Where do you get that piece of rubber or fabric that the bowlback players use to keep their instrument in place while sitting or standing? What is it called and what is it made of?
Where do you get that piece of rubber or fabric that the bowlback players use to keep their instrument in place while sitting or standing? What is it called and what is it made of?
Raffaele Calace No. 26 Mandolin
Early 1900s Magliano Mandolin
1968 Suzuki Mandola
2005 Aoyama Orpheus 47 Concert Grand Pedal Harp
2000 II/9/P Residence Pipe Organ - built by owner
Aspen Classical Guitar
Assorted recorders - baroque wind instruments
Gemeinhardt Flute
Some people use chamois cloth others are using those non-slip tray mats which I think you can get in kitchenware or hardware shops.
I don't use anything but the shape of the mandolin design which sits perfectly if held in a typical old style Italian position.
Eoin
"Forget that anyone is listening to you and always listen to yourself" - Fryderyk Chopin
Grip-It Rug Pads... enough for several lifetimes.
http://www.amazon.com/Ultra-Stop-Non...ywords=rug+pad
Be careful with the non-slip tray mats. Some of them contain plasticizers that will leach out onto your finish. Read the cautions stated on the product. They will state "may damage finished wood products." Using a rug mat is probably the best option considering they are made for treated wood floors. Also the chamois is a good idea.
The Favs
2013 Jacobson Nautilus #23 Semper Concinentī
2007 Weber Custom Yellowstone
2003 Gibson A9
2013 Godin A8
2007 Martin 000-18 Norman Blake #62 of 134
2000 Heritage Millennium H-155
"Where do you get that piece of rubber or fabric that the bowlback players use to keep their instrument in place while sitting or standing? What is it called and what is it made of?"
http://trekel.de/de/zubehor/9473-zup...th35x35cm.html
Standard equipment for German classical mandolinists, and far superior (in my experience) to the hardware store alternative.
Robert A. Margo
Here's Trekel's email address to order zupfertuch:
info@trekel.de
Maren Trekel will assist you, and you can use PayPal for your purchase.
Wrap the cloth around the back of your mandolin for best results, instead of laying it across your lap.
"Music is the only noise for which one is obliged to pay." ~ Alexander Dumas
I used to use the rubber shelf liner and alternatively the chamois. I would also advise not leaving any of the rubber or plastic stuff in your case with your instrument. I stopped using them because it was just one more thing to remember to bring and figured out a stable way to hold the bowlback.
What is it about the German cloth that is so superior and would make it worth it to order at added expense and trouble for those of us here in North America? I found the rubber shelf liner is plenty non-slip when I needed that. You can buy one roll for pretty cheap and get multiple pieces to share with your friends. And it comes in various pleasing colors.
Jim
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19th Century Tunes
Playing lately:
1924 Gibson A4 - 2018 Campanella A-5 - 2007 Brentrup A4C - 1915 Frank Merwin Ashley violin - Huss & Dalton DS - 1923 Gibson A2 black snakehead - '83 Flatiron A5-2 - 1939 Gibson L-00 - 1936 Epiphone Deluxe - 1928 Gibson L-5 - ca. 1890s Fairbanks Senator Banjo - ca. 1923 Vega Style M tenor banjo - ca. 1920 Weymann Style 25 Mandolin-Banjo - National RM-1
I cut a piece of the liners that my husband put inside his tools drawers in his garage
http://www.homedepot.com/p/Con-Tact-...stomer_reviews
1917 Bowl back Washburn
1930s Violin "Compagnon"
The drawer liners such as in your link are deadly to lacquer and modern urethane finishes. The urethane category may include some modern "oil varnish" finishes. Note Michael Weaver's first post in this thread. I wrote an article on finish damage from plasticizers for Mandolin Journal a few issues back. It may be archived on the CMSA website, dunno for sure.
A few years back, one person who plays a mandocello which I built showed me a "mysterious" mesh pattern on part of the body finish, assuming that it was due to some deficiency in my finishing process or materials. At that time, I had no clue about the origin of the problem, but the mesh pattern sent off alarm bells. Later in the same convention, some people showed me the mesh drawer liner, touted as the best thing since sliced bread for stabilizing Neapolitan mandolins in one's lap. I did notice the similarity of the mesh pattern. When I returned home, I went to the Home Despot to check out the stuff myself. Reading the label (always a good thing to do) put the pieces together for me. There was a clear warning that the mesh "may damage lacquer and/or urethane finishes." Another player said that he had been using the drawer liner mesh on a Calace and a Vinaccia Neapolitan mandolin with no apparent harm. Both of those early 20th century instruments have French polished shellac finishes. I would say that the drawer liner mesh may be OK for those, though I am not sure for the longer term.
http://www.Cohenmando.com/
Good info Dave. If these "drawer liners" are similar to the rubber mats you place under an area rug to keep them from slipping on hardwood floors I have first hand experience with them damaging the urethane finish on my floors. There is a very clear mesh pattern which luckily, is hidden by the rug for now. Why they would make something designed to be used on finished wood floors harmful to them is a bit puzzling.
Sean
FWIW, I got to see & meet Caterina Lichtenberg, w/ husband Mike Marshall, at a house concert last week. She mostly played a blonde bowl-back. w/ a cloth or chamois to give it some lap traction. Funny thing is that it was blue, matching her dress, and I really only noticed it at the beginning, when it had been sitting on her empty chair. After that, it pretty much melted into the background, regardless of her standing, talking, etc.
- Ed
"Then one day we weren't as young as before
Our mistakes weren't quite so easy to undo
But by all those roads, my friend, we've travelled down
I'm a better man for just the knowin' of you."
- Ian Tyson
Chamois work great! I also use one when I play treble viola da gamba. Never ever harm!
"There are two refuges from the miseries of life--music and cats" Albert Schweitzer
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