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strap and strap lock

#21
I know I'm in the minority here, but I bought me one of those planet waves locking straps about a year and a half ago and its worked beautifully. Although the strap is only 2 inches wide so its not exactly the most comfortable strap.

*but when your precision is 7.5 lbs, its awesome....
 
#24
JellinWellen said:
...the strap is only 2 inches wide so its not exactly the most comfortable strap...
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That's all I ever use, the 2" wide nylon straps. I used to get them free from a local music store and they worked fine so these days when I need a strap I find a 2" wide nylon with decent leather or doubled up ends and plastic adjusters. I did break down and buy a couple with a skull design, some sig model by a guitar player/artist, but even at that they still cost less than a lot of those wide leather rigs. Maybe it's because my neck is so wide at it's base, but anything wider than 2" tends to rub against my neck and can be quite irritating.
 
#25
Those look interesting. Where do you get them for $1.25? Cheapest I could find was Amazon, $3.95/2 but sold out. Might try a pair on my cheap beater, see if they fit with its strap buttons. I tried Dunlop strap locks but the Schallers fit better on the thicker straps I use, and I tend to stick with Schaller hardware in general.

Seems like all my basses came with different sized strap buttons. 80's Tobias had T - shaped grippy jobbers that were pretty good. One bass had hourglass shaped cylindrical buttons, slightly smaller on the bottom. I took them off and slipped a washer over the bottom. It wouldn't slip over the top, so held the strap on without pinning it down.

I started using strap locks the day after my '79 Rick bounced off the floor.
 
#27
I've used the washers from Grolsch beer bottles as stroplocks for many years.

Plus you get a free beer with the purchase of every Grolsch straplock. :D

I've also tried washers from the hardware store but prefer the Grolsch freebie.
 
#28
In the 80's Ibanez used some V-shaped buttons, which work quite well, except when the strap hole is quite used and worn out. Still working on my two oldest basses (1985 RB850 and 1986 MC2940).
Now I use Schaller ones, but I found in a german online shop some Schaller copies made in China (in the same factory, probably...) which cost exactly half the price, and are even better (the screwed cylinder is a little tighter and longer, so easier to fit in thick leather straps). Anyway, after a smash on the floor, never without straplocks anymore!
 
#29
Lownote38 said:
Schaller locks are what I use and they have a horseshoe piece that goes around the strap button so that even if the lock thing gets pulled on, the strap will not come off. You have to pull the knob outward, and then bring the strap down for those to disengage. I've never had one fail and they fit every strap I've ever had.
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I've been using them for 10 years & never had one fail either. Love em. But that strap is gona have your bass bouncing all over the place. It's like a big ol rubberband.
 
#30
My mom got me the schallers I think and a comfort strap. I think the name of the strap has comfort in the name. It is comfy. Will have to see how it is on a gig. The screws on the strap locks are a tiny bit wider and a tiny bit longer. Seems good to ensure that it is a snug fit...
 
#31
Sav'nBass said:
I used to use the Schallers.. I use the Dunlops now. I prefer them. They are much easier to use.
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+1.

I used the Schallers and had problems with the bolt loosening... the "horseshoe" locking part would turn, leaving it not so "locking." I had one slip loose on a bass during a show, but was able to catch the bass before it hit the ground. :)

Switched to the Dunlop dual design straplocks and haven't looked back. No bolts to keep tight, no directional lock. Each of my basses has its own strap with Dunlop locks.

5sg.
 
#32
Grolsch washers when I used to drink more beer, but heck now I am back to what I have used since 1963: nothing. I might note I have never dropped an instrument, although there is a first time for everything I suppose.

To me, it seems more a problem if one is more acrobatic than average—which I am certainly not, LOL!
 
#33
Lol. Well, I certainly wouldn't call myself "acrobatic" on stage, but I do like to move. :) I think the reason mine slipped was because the lock on the strap had actually flipped, so the "horseshoe" was upside down and the pin slipped out.

I just put (Dunlop) straplocks on all my basses more for cheap peace of mind, rather than a need to avoid dropping.

5sg.
 
#34
NecroticImbecil said:
It is 99.9973% certain the original strap button on the instrument will not be compatible*. Every brand of strap lock system I am aware of requires its own strap buttons to be installed on the bass. Schaller and Dunlop are the most popular brands. The typical strap buttons used on most basses will not work with either system.
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I wouldn't be so sure about those numbers. Fenders came stock with the Shaller buttons for many years (I'd guess 20 years or longer).
 
#35
I'm loving these on my Squier P:
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They're a little loose fitting on my Rickenbacker's smaller strap buttons so I have the little plastic Dunlops ergos on my 4003. I absolutely HATE the Dunlops I stupidly installed on my 4001.
 
#39
Turock said:
I wouldn't be so sure about those numbers. Fenders came stock with the Shaller buttons for many years (I'd guess 20 years or longer).
Click to expand...

My early 90's US J Plus came from the Factory with Schaller buttons and locks. Still have the same buttons and locks on that bass and it was played a lot for quite a number of years. I've put the same thing on several MIM J's with the same results. No loose straps, not lock failure, no nuttin but just working as intended.
 

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