I’ve always played mandolin while sitting. I have an occasion to play standing, so I want to try a strap. I have a scroll-style mando body.
I’ve seen people install and wear straps in different ways – one end on the peg at the back and the other at the nut as opposed to at the peg and wrapped around the scroll.
I’ve also see the strap around the neck or just over the right shoulder.
Nut/Scroll - Neck/Shoulder - Which way do YOU wear it and why?
Thanks in advance.
I wear mine over the neck and shoulder, and attach it at the scroll. I think the main reason people would attach at the peghead would be if they have an A style, though I’ve seen it done with F styles. I think the mandolin feels more secure attached at the scroll and over the neck but it’s kind of a personal preference thing.
Just over one shoulder & attached at scroll works fine for me.
I find it easier to move the instrument away from my body when needed for volume at times.
I attach it at the neck (A style equivalent of at the scroll) and wear it over shoulder and neck, because I feel like it balances better and doesn’t try to fall off
I do F style thru scroll and over neck & shoulder. A style thru nut and over neck & shoulder. I always do both neck and shoulder cuz I’m not entirely graceful and it appears to be my safest option lol 
I have an f-style and loop around the scroll as others have said.
As long as we are talking mandolin straps… I have a Golden Gate strap. Although I’m tall, I feel like I have to make the strap as short as possible for the mando to hang in a comfortable position. However, making it as short as possible causes the strap create an awkward loop and not hang flat. A photo is below to supplement my poor explanation. I suspect I might be doing something wrong. If I back it off a loop (making the strap longer) then it lays flat. But then I would need to grow taller. I can’t imagine how tall I would have to be to use it at its longest length.
Anyway, is it what it is? Or am I being a bonehead and connecting it wrong?
Probably a dumb question from an ultra newbie, but if you have the strap correct, will the mandolin neck slip toward the ground or should it stay in an upright paying position?
Ideally the mandolin will be easy to keep in a standard playing position, but sometimes they are simply top-heavy and strap placement won’t completely remedy the issue. Usually the headstock will fall towards the floor if you are not holding it all. I’m a big fan of my Tone-Gard for this reason because it adds weight to the mandolin’s body.
My mandolin teacher (a Bluegrass pro) told me that Bill Monroe started the trend of anchoring the strap over his shoulder. The strap was too short to quickly throw over his cowboy hat. Sounds right to me. Maybe it looks cool, too?
@maceww6438 I agree with @Michael_Mark . I started with an A style and attached it at the headstock and became use to that position. when i purchased my first F-style, I couldn’t wait to put it around the scroll and look cool like all my favorite players, but my headstock would fall every time. And i didnt realize how much I rest the weight of my thumb and playing hand on the neck until I put it around the scroll. because my hand position was pushing the headstock down. I was also using a simple paracord as a strap, which is slippery on a shirt. so I guess a person could fix this with a leather or my “grippy” strap, But in the end I left it around the scroll and altered my playing position slightly to adapt to the new weight distribution of the new strap placement. When my strap is attached to the neck i can play with the mandolin in a position that is further back on my side, slightly under where my arm naturally hangs, think of how a guitar might be held. But when I put the strap on the scroll, I have to move the resting position of the mandolin further up and more center of my body, so that my arm and stomach create a sort of “nook” for the mandolin to rest in (or my knee), keeping the neck in a position I like and bearing the weight of my hand hanging of it like a monkey bar.
I think it comes down to how you are comfortable playing. I think how some people play with their mandolin neck almost completely horizontal and others at an angle. I have seen some where they keep it almost up to their chest while others, think Sam Bush, have that thing slung lower than a bass player in a punk band, haha. So i would say experiment with it, and as long as your technique is good, go with it.
