Straploks vs. Dunlops

[crack-boom]

Di-Marzio clip strap thingy...

 

[My name is Mudd]

The one thing I really never liked about the Dunlops or other strap lock systems is that the screws that hold the buttons are larger and do require drilling to install properly.

Dunlop must have changed their design spec at some point 'cause neither of mine needed anything more complicated than a phillips screwdriver and some soap on the threads...installing the buttons took about a minute per bass.

 

[Fuzzbass]

Looking for alternatives to these... Are there any others? I have both, one on my fretted Tobias and one on my fretless Pedulla. What do you guys use?

I used Schaller, but switched to Dunlop Dual Designs over a decade ago and have been using them exclusively ever since. I have had zero failures in that decade, but multiple failures over the decade-plus I used the Schallers.

So, I will never again use the Schallers. Yes, it's true as someone said that the cup will not come off the button. However the nut can very easily unscrew from the lock, allowing the strap to fall off! What good is a locked button if the strap falls of the lock?!? Unless you barely move around onstage, they will probably fail you at some point unless you use a thread-locking product on the nut... and IMO that's a serious design flaw. A bandmate had a Schaller system fail while playing seated... luckily for him, as it caught him completely by surprise.

Yes, you can use Loctite on the Schallers and minimize risk, but the Dunlop Dual designs work as intended with no additional steps. Also, the Dunlop Dual Design button works much better than the Schaller button with an unlocked strap.

 

[jmain]

Dunlop must have changed their design spec at some point 'cause neither of mine needed anything more complicated than a phillips screwdriver and some soap on the threads...installing the buttons took about a minute per bass.

They are a little longer and diamer is a bit bigger. Just have to crank with the screwdriver.

 

[TRichardsbass]

Dunlop must have changed their design spec at some point 'cause neither of mine needed anything more complicated than a phillips screwdriver and some soap on the threads...installing the buttons took about a minute per bass.

Dunlops have always stated in the instructions that you need to drill a slightly wider hole and give you the bit size and the depth. On the first bass I ever did this on I figured I'd just screw 'em in and wound up cracking the finish because of the diameter difference. Good thing it was a cheap bass.

Since then I have always installed them per the instructions.

Maybe you just never bothered to read them?

 

[fourstringbliss]

Sometimes you need to drill a bigger hole and other times the hole is big enough. You need to compare the original screw to the Straplok screw to see if you need to drill.

 

[bassbenj]

Sometimes you need to drill a bigger hole and other times the hole is big enough. You need to compare the original screw to the Straplok screw to see if you need to drill.

+1

Actually the bigger/longer screw is a FEATURE! I've had more than one cheap crappy bass where the buttons were pulling out and installed some Dunlops just to make all my straps compatible. But the Feature of the longer/larger screws simply fixed the pull-out problem as the new straploks were installed! No drilling needed (or wanted) in that case.

 

[My name is Mudd]

Maybe you just never bothered to read them?

Umm, actually...having been a pro mechanic/service manager in a few high-end bikes shops for the last 20-odd years, I have a habit of reading instruction sheets...I also compared the stock screws against the Dunlop screws, found that they were the same diameter and thread pitch but a bit longer, soaped the threads and screwed them in.

 

[mmbongo]

All you have to really consider is this...most higher end basses come with Dunlops installed from the factory. That pretty much seals it

 

[johnk_10]

ever since my '76 stingray dunlop straplock failed in 1979 and hit a concrete floor, i switched to schallers and never looked back (i switched to schallers). never had a schaller straplok fail since then. (i don't care for the look of the dunlop strap buttons either).

 

[gruvgear]

Okay so the beer washer is something I've not used or heard of before, but good to know. Although for the actual products, here are my pros/cons for each and why I was looking for alternatives:

Dunlops
- Definitely like the flat profile better
- Easier to put on & off, not uni-directional like the Schaller
- Dual Design is good
- Con: Screw has tendency to keep getting loose, dunno why
- Con: Don't like that washer attachment, a pain to install and remove
- Con: Preset height of post, so straps that have thicker ends are difficult to install onto

Schallers
- Construction and security probably theoretically stronger, but my Dunlops have never broken or come off
- Installation on the strap itself is much easier, no tools really needed unless you want to crank it down with a small wrench
- Con: Don't like the tall button profile
- Con: Usability I feel isn't as good or natural, you pull knob out first then pull up

Great feedback and discussion from everyone, thanks!

 

[bathnapkin]

I use the schaller style though I have to admit I haven't tried the dunlops. I have two sets and never had a problem with the nut unscrewing.

I have a set of Fender straplocks and a set of Schaller straplocks and they ARE THE SAME THING.
The only differences are that the Fender straplocks are cheaper and surprisingly made of better materials. You can see the bronze or brass core where the nickel plate is coming off the Schaller set but the Fender set is solid instead of plated. You can buy one set of Schaller style locks and order Fender buttons to put on all your guitars.

 

[My name is Mudd]

Random tip/hint for the Dunlop owners - put a tiny little drop of a light oil in the strap-side pin depression once or twice a year, then work the release a few times to spread it around the insides. This keeps the spring and balls lubed, as well as minimizing any potential of metal-on-metal friction damage.

 

[bassbenj]

Random tip/hint for the Dunlop owners - put a tiny little drop of a light oil in the strap-side pin depression once or twice a year, then work the release a few times to spread it around the insides. This keeps the spring and balls lubed, as well as minimizing any potential of metal-on-metal friction damage.

My personal choice is lithium grease. Yes, it's a bit more icky but it lasts much better than light oil. The reason it's important with Dunlops is they have this problem of not fully latching. So you need to be sure the tiny balls are locked in the groove. If they aren't the strap can pull out and you can drop the bass. I've never really dropped a bass but came close a couple of times. Since I use the grease treatment (and try to remember to make it a point to always check for fully-locked condition) I haven't had any trouble with the false-lock thing.

 

[BigBassBob]

I'm a Schaller man myself but I would use Dunlop if I needed to.

Why Schaller over Dunlop? It's mainly because a friend bought a set of Dunlops (probably a discontinued design) and they used to rattle like holy hell on his strap... and one of the strap ends came loose within a week. This isn't a knock towards Dunlop; I wouldn't be surprised if my associate installed them incorrectly.

The other reason I use Schaller is because I put them on my first bass on the recommendation of a local player whose opinion I greatly respect. Then they came with another bass I owned, and another until I ended up putting them on all my basses.

I will say that the nuts on the strap ends do tend to work their way loose over time but I tend to give my equipment a once over every few weeks to prevent tears mid-gig (a guitarist who I play with occasionally had a strat with AWFUL intonation... so what happens half way through our set? One of the bridge saddles shoots off into the audience as he snaps his B string. Afterwards he confessed that he hadn't ever touched the intonation screw :|).

 

[B String]

For the longest time, I used Dunlops on my guitar and these on my basses: [Invalid or Expired Link Removed]

I've been using these for ever. So simple. I don't have to put
special anything on my bass. Never had one fail. I can use a
thin or thick strap. I can change straps if I want.

Cheap, easy, works great.

 

[Russell L]

Schaller, Schaller, Schaller.

 

[nagarjuna]

A long time ago I tried the Dunlops,pre-cup, and it was tough to squeeze the washers together on to a thick leather strap like the old Earth 3's I used, then I tried the Schallers and they were great except they rattled if the strap was on but you were seated on a stool. Like Chef said, the nut would often times come loose. So in the end I switched to the Grolsch system. They give a slight nod to my early Clash/Ramones fascination. I have seen those buttons that TRichards is talking about and they work great. I just like to keep the original buttons on there.

 

[JimmyM]

I use Dunlops but only because they're what I started with and they worked enough to where I didn't care to change. Been my experience that the Dunlop screws are usually longer but not as thick as the screws on most strap buttons I've come across, so installing them meant sticking in an epoxy covered toothpick in a lot of the basses I have.

 

[gillento]

...

The one thing I really never liked about the Dunlops or other strap lock systems is that the screws that hold the buttons are larger and do require drilling to install properly. then, when you wan't to go back to a different button, you have to either do some glue repair or hope the Dunlop screw works.

Well that solely depends on the original screws.
I had basses with smaller/thinner screws than Schallers or Dunlops, with bigger/thicker screws ans with exactly the same type of screws (even with the same bass brand).
I think you can neither blame Schaller or Dunlop for this.