Edwards Bullet Brace vs Ax Handle

[SirJohn]

Is there much difference between the bullet brace and the instrument innovations ax handle? It seems they are the same basic design concept and would distribute weight into the hand more or less the same but I thought I would ask to see who has had experience with either one.

Need a brace/grip for my son's bass, Yamaha 613G, as he has been having issues with tendon inflamation from long bouts of playing on it. We have the neotech and it interferes with the 2nd trigger operation. Adjusting trigger to where it does not interfere makes it too far of a stretch.

A couple of trombone instructors recommended the Edwards in particular, but it seems the ax handle is basically the same thing but cheaper and with a lot more flexibility to be sure we can get it to fit well on the horn. The people we talked to (active players) did not think much of straps. The Get a grip did come up, but I don't want to spend the $63 for something non-returnable to find we can't get it to where he is comfortable with it (and my wife remains unconvinced that it is a good option, even after watching burgerbob's video on it, sorry )

[norbie2018]

You nailed it - the axe handle is cheaper and far me flexible than the bullet. The owner/fabricator is excellent to work with as well, which is not to say Edwards isn't. I had a trombone fitted there and had an excellent experience. I simply had a problem with the axe and the owner made it right for free. Great product.

[BurckhardtS]

The Ax Handle is cheaper, more flexible and comes with more parts. Mine also wore out quickly and came loose all the time. I had the Edwards Bullet Brace for a while, and it seems studier.

Christan Griego told me at an ITF that the guy who sells the Ax Handle actually created the Edwards Bullet Brace and resold essentially the same design after he left Edwards and undercut the cost to give more demand to himself.

He said this because he saw an Ax Handle on my Edwards (when I still had it).

Not sure how much of that is true but it is a good story.