FAIL!! Schaller Strap Locks

[stingrayK]

Um...to say the least my heart stopped! I was playing at a gig last night. Just before the show started I was talking to a friend at the edge of the stage. BAM!! My beautiful Fender American Deluxe Precision hits the stage. Very nice dent in the body. Of course knocked completely out of tune. The input jack was knocked loose.

Thankfully it wasn't in the middle of a song. I bought Schalers to prevent this. Has anyone had this happen? Did Schaller fix their instrument?

 

[bholder]

How exactly did it break? Pics?

 

[Burwabit]

Give us some more detail. Did the screw pull out? Or did the lock itself fail, and how do you have the strap side mounted (bass of the U down or up)?

 

[bass12]

I never had this happen (bass dropping to ground when using Schallers) but I always found that the nuts on Schallers would come loose (the U part of the lock would also tend to twist around on its own). I did once have the mounting screw come almost all the way out on a gig. After trying them out on a couple of basses I decided a while back that Schallers aren't for me and that I much prefer Dunlop strap locks.

 

[bolophonic]

I use washers to attach my straps permanently to my basses after having several different strap failures over the years.

 

[friskinator]

Um...to say the least my heart stopped! I was playing at a gig last night. Just before the show started I was talking to a friend at the edge of the stage. BAM!! My beautiful Fender American Deluxe Precision hits the stage. Very nice dent in the body. Of course knocked completely out of tune. The input jack was knocked loose.

Thankfully it wasn't in the middle of a song. I bought Schalers to prevent this. Has anyone had this happen? Did Schaler fix their instrument?

Did you already have the Schallers installed? From reading this, I can't quite tell.

I've been using Schaller straplocks for years, and I've found that over time, they can work their way loose on both ends. The toothpick/wood glue trick works well to tighten the strap button end if the holes are drilled too big, and some Loc-Tite should keep the bolts from coming loose on the strap. Weirdly, I've found that the black strap bolts tend to stay tighter than the chrome ones.

 

[RustyAxe]

I can't see how that can happen IF the button was properly installed on the bass, the lock properly installed on the strap, and the connection between them tested before playing. It's just good maintenance and handling.

 

[quickfix]

I've seen them installed upside down. Tried to advise those folks how the strap lock won't work if the pin is inadvertently pulled. All I got was blank stares.
And as per Rusty, pre and postflight your gear. Make sure everything is tight and secure.

 

[Zooberwerx]

Not enough information re: the character of the failure. I will say that the retaining nut should be installed with Loctite. I have seen people install them with the "U" horseshoe facing downward. In these instances, the entire weight of the instrument is borne by the spring-loaded plunger...not good.

Riis

 

[/\/\3phist0]

My bet is the nut "sandwich" on the strap came apart. Due to lack of tightening.
Or that against common sense, or lack of obervation, it was not noticed that the straplock pin screws are smaller in diameter than the stock screws in the stock pins. This is noted on page one of the manualhttp://guitar-parts.biz/download/C5fae574bX12a9de2992bX119b/Installation_instructions_for_Security_Locks.pdf
Which is inside the package.
Fail is most likely on owner/installer.
Page one says also they assume no responsibility.

That said I used these on everything until recently.
Swung the things around over the back 80 hair metal video style.. nearly 100 basses (1 or two straps) only time I had a problem was with the nuts on the strap side coming loose... I fixed that with a drop of crazy glue on the threads.
Hardwood Toothpicks and Elmers glue in the holes every time.


Sorry to hear about your issue.. I'd be heart sick too

 

[mmbongo]

After reading through all the horror stories about Shaller's over the years I'm glad I started with Dunlops and never looked back.

 

[StayLow]

Schaller are fail in strap-"lock" form. Rubbish.

In every strap lock thread/debate it's amazing how many Schaller users have had issues, and how many proponents say they're great if you check this and tighten that and maintain the other after you first install it in a special way with added materials. [EDIT - witness this very thread!].

I've had nothing but problems with Schaller strap "locks" and that's with very limited, and proper, use *including* regular checking since it became necessary due to the ongoing issues until I got rid of them. My basses are far safer with a plain strap, perhaps with a rubber washer, and I move myself and my bass very actively onstage.

Schallers strap "locks";

- squeak.

- come unscrewed over time with use, fall apart and drop your bass.

- scratch the finish of the instrument.

- unscrew the pin from your bass, which falls out and strips the hole while dropping your bass.

- might not engage fully, and thus fail.

- ruin the strap, or won't even fit on some nicer/thicker straps.

- won't fit in most hard cases with the strap lock on, thus necessitating removal and the more you engage/disengage them the greater the chance of the eventual failure.

- poke a hole in the bottom of gig bags if you leave them on.

- prevent you from easily resting your bass with stability on its butt on the ground to lean it against your cab or whatever.

- require you to have the related mechanism on each bass or strap you wish to use.

- time and money wasted in purchase, installation and use.

- etc. etc. etc.

- Pros? None, other than a very false sense of security.

 

[96tbird]

Schaller are fail in strap-"lock" form. Rubbish.

In every strap lock thread/debate it's amazing how many Schaller users have had issues, and how many proponents say they're great if you check this and tighten that and maintain the other. I've had nothing but problems with Schaller strap "locks" and that's with very limited, and proper, use. Way safer with a strap, and I move myself and my bass very actively onstage.

Machines are machines. Do you ever bother checking your lug nuts on your car? If a hinge screw on your front door is loose do you just wait until it is totally gooched?

Granted Dunlops are a better design but the spewing of poison does little help in educating the poor jerks that bought Schaller locks. It remains that if they take two measures with them and give a quick check every time they strap on (Your fingers are already touching the darned thing!), they work just fine. 1 the cup opening up, 2 locktite on the nut.

If that is below you then so be it.

 

[StayLow]

^ Schaller aren't the equivalent of something useful, or even necessary, such as a door on a car. They are the equivalent of bolting a home-made huge spoiler onto a 20-year-old 4-cylinder sedan; absolutely useless and counterproductive.

And yes, wasting time to continually check and maintain something that is totally useless and highly prone to various failures is indeed far beneath me. I like my cars, basses, and women the same so I can derive maximum use and enjoyment with minimum hassle or worry - properly engineered, well built, elegant and very low maintenance. Schaller strap "locks" are none of these things.

 

[HeavyDuty]

Both Schaller and Dunlop make effective strap locks if they are properly installed and maintained. I don't get the hate some people like to lump on them.

 

[RustyAxe]

And yes, wasting time to continually check and maintain something that is totally useless and highly prone to various failures is indeed far beneath me. I like my cars, basses, and women the same so I can derive maximum use and enjoyment with minimum hassle or worry - properly engineered, well built, elegant and very low maintenance. Schaller strap "locks" are none of these things.

Wow. Glad I don't have to ride to the gig in your car.

 

[Biggbass]

Never had a Schaller failure - but I check and tighten all things twisty including straplocks, tuners, pickguards, input jacks, etc on a regular basis.

 

[Zooberwerx]

And yes, wasting time to continually check and maintain something that is totally useless and highly prone to various failures is indeed far beneath me. .

When installed and used correctly, they do not require any continuous maintenance but, like other essential components, they do require an interval inspection for integrity and function. Failures occur as a result of (1) improper installation, (2) lack of regular or interval maintenance, (3) failure to follow manufacturer's directions. Any component that is ignored will be highly prone to failure.

Riis

 

[eadg98005]

Dunlops all the way !!!!

 

[David Jayne]

StayLow said it better than I could. I used them for awhile until I discovered plain old rubber washers work better. Like, way better. I had all the usual failures and dealt with them for years, until the night that the locking pin and its spring shot off into the darkness, forcing me into duct tape mode immediately before the first song. That was it. They are, to me, the answer to a question that nobody asked.