{"id":48772,"date":"2018-01-10T17:08:58","date_gmt":"2018-01-10T22:08:58","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/?p=48772"},"modified":"2022-11-16T13:00:09","modified_gmt":"2022-11-16T18:00:09","slug":"balam-saxophone-backstrap-comparison-and-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.neffmusic.com\/blog\/2018\/01\/balam-saxophone-backstrap-comparison-and-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Balam Saxophone Backstrap Comparison and Review"},"content":{"rendered":"

Today, I am reviewing a new saxophone neckstrap that I received from my saxophone repairman Jack Tyler at the Boston Sax Shop<\/a>.\u00a0 Jack has been my sax repairman since 2013 when my long time repairman Ernie Sola died.\u00a0 The last 3-4 times I went in to see Ernie before he died he told me about a young kid who was apprenticing with him.\u00a0 His name was Jack Tyler and Ernie always had good things to say about Jack.\u00a0 When I last saw Ernie, he wasn’t feeling very well and he looked completely exhausted.\u00a0 Even feeling the way he did, he was still willing to see me and work on my horn that last time.\u00a0 \u00a0During that visit, Ernie told me that Jack was really coming along and doing great.\u00a0 I asked him if Jack could overhaul a saxophone like he could and he responded that he thought he could which in my mind was a great review of Jack’s skills and passion.<\/p>\n

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Balam Saxophone Backstrap<\/strong><\/p>\n

Since Ernie’s death, I have been driving four hours down to Boston once or twice a year for Jack to work on my horns.\u00a0 \u00a0He started the Boston Sax Shop<\/a> and it is great to see his reputation and business expanding and doing well.\u00a0 If you ever visit the Boston Sax Shop, Jack has a growing number of vintage horns in his collection (I’m not convinced he wants to sell them as much as collect them……..).\u00a0 Besides that, he has a coffee machine (maybe it’s espresso…..I don’t know the difference) and a state of the art high fidelity sound system that he plays classic vinyl jazz records on.\u00a0 Every time I am in there,\u00a0 I just want to hang out all day but I know Jack has a lot to do so I try to make my visits short and to the point.<\/p>\n

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Balam Saxophone Backstrap<\/strong><\/p>\n

I’m giving you all of this intro just so you know the background here.\u00a0 When you give someone your most beloved saxophone you have to trust them. I trusted Ernie Sola and I trust Jack Tyler now.\u00a0 He has a passion for the saxophone and music that is palpable when you talk to him.\u00a0 \u00a0If Jack likes something, I know that I want to check it out also.\u00a0 Last year, he was telling me about the Ishimori tenor saxophone and how great it was.\u00a0 Next time I came down to Boston, I tried it out and sure enough, I was blown away by how great it played.\u00a0 Recently,\u00a0 when I saw on Facebook that Jack had a new Balam Saxophone Backstrap that he really liked it peaked my interest also.\u00a0 \u00a0I messaged Jack and asked if I could try one out and review it.\u00a0 At the time , he had just sold out of all his Balam saxophone straps but he ordered some more and put one aside to send to me when they came in.<\/p>\n

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Balam Saxophone Backstrap<\/strong><\/p>\n

Here is how the Balam backstrap is described on the Boston Sax Shop website:<\/p>\n

This innovative neck strap is the answer for any player looking for serious neck relief. An alternative to traditional harnesses, the design does not contact the neck at all and places pressure solely on the shoulders.\u00a0Beautifully handmade in Korea, the strap features premium full grain leather straps with antiqued cast brass fixtures.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Incredibly adjustable for all body types and can be used for soprano, alto, tenor and baritone.\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n

Strap includes velvet travel bag, and can be stored in most saxophone bells<\/em><\/p>\n

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Balam Saxophone Backstrap<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have been using the Balam Backstrap for the last month and absolutely love it.\u00a0 As you can see in the pictures and the video I made below, the strap doesn’t sit around the neck but is more on the upper back and shoulders.\u00a0 I love that the neck has no pressure on it whatsoever. The metal pieces that go over the shoulders are aluminum wrapped in leather.\u00a0 The aluminum is a good idea because it is light, strong,\u00a0 yet bendable so you can shape it to your body dimensions. The hook and all the metal adjustment pieces are made of brass and have cool looking designs to them.\u00a0 The main metal piece on the center of the back looks like a butterfly of some sort.<\/p>\n

The brass hook that hooks to the saxophone has a clasp on it that shuts when the saxophone is hooked so that it doesn’t accidentally come off. (I’ve had other straps that accidently came unhooked and I almost dropped my sax a couple times…..no thanks!) The brass hook is also wrapped with clear rubber on the bottom part to avoid metal on metal contact with the saxophone.\u00a0 This is good because you don’t want the metal of the strap hook to wear away at the ring on your sax over time.\u00a0 \u00a0Adjusting the Balam backstrap is easy and the metal piece that adjusts how high or low the strap is slides up and down easily and doesn’t move after being set which is also important.<\/p>\n

If you are like me, you might be looking at these pictures and thinking “Yeah, but what about that rope looking part? If that breaks my sax is toast!”\u00a0 Jack tells me that the rope looking material of the strap is actually “super strong military spec paracord”.\u00a0 I don’t know what that is but my guess is that is is used for parachuting and maybe tying up terrorists so I would think it could handle the weight of a saxophone with no problems.\u00a0 The cords that are on the back of the backstrap near that metal butterfly are braided leather of the same grade the paracord is.<\/p>\n

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Balam Saxophone Backstrap<\/strong><\/p>\n

There is some adjustments that might have to be done when you first receive the Balam saxophone backstrap.\u00a0 I was a bit overwhelmed at first as there are so many strings and connections in the back that I didn’t know what to start messing with and didn’t want to mess it up.\u00a0 Jack sent me this video with some directions on how to best adjust the strap\u00a0which helped relieve my anxiety.<\/p>\n

https:\/\/s3.amazonaws.com\/cdn.neffmusic.com\/2018\/BalamBackStrapAdjust.mp4<\/a><\/video><\/div>\n

Jack Finucane’s Tutorial on How to Adjust the Balam Saxophone Backstrap<\/strong><\/p>\n

I have included an 11:35 minute video below as a review but also a comparison between three other neck straps that I own.\u00a0 I was just going to video the Balam backstrap but since I have done reviews in the past of the Jazzlab Saxholder and the Just Joe’s neckstrap I thought it would be good to compare all these straps to each other.\u00a0 I also threw in my first neckstrap, a trusty Ray Hyman strap!\u00a0 \u00a0If you just want to see the Balam review part of the video you can skip to the 7:30 minute mark on the video.<\/p>\n