strap ends are pretty stiff, so I wonder if strap locks are really necessary; it feels really secure on standard strap hardware.
The stories about the adjustment system are not an exaggeration. One of the clips took serious force to lock and unlock. I had to use a hard object press against one of the clips to lock and unlock it; it would have been impossible to do with my bare fingers. It doesn’t adjust as long as the Levy can, but it was just large enough for me ( and I am big guy). Having said all that, if you use your old strap as a guide, you should only have to adjust the Gruv Gear once, and then you are set and this should be no concern.
Both of these steps are an upgrade over my old 2" Perri guitar strap. I have two basses and now two straps! Most importantly, my bass is supported properly to give me access to the full fret board.
- Proposition 65 requires businesses to provide warnings to Californians about significant exposures to chemicals that cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm. … Proposition 65 requires California to publish a list of chemicals known to cause cancer, birth defects or other reproductive harm.
https://oehha.ca.gov/proposition-65/about-proposition-65
Bought a Gruvgear SoloStrap 4 Neo so that I can experiment with shorter strap lengths.
The low frets feel as if they’re a kilometer away, and 1FPF without microshifting is out of the question now. On the plus side, the higher frets feel a lot more playable.
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