Saxophone Players!! How does one save his neck? Favorite brand?

My left arm used to fall asleep when I played tenor in high school. I'm 30+ now, and I've start playing my tenor again, but remembering those days, and not wanting to put pressure on the discs of my neck, what can I do to save my neck muscles and back from the strains of regular practice? I use a towel over my shoulders, but I'd like to know what brand of strap (harness?) disperse the weight best? Most comfortably?

I would suggest that you go to your local music store and look for a strap that has a wide, soft cushion on it; the concept is that the wider the strap, the weight is distributed to a wider area and consequently, causes less pressure on your neck; also, you may want to consider how you hold your instrument, are you applying additional downward pressure on your instrument or are you using your thumb to help support the instrument??? You may want to shift from a side-saddle approach to a straight forward approach as well (sax between your legs), etc. Any of these could potentially help eliminate the problem...

I don't really know any brands, but you need to get a padded neck strap. It has a cushion for your neck. When you go and buy it, ask for a "tenor sax neck strap," it is thicker strap than a alto sax strap.

Im not really sure, but im sure if you shop around online enough you'd be able to find one for your needs!

NEOTECH

There are specialty saxophone straps made that will attach to your torso rather than hang off your neck. Check this out: http://cgi.ebay.com/PROTEC-Sax-Harness-S...