Re: The weight balance between the head and body
Originally Posted by
Richard500
I decided to measure. My nose-heavy mandolin is 1/2 lb heavier (total weight), than the old Strad-o-lin. If the body is supported on my right knee, that is, on the more or less equatorial diameter, the added weight at the tuners is about 6 oz.
Then I added a spring scale to the strap button at the tail and measured how much counterweight at that point would make the two necks feel the same, again supporting at the same point. Interestingly, it was only 1 1/2 lb.
That is, a hanging or attached counterweight solves that problem, and another 1/2 lb (+/-) lets the neck float, as it would supported by a strap.
So, about 2 lbs at the tail, balances the neck entirely.
Of course, the mandolin only weighs about that, so this doubles the weight, but that’s not so very much.
Next step is to cobble on a proper hanger and weight and see if it seems useful. I think even something like a deliberately heavy arm rest could accomplish the same thing, and of course, a projecting arm would allow less weight to be effective. Note that all of this is based on sitting with the instrument resting on one leg, and is unrelated to playing standing up with a strap.
I like the way you think.
"To be obsessed with the destination is to remove the focus from where you are." Philip Toshio Sudo, Zen Guitar
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