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Guitar Straplock - Fail

3K views 66 replies 34 participants last post by  High/Deaf 
#1 ·
i have Dunlop strap locks on all my guitars - this PRS came off the buttons twice this evening and one of them was a pretty bad fall. I'm surprised that the damage was limited to what is shown in the pic as the guitar bounced off the ground.

What do you use?

 
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#2 · (Edited)
I have totally been there. I feel the shock all over again every time it happens to someone else. Dang... Weren't no PRS for me but still... So sorry.

I make my own brand of straplocks, the "old school" style we don't see much of anymore, and I'd love to show them here but I don't know if I should because I do sell them.

***edited for a bit more clarity.
 
#24 ·
I make my own brand of straplocks, the "old school" style we don't see much of anymore, and I'd love to show them here but I don't know if I should because I do sell them.

***edited for a bit more clarity.
Oh that's interesting. You should check out the WELL-HUNG store on Reverb. That fellow makes fantastic straps and locks. I have 3 of them. ;)

Well-Hung Guitar Accessories | Reverb
 
#9 · (Edited)
I have Schallers on one guitar, the Gretsch screw on ones on a Gretsch, some claw like hooks on a Steinberger, something like a flying wing on an Ibanez bass, just regular buttons on 4 or 5 other guitars.

I like the Schallers, they've been on the guitar for 25 years. You have to take the strap off to put the guitar in the case. You want to get in the habit of checking that they haven't worked loose.

The Gretsch knurled screw on ones work well IF you give them a twist every time you put the strap on. You tend to not want to take the strap off the guitar. I was using regular washers with mine between the strap and the knob, that seemed to keep them tighter longer. If the strap hole is old it will slip over the knob. I've got Grolsch washers I'm going to use in the future. Also, the wood screw will come loose occasionally.

The big hooks on the Steinberger and Ibanez bass work well, they will destroy your strap eventually. The Steinberger still comes off every once in a while.

I don't usually have an issue with the regular buttons, I haven't dropped a guitar, yet. When you feel it let go you hang on tight.




 
#22 ·
BTW - you should be able to find Grolsch washers at your local homebrew shop. They'll be $.25-$.35 each. The only downside is that you can't easily put your guitar in and out of the case when they are on.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Depends on the guitar and case. For Gibsons it is a hassle because the case is so tight. But my Fenders go right into their cases with no problem.
 
#15 ·
i have Dunlop strap locks on all my guitars - this PRS came off the buttons twice this evening and one of them was a pretty bad fall. I'm surprised that the damage was limited to what is shown in the pic as the guitar bounced off the ground.

What do you use?
Sorry - what do you think happened with your strap lock that caused it to fail?
Did the spring wear out? Some other part wore out?
 
#17 ·
Sorry - what do you think happened with your strap lock that caused it to fail?
Did the spring wear out? Some other part wore out?
The parts are fairly new with limited use. We were taking a break and chatting and i may have moved my arm forward and the guitar "exploded" off me. The second time i was able to catch it. The rest of the night no issues.
 
#16 ·
i have Dunlop strap locks on all my guitars - this PRS came off the buttons twice this evening and one of them was a pretty bad fall. I'm surprised that the damage was limited to what is shown in the pic as the guitar bounced off the ground.

What do you use?

View attachment 94897
I'm SO sorry for you, this brings back old memories. The first time it happened to me was in the early seventies, before StrapLocs were even invented. A friend of mine was trying my '59 Les Paul and being not used to LPs dropping off all the time, he was not able to hold on to it when the strap gave off.

The neck split but I was able to get it pro fixed with no adverse effect on the sound (don't even begin to think about what value drop I had to swallow when I sold it 15 years ago). This prompted me to modify the upper button to accept an enlarged washer to keep the strap permanently attached. Kind of like the Grolsch trick, without the flexibility, but it worked like a charm for all those years. I even designed, with a machinist friend, a button shape that looked a bit like those butterfly-shaped ones, but never got around to having it made.

Anyway, I've been using Schallers ever since they became available in all my Les Pauls with great success. Dunlops I have tried and not liked as much as they just feel less sturdy, but on SG and ES types they are far less obtrusive as button placement on the back is less suitable for the tall Schallers. I tend to revert back to the stock buttons and use Grolsch washers on back-button-sporting guitars of this type. On Fenders I just use the big enough original buttons. They'll be OK unless you insist on using to that very old strap your grandma sent you for XMas 35 years ago.

I have installed Schallers on dozens of guitars with no problem, but be wary of eBay knockoffs as they easily become loose on the strap ends and come with tiny unusable screws.
 
#21 ·
I use the Grolsch washers and they work great. Friends whose opinions I trust have also said that the Ernie Ball straplocks work great too so I might grab a set of those for my SG, while sticking with Grolsch for my Fenders.
 
#25 ·


I've had the brass Pickboy strap locks since the early '80s...I think they came on a Goya Strat copy with a dragon carved in the top that I bought in '81 or '82 (wish I had that guitar back). They work well, pretty much like the Dunlop ones.

The others are Schallers in various finishes, one set with replacement decorative washers from Q-Parts.

Don't ask me how I end up with spares, I kind of don't get it myself.
 
#26 · (Edited)
Thanks for the shout-out daddy dog.

I don't want to ruffle any feathers by spamming this community - but if any of my customers do it for me, apparently that is ok.
I have been in discussion with the forum owners regarding becoming a vendor here, but I'm not sure if I like the advice they gave me,
when it was revealed to them I'm not really a "business" more a small hobby shop.


This is serious stuff. I have a workshop thread on another guitar forum where I spent weeks trying/inventing all kinds of new strap lock/holder solutions
with various degrees of success. All kinds of strange and crazy madnesses went on there. Metal sewing bobbins, suction pads and finishing washers, fishing tackle,
you name it, I tried it. (search TVvoodoo's Insanitarium, if this sort of thing interests you).

I eventually unveiled a new strap button I thought was totally, completely *fail safe* (which I still have installed on several guitars) but, as it turned out,
they weren't quite as wonderful as I thought, because folks didn't seem to want to read install directions. So I discontinued them.

I didn't want to play the blame guy for other peoples' errors and crashed guitars. There are probably a hundred sets still out there with no complaints,
but ONE guy didn't get it right, so I felt compelled to kill it dead.

He did prove they weren't as foolproof as I thought.

You want a cool BIGGER strong button, that is cheap? Get a pair of jeans from the thrift shop with a nice sturdy waist button. (They are NOT all the same)



They will be typically about 50% bigger than a regular button, and no built in ramp to help your strap slide off.
Add a felt washer, stick a good screw in there, (Robertson FTW BTW), VERY solid solution.

I am actually working on a new/improved strap button prototype right now with some Chinese engineering outfit. Kind of like the oblong planet waves one, but more better. I guess I'm just kind of obsessed with this whole subject a little bit.

The pan-head screw with a washer shown above is also a GREAT solution, I used to include that sort of hardware get-up with every strap
I sold for a few years. But a lot of guys still want to take straps on and off guitars, and that is a more permanent sort of solution.
 
#30 ·
i swear i wonder what you guys are doing to drop your guitars so much. i have been using the same levi's strap for about 6 years, on several different guitars. never once has it ever come off. not one single time, ever. whsat are you guys doin? sweatin to the oldies?
 
#32 · (Edited)
I make guitar straps, so I talk to lot of guys about this kind of stuff pretty often.
Most falls I blame on two things, not so much strap lock ball bearings disintegrating or nuts coming loose, (does happen, both have to me).

1. Cheap to begin with or old/worn out ends on straps that fall off your pin when you bend over to tweak a pedal.
2. Button screws pulling.

Some of those problems are preventable with a little regular check over maintenance. You have a wiggly button, or one that comes a little loose all the time? Do not wait to repair it. Guitar strap ends can be repaired, with new leather.

I've tried the rubber beer washer method, but I find it doesn't work very well unless you are using a pretty thin strap to begin with, and it hardly ever works with my straps.
So, to me while it will definitely prevent your strap from slipping off all day long, (unless you really reef on it) that strap is maybe not one I would put a whole lot of long-term confidence in, if you move around a lot.

Strap locks can be noisy clunky things, and can add extra length that give you and your strap more leverage to pull
the crazy small screws that come with some of them = false sense of security.

Below is a sample of a straplock screw pulled out of a guitar I purchased. V.S. the # 6 wood screw I immediately replaced it with - and the aforementioned washer + finishing washer, which is a more permanent solution. Even the screw itself was totally cheap junk with very poor threads. (Don't know what brand it was). I should add that hanging your strap on a screw is not going to do your strap any long term favours either - sometimes you can pull the button, put the washer over/onto the back end of the button, then install your strap from the back end, and put it all back onto the guitar all in one piece - this keeps your button in the so your strap won't get damaged.)

 
#43 ·
I've tried the rubber beer washer method, but I find it doesn't work very well unless you are using a pretty thin strap to begin with, and it hardly ever works with my straps.
I prefer thin straps (as opposed to thick, not thin as opposite to wide)
I find that thicker ones dig into my shoulder--and it distracts me from playing.
so I have soft thin pliable leather straps & suede straps.
When the strap holes get worn I replace them...
 
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