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to strap lock or not to strap lock...

Do you use strap locks?

  • Yes, I use 'em

    Votes: 230 82.7%

  • No strap locks for me!

    Votes: 34 12.2%

  • Who cares - I want pizza ;-)

    Votes: 14 5.0%
  • Total voters
    278
#61
Ok, maybe this is a dumb question, but often on straps I see attached what looks like a short shoelace wrapped around the hole where the strap hooks go. What exactly is the point of that? Is it supposed to be wrapped around somehow to act as a strap lock? What's the purpose of that anyway?
 
#62
This debate come to an end quickly the first time your strap comes off lol

I never bothered and then during a show (after putting on a new strap) the bottom end came off the button. To be far I was moving around a lot. After that there was no question, bigger holes is better then more dents and scraps so invested for my main bass. My other ones i didn't bother with until i realized how easy it was to change straps. If you have the same lock system you can slide the straps on and off and know they are secure much faster then traditional systems, thats almost worth it if you have 1 strap you like and multiple basses, or just like collecting cool straps.
 
#64
recreate.me said:
This debate come to an end quickly the first time your strap comes off lol
Click to expand...

For me the debate came to an end after several strap lock failures and realizing the inherent costs and time spent maintaining and dealing with them.

It's funny how roughly half the posts describe the same, common, problems with strap locks - most notably and notoriously Schaller - while the other half assert something along the lines of "Schallers rule" or "I know they can't fail and I'm smarter and holier than the rest of you".

Talk Twilight Zone.
 
#65
I use Dunlop Dual-Locks on all of my basses. For $10-15 and a few minutes to install they are great, never had one give out. I have had to re-drill a hole a bit deeper to accommodate the screws, but it was nothing major. I highly recommend strap locks for the protection, peace of mind, and ease of swapping straps/basses. Like I've said on other strap-lock threads, there isn't much on my bass that can be repaired/replaced for under $10.
 
#68
Technotitclan said:
I have been using Schallers for many years now and never had an issue. Which leads me to ask the question.... Are you guys using a WRENCH to tighten the nut when you install them or are you hand turning it??? I've never needed lock tight. and I never had the nut come loose. I used a proper sized wrench and made that damn thing as tight as I possibly could. It only came off once and that was after reading you guys talk about Schaller failures, I figured I should check mine to be sure. I had made the nut so tight that it took the same wrench AND vise grips for me to get the nut off. I don't want to be condescending here but the only design flaw in the Schallers is user error. I never liked the Dunlop design as it looked like all it took was some small metal dust or moisture to cause failure. I have seen quick release systems the Dunlops are based off fail tons of times.
Click to expand...

+1 I cranked mine on there as tight as I could with a wrench and have never them come loose.
 
#69
joenoone said:
Ok, maybe this is a dumb question, but often on straps I see attached what looks like a short shoelace wrapped around the hole where the strap hooks go. What exactly is the point of that? Is it supposed to be wrapped around somehow to act as a strap lock? What's the purpose of that anyway?
Click to expand...

I may be wrong but I always thought that was to tie on the the headstock of an acoustic since they usually only have a button on the bottom. At least most the acoustics I've seen.
 
#70
I just get some wide washers with small holes. Unscrew the strap peg, put the strap over the hole, washer on top of that, put strap peg ontop of all that and screw it in. Works wonders. I've yet to have a strap come off except one where it was an old and cheap strap that actually ripped at the slit.
 
#71
joenoone said:
Ok, maybe this is a dumb question, but often on straps I see attached what looks like a short shoelace wrapped around the hole where the strap hooks go. What exactly is the point of that? Is it supposed to be wrapped around somehow to act as a strap lock? What's the purpose of that anyway?
Click to expand...

Yeah, its for acoustics with only one pin. you tie it around the headstock. I actually used that once as a ghetto strap lock. worked well, looked terrible and the weight of a solid body stretches the leather.
 
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#76
Dunlops.

Got a great deal on a bunch from lowfreqgeek a few years ago, put them on all my basses. I do like the "dual design" buttons the best though.

Washers look good too. And I have those triangular plastic Dunlop locks on an acoustic bass that slips over the button and locks in place.

I'm too clumsy to use nothing...

=wr=
 
#78
tobias3469 said:
Yes. These have never failed me.

360-Schaller-Straplocks-Black__61811_zoom.jpg
Click to expand...

This /\
I use the Schallers pictured above on every bass.
A little wood glue on the screw threads and a dab of blue loctite on the threads of the strap attachment and you're done.
Checking periodically that everything is still tight is simple diligence and becomes habit.

I used to use a different strap for each bass and used an appropriately sized washer over the strap while the strap pin was dabbed in glue and reinstalled in the bass.
It made for a more permanent solution, but if you have more than a few basses it can be expensive to buy so many straps.
This is the solution for the ultra-paranoid types.
It can't possibly fail unless the strap breaks, and I've never heard of that happening.
 
#80
I dropped my 75' Jazz bass in in 1979 and put a dent in the bottom. I had my cord run between my strap and the body, I walked farther then my cable would let me. My cord popped the strap right off the button and down went my bass. Since then all my basses have Dunlop Strap locks. I have never had one fail on me and I am still using a 20 year old set on my strap.
 

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