Are strap locks actually terrible or is it just me?

[byacey]

Losing one's balls or having their nuts fall off can be catastrophic to say the least, but I feel the loctite addresses the second affliction most satisfactorily.

 

[Samatza]

It’s just you.
I’ve been a long time advocate of strap locks.
We had a guitar player (yes, it’s always them) who had a worn strap. I spent a year and a half telling him to put strap locks on his guitar, even offered to do it for him.
Well, as you can probably guess he put it off until one fine evening he dropped his Strat and a big chunk of paint came off the lower bout.
Now he has strap locks.
You need to buy good quality and install them properly but they are the first mod on all my basses. Never had one fail.

 

[flyingfinbar]

The Schaller strap buttons still work as well, if the slots in your strap are firm enough.

Do you work for Schaller?

 

[Stan_da_man]

If you have to add additional products to what is supplied in the box for it to work properly then you have an inferior product.

 

[Paulabass]

Use Schallers. They have upgraded them to having a set screw lock to stay on the strap, and a more finger friendly release knob. All these years later, still the best. Bonus, you can buy the just the buttons at any Fender dealer.

 

[BargeOn]

Comfort Strapp has 2 slots on the tab at each end of the strap. You fold it over, inserting the button through both slots, it acts like a washer. Nice idea, though it's not stylish enough for some tastes.

 

[Jeff Bonny]

Blue Loctite is specifically made to allow disassembly with basic hand tools.

Boiled linseed oil also works as a breakable thread treatment. It's a little less permanent than blue Loctite and is especially good in situations where damping vibration is helpful.

 

[David Jayne]

I used to use them because everybody else did. Haven't now for at least ten years and don't miss them.

 

[joel the bass player]

I had a couple different issues with the Schallers that made me switch to Dunlop years ago. The nut coming off, and also the screw size. If memory serves the screw included with the Schallers was always a bit too small, and the strap button was too small to reuse the same screw that was on the bass to begin with. Dunlops always seemed to have a screw that was a little bit bigger, and that made a big difference on a couple of my basses that the Schaller button/screws were loosening. Never had to tighten a Dunlop strap button, and the clip on the strap side doesn't need maintenance either. Never had one fail.

 

[Passinwind]

Boiled linseed oil also works as a breakable thread treatment. It's a little less permanent than blue Loctite and is especially good in situations where damping vibration is helpful.

White craft glue has worked pretty well for me too, as well as nail polish.

 

[Brad Johnson]

Dunlops have oversized screws so drilling out the original hole is often required. They can also be difficult to install on thicker straps. They have IME the simplest one hand on-off procedure.

As far as Shaller being the most popular, what is that based on? The vast majority of higher end basses use Dunlops.

 

[Stevorebob]

I like the Dunlops, but as for easy on/off, Loxx has the best system IMO. Push on, pull off — just like the tonneau cover on your convertible.

The rub is that Loxx works best with enlarged strap holes (the strap attachments otherwise deform the strap) and Loxx is hard to come by these days.

 

[kirkplunkett]

I haven't read all the comments here, but through my experience.... Dunlop Straploks are the only strap-locking system that I've used that I did not have the exact same issue OP described. Schaller are built well enough, but work better with thinner straps.

I have a bad back (broke it several years ago), so I tend to use thicker (and wider) straps. Since the Dunlop Straploks do not have a screw to become loose, they are the only option that has worked consistently for me over the last 30 years. YMMV

 

[Wfrance3]

I bought Invalid Link Removed a few years ago.

I have Schallers on everything I own, except the U-Bass for obvious reasons...

They have never come apart in 30 years. Not once.

 

[Vinny_G]

Do you work for Schaller?

No. Why?

 

[flyingfinbar]

No. Why?

You’re white-Knight’ing pretty hard for them in this thread.

 

[JimmyM]

You’re white-Knight’ing pretty hard for them in this thread.

LOL! You know, it's never occurred to me to try to convince everybody to switch to Dunlop strap locks. If somebody asks me what I use, I will tell them what I use, but if they'd rather use something else, I have no problem with it.

But I'll just chalk up Vinny's enthusiasm to being happy that they finally put some effort into making Schallers better than they used to be. Still ain't switching though

 

[Vinny_G]

You’re white-Knight’ing pretty hard for them in this thread.

I really like their product, so it hurts my little heart when someone says bad things about it.
Can you make me a hug?

To be more serious, I find the criticisms unjustified because they are all based on the old model, and they're pretty much all the result of a low (or no) maintenance routine. You can not compare a current model with an obsolete model, it's not fair.

 

[Vinny_G]

LOL! You know, it's never occurred to me to try to convince everybody to switch to Dunlop strap locks. If somebody asks me what I use, I will tell them what I use, but if they'd rather use something else, I have no problem with it.

But I'll just chalk up Vinny's enthusiasm to being happy that they finally put some effort into making Schallers better than they used to be. Still ain't switching though

Me neither. I've never tried to convince anyone, I only pointed out some incomplete or incorrect assertions. I only tried to explain why they're better to me, which is the topic of this thread. It's obvious that everyone use what they want, thankfully!

 

[bolophonic]

I tried strap locks in the 80’s, but I thought they were pretty useless. I’ve never had any problems with the regular stock strap buttons on any bass in the last 30 years.