Do you use strap locks? Strap locks that you screw into your bass? Straps with a built-in locking mechanism? A washer? Extra large diameter strap buttons? Some other locking system? Or nothing at all but stock strap buttons and your strap?
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Strap locks: what kind, if at all?
- Thread starter bassdrummer
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- dunlop schaller straplocks
I literally have every combination you list. On most recently acquired instruments I haven’t changed anything and use original strap buttons and a good strap. I need to pick up a pack of washers since I haven’t has a Grolsch in ages.
I have a brand new American Professional Precision arriving this week. I have always used Dunlop strap locks, but I feel hesitant to remove the stock strap buttons. Thinking about the “washer method” that I have heard of people doing — how does it work?
Washers - you can use the Grolsch ones or get some at the hardware store. Put your strap on your bass as you normally would and then slip the washer over the strap button. It works perfectly well but it’s not as convenient as using the Dunlops (getting the washers on over the strap button can sometimes be a chore and it’s not the kind of thing you want to have to do when you are rushing to get on stage).
. Great explanation, thanks! Anyone know approximately what size/hole diameter washer? I think I have have some old Fender strap buttons somewhere that I could take to Lowe’s with me.
Just saw these at Sweetwater’s site...same “washer” concept, right? And there’s financing available!
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I have Loxx strap locks on all my basses except one, which has Dunlop. They are the best IMO.
move read reports of the part that attaches to the strap has failed a few people because the diameter of the outer part of the lock is too small and it doesn’t grab well enough. This makes me nervous as I’ve never had a Schaller fail while using blue thread lock, and the new design of the Schaller S seems to address the need for the thread lock.
Never had em, never used em but everytime someone wants to "try" my bass I wish I did! Lol
As always, YMMV. I find Loxx the surest on-off strap locks. With others, I’ve experienced some challenges with engagement — they need to be lined up cleanly for the insert to engage. Loxx is very forgiving on the engagement. As for strength, the Loxx attachment is used on auto and boat tonneau covers. More than a dozen basses and thousands of shows and rehearsals, and never a moment when I felt my strap was unsecured.
I’d rate Dunlop’s second, and their benefit is that they are easy to find and can be used with a strap not sporting a strap lock. That said, I’ve had a few occasions where these did not engage fully.
I use washers. They are cheap and work well for me. Each bass has its own strap the (cheapy webbed kind) and never gets removed, so the awkwardness and extra time to slip a rubber washer over the button doesn't bother me. I have straps that have not been removed from instruments for over 10 years.
I use Dunlops and have only had "end-user" issues where I didn't fully engage once in over 20 years. Instant "mojo", but again, my rushing caused it. My main issue now is that all of my straps have them, so when a NBD occurs, (which is now a thing of the past), I have to install a set of buttons before I can strap it on!
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-robert
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I’ve been using Dunlop dual designs on everything for about 17 years and haven’t had any issues.
The old Schallers had a nut that would slowly loosen in its own and if you weren’t paying attention could cause the unit to come right off the strap. Apparently it’s been fixed with a newer model but I haven’t tried them yet.
Dunlops can “fail” if you don’t properly insert the holding disk into place until it clicks. It’s a real pain in the ass to get it to lock in there if you have a thick strap (and especially if you’re not using needle nose pliers) so I can see how some folks get it most of the way in place and have it fall apart later.
The old Schallers had a nut that would slowly loosen in its own and if you weren’t paying attention could cause the unit to come right off the strap. Apparently it’s been fixed with a newer model but I haven’t tried them yet.
Dunlops can “fail” if you don’t properly insert the holding disk into place until it clicks. It’s a real pain in the ass to get it to lock in there if you have a thick strap (and especially if you’re not using needle nose pliers) so I can see how some folks get it most of the way in place and have it fall apart later.
The only ones I ever liked were Dunlops, had trouble with Schallers and one or two other styles I tried. But then I found a problem with Dunlops too: the hole in the button that the screw has to go through is so narrow that the only screw I could find that would fit through it was only 1" long, maybe a fraction more. In all my combing through hardware stores I never found a longer screw that could fit through there.
Over time and moving around, that short screw would wriggle and loosen in the wood and gradually start to rip loose (if you aren't moving enough to make it wriggle, you don't need a strap lock anyway). So I effectively went from worrying that the strap would come off the button, to worrying that the screw would rip out of the wood at a bad moment and tear the whole thing out, button and all. I did several dowel-and-glue repairs in my basses until I asked myself why I was bothering using the strap lock in the first place.
These days I just use a rubber washer (like those Fender ones) to hold the strap on a little more securely, and it's been all I need. And I do move around quite a bit on a gig.
Over time and moving around, that short screw would wriggle and loosen in the wood and gradually start to rip loose (if you aren't moving enough to make it wriggle, you don't need a strap lock anyway). So I effectively went from worrying that the strap would come off the button, to worrying that the screw would rip out of the wood at a bad moment and tear the whole thing out, button and all. I did several dowel-and-glue repairs in my basses until I asked myself why I was bothering using the strap lock in the first place.
These days I just use a rubber washer (like those Fender ones) to hold the strap on a little more securely, and it's been all I need. And I do move around quite a bit on a gig.
“New” Schallers (S-Locks) are bomb-proof and so much nicer/better quality than Dunlop’s, to my eye/feel. If you plan on using same strap with multiple basses, this is the way to go, IMO.
If you keep your straps on your basses, washers would be much more economical. But I wouldn’t think twice about by the the S-Locks. They are awesome.
If you keep your straps on your basses, washers would be much more economical. But I wouldn’t think twice about by the the S-Locks. They are awesome.
