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Neccesity of strap locks?

#122
bassbenj said:
Each of my basses has it's own strap but this really only solves half the problem.

One reason you need a strap "lock" is the locking part. With normal buttons and especially with cheaper straps eventually the button hole elongates from the weight of the bass and the strap is coming off all the time. With expensive basses this is not cool So beer rubber washers, clamping locks etc. and the hard core screw a big washer on there will solve the problem.

But it doesn't solve the OTHER half of the problem. Which is how to take straps OFF of basses and switch them around. If you are like me all your straps were not born the same. Some expensive basses have nice expensive leather straps. Other basses have cheapo nylon bargain bin straps. But sometimes I REALLY want to play that bar bass and don't want the crappy practice strap on it. And I don't want to spend a fortune for top of the line straps for all my junk basses. Hence I've standardized on Dunlop straploks. Sort of solves both the lock and unlock problems!

I say "sort of" because Dunlops have a problem of sometimes not locking if they aren't fully engaged. I put some lithium grease on mine that helps them slide into place better and reduces but not solves the problem.

The screwed-on strap solution may be fine if you only own one bass and one strap, but if you've got a lot of bar basses and want to play them with decent straps, you need a different way.
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I own several basses and dozens of straps. I've done fender washers for years. Somehow, I don't have any of these problems. :D

...and I'm not adding $40 or so to the cost of every strap I want to be usable.
 
#123
FretNoMore said:
A no-brainer in my opinion, I have straplocks on all my guitars and basses.
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Spend $15 bucks/bass for strap locks or keep $15 bucks/bass to spend on beer? It's a no-brainer for me. :ninja: Seriously, in fifty years of playing, I have never dropped a bass. It could happen today, whether I'm using strap locks or not. I may worry about it when it happens, but I doubt it. :cool:
 
#127
Stealth Fighter said:
Spend $15 bucks/bass for strap locks or keep $15 bucks/bass to spend on beer? It's a no-brainer for me. :ninja: Seriously, in fifty years of playing, I have never dropped a bass. It could happen today, whether I'm using strap locks or not. I'll may worry about it when it happens, but I doubt it. :cool:
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Well I'm lucky then since I can afford both some strap locks and some beer. Best of both worlds.
And just in case I get a bit wobbly from the beer, the strap locks save the bass. ;)
 
#130
the last decade ... Dunlops ... but I have one of them let go as it wasn't in all the way .. !! my previous Warrior
came with counter sunk Dunlops ... I installed those on one of my basses ...

if you change 1 strap around to different basses , I think strap locks are a good idea ... because the hole in the strap would start to get looser over time ...

my first 30 years of playing bass/guitar ... no strap locks ..
but I always left the strap on .. ! it slipped off a couple times , but never hit the floor ...

now that I'm in my mid 50's ... I'm more worried about something breaking my foot ... !!!
 
#132
Never used them in 37 years. Never had a bass fall on the deck.

I think I'll carry on as I am.

Fender style basses (P or J) should never come off, if you use the original buttons and a decent strap. However a Les Paul or Thunderbird type bass is definitely vulnerable.

It's pure physics.

Davo
 
#133
iovar said:
Out of topic, but :

Same guy that steals picks, probably?
A ten year old leather strap, shortened to my preference, that had only sentimental value and some "decorative stitches" on it...

I forgot it on a university studio. It's the most frequented studio in town, but there is supposedly some control on who get the keys and when. So I was sure that I'd find it again... I went asking around but even though some people definitely knew, they didn't tell me who got it, to avoid any 'incidents'.
I hope whoever stole it, has thrown it away and forgotten about the stupid thing that he did, because even though I don't go there often anymore, if I happen to see someone wearing my strap I'm simply going to go berserk.

Sorry, for the rant, it's just that there are very few occasions in my life that I truly got mad about something and this was one of them.

Like you said: Who the hell steals straps?!
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its a strap, a ten year old one at that , they do make more you know
 
#134
None of my basses have strap locks,can't see paying 15-20 bucks for fancy screws,here is my strap locks rubber bib washers you find in the plumbing section at any hardware store,they work great and are inexpensive...
 

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#135
I used to have a 2006/07 (?) Fender Geddy Lee Jazz Bass that I was playing one day down in my basement about 7 years ago, practicing, and I didn't have strap locks on it, and, yep you guessed it, the strap came loose from the bottom pin as I bent over for something and the bass dropped onto the concrete floor and a little chunk of wood from my beloved Geddy came out. Severely bummed me out.

From then on I've used strap locks. A hard lesson to learn, and now I feel more secure using them. Peace of mind goes a long way!

Bottom line: Use strap locks!
 
#137
After you catch a 1964 Gibson Thunderbird bass about 12 inches from the floor at a gig, you'll appreciate strap locks. Sort of like seat belts. You don't need them but IF you ever do, they sometimes help.
 
#140
Davo-London said:
Never used them in 37 years. Never had a bass fall on the deck.

I think I'll carry on as I am.

Fender style basses (P or J) should never come off, if you use the original buttons and a decent strap. However a Les Paul or Thunderbird type bass is definitely vulnerable.

It's pure physics.

Davo
Click to expand...

You need to use cheaper straps. It's pure economics.

Yeah, I was going to do the "playing for 50 years and never dropped a guitar" story as satire, but everybody beat me to it proclaiming it as truth. For me it's NOT truth. I've had basses come loose many times (usually catching them before damage but I CAN show you edge damage on a couple of them!)

I've even had a lot of trouble with light acoustic guitars. Again, I say that cheap straps will elongate the holes and pretty soon they are coming off all the time. Some of my guitars don't have straplocks and the straps they have are the kind that tie onto the headstock so this creates a certain familiarity with me and the loose strap problem.

I must say I've never had a problem with a high end strap coming loose. But expensive straps for each and every one of my instruments isn't quite my life. So for me it's straplocks.
 

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