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Warwick Strap Locks


BigRedX
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The strap part of the lock on my Warwick Star Bass failed at a recent gig. It looks as though the ball bearing that holds the lock in place has either come out or is stuck in the "in" position.

Is this fixable? If so how?

If not where can I get a replacement for just the one part that fits on the strap?

Thanks!

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[quote name='Andyjr1515' timestamp='1413328132' post='2577309']
If all else fails, [url="http://www.thomann.de/gb/warwick_security_straplocks_bk.htm"]Thomann at less than £11.00 a pai[/url]r...free postage if you buy a new bass at the same time :)
[/quote]

That's a wonderfully suprious excuse for buying a new bass.... I love it.

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Unfortunately I need a gold one which is quite a bit more. Also it seems redundant and wasteful to have to buy a full set when all I need is one of the strap end fittings. Plus IME Thomann take forever to send stuff. Still I need one so there doesn't really look like there's any alternative. If I can find someone who'll get me a set of gold Schallers by Friday I might get those instead.

I can't say I'm impressed with the Warwick design. I've been using Schallers for 30 years and never had one fail on me. This strap lock has lasted less than a year. Not at all good IMO.

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Just had a look at the prices of Schaller Strap Locks and even the gold Warwick ones were cheaper. However when I added on the cost of postage from Thomann, the Schallers work out almost £5 cheaper including delivery and they can guarantee to have them with me in time for Friday's gig.

Even though I like the compact design of the Warwick locks after this recent failure, I can't really trust them, and since all my other basses are fitted with Schallers it makes much more sense to use the same locks on everything.

Thanks for your suggestions.

Edited by BigRedX
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Gold Schaller Strap Locks arrived and have been fitted. They did come with a second set of extra long screws (FYI those of you who have been complaining that the original supplied screws are too short) although the ones used on the Warwick buttons fitted, so I re-used them. However due to the position of the second button on the heel of the neck the corresponding lock on the strap has to be fitted reversed on the strap to stop it from being twisted, so even though I now have Schallers on all my basses and guitars, this bass will still have to have it's own strap that can't be (easily) used elsewhere as an emergency replacement… (or vice-versa)

yorks5stringer - I'll be in touch with Thomann about the lock that failed. I'm also going to have to get the gig bag replaced as it's starting to come apart at the stitching for the zip.

Edited by BigRedX
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[quote name='Count Bassy' timestamp='1413504118' post='2579081']
The thing is that all this style of strap lock are mechanical, so need some maintenance. The instructions with the Dunlop ones recommend a drop of oil once in a while.
[/quote]

Which bit(s) do you oil? Are the Warwick ones the same as the Dunlops? I don't recall seeing any maintenance instructions with them when I bought the bass.

On the other hand I've been using Schaller strap locks for 30 years and once they are properly on the strap I've never had to do anything to them again.

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Little tip: when using the Warwick strap locks (or Dunlop, indeed any that click intro the strap button, rather than the Schaller type), don't fit them to your strap. Put the strap over the strap button as normal and then click the locks in place on top of the strap. That way, the bass strap is as secure as it would be if the strap lock was fitted properly, however all the pressure isn't on the strap lock and your bass will not go crashing to the ground if it does fail!

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[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1413572133' post='2579805']
Little tip: when using the Warwick strap locks (or Dunlop, indeed any that click intro the strap button, rather than the Schaller type), don't fit them to your strap. Put the strap over the strap button as normal and then click the locks in place on top of the strap. That way, the bass strap is as secure as it would be if the strap lock was fitted properly, however all the pressure isn't on the strap lock and your bass will not go crashing to the ground if it does fail!
[/quote]

I'm sorry I don't understand this at all. Can you show a photo of how it works?

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I'v obviously made it seem more complicated than it is! :lol:

Don't have a photo as I don't have a bass with W locks at the moment, but:-

1. Put strap on bass as you normally would without strap locks.
2. Then, click the strap locks into the button as your normally would if they were fitted to the strap

And that is all I mean. So the strap (and the weight of the bass) is actually on the buttons and not on the lock itself.

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[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1413575517' post='2579855']
I'v obviously made it seem more complicated than it is! :lol:

Don't have a photo as I don't have a bass with W locks at the moment, but:-

1. Put strap on bass as you normally would without strap locks.
2. Then, click the strap locks into the button as your normally would if they were fitted to the strap

And that is all I mean. So the strap (and the weight of the bass) is actually on the buttons and not on the lock itself.
[/quote]

Ah! So using the strap lock like a mechanical Grolsh washer?

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[quote name='Kev' timestamp='1413575517' post='2579855']
I'v obviously made it seem more complicated than it is! :lol:

Don't have a photo as I don't have a bass with W locks at the moment, but:-

1. Put strap on bass as you normally would without strap locks.
2. Then, click the strap locks into the button as your normally would if they were fitted to the strap

And that is all I mean. So the strap (and the weight of the bass) is actually on the buttons and not on the lock itself.
[/quote]

I get it now.

I'm not convinced. Having the strap part of the lock not actually attached to the strap gives me two more (very important) things I could lose.

Also in the case of the failure I had, this method might well have resulted in disaster. Because what happened was that the locking mechanism wouldn't engage fully, the strap lock worked reasonably well when the bass was being worn but when I put it on the stand the two parts disengaged. Obviously with the strap being attached to the lock mechanism I noticed straight away that it had become detached and was aware that I could swing my bass about during the gig with the amount of enthusiasm I might normally employ.

If the strap was just fitted to the button and I was relying on the lock part to hold it securely in place, the lock would probably have dropped off with the bass on the stand and with the strap still fitted to the button I might not have noticed and then been more energetic in my performance than was safe.

Anyway I've switched to Schallers now. As I said before they've worked well for me for 30 or so years without incident, so I'm going to stick with them.

Edited by BigRedX
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[quote name='BigRedX' timestamp='1413669057' post='2580843']
I get it now.

I'm not convinced. Having the strap part of the lock not actually attached to the strap gives me two more (very important) things I could lose.

Also in the case of the failure I had, this method might well have resulted in disaster. Because what happened was that the locking mechanism wouldn't engage fully, the strap lock worked reasonably well when the bass was being worn but when I put it on the stand the two parts disengaged. Obviously with the strap being attached to the lock mechanism I noticed straight away that it had become detached and was aware that I could swing my bass about during the gig with the amount of enthusiasm I might normally employ.

If the strap was just fitted to the button and I was relying on the lock part to hold it securely in place, the lock would probably have dropped off with the bass on the stand and with the strap still fitted to the button I might not have noticed and then been more energetic in my performance than was safe.

Anyway I've switched to Schallers now. As I said before they've worked well for me for 30 or so years without incident, so I'm going to stick with them.
[/quote]

To be honest, I would [i]never[/i] strap a bass on without thoroughly checking the strap and locks are secure, so the situation you describe wouldn't be an issue for me :)

Schaller locks are indeed superior anyway and would always be my first choice.

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