BigRedX Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 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! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
verb Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 If it has failed I would just replace it. Warwick has an online shop but the postage cost can be high. Warwick strap locks are often on eBay. I put my strap on the part on the bass,and use the other part to stop the strap falling off. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 They are readily available. 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted October 14, 2014 Share Posted October 14, 2014 What colour are they? Just thought, if they are chrome, I'm certain I have some you can have for nowt. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CamdenRob Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 [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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 [quote name='CamdenRob' timestamp='1413355874' post='2577351'] That's a wonderfully suprious excuse for buying a new bass.... I love it. [/quote] Why do you think I have so many spare strap locks ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 15, 2014 Author Share Posted October 15, 2014 (edited) 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 October 15, 2014 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 No problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
yorks5stringer Posted October 15, 2014 Share Posted October 15, 2014 (edited) Why are you buying a new strap lock? If you got the Bass from Thomann there is a 3 year guarantee, if you got it elsewhere there is a 2 year guarantee. Keep your money in your pocket! Edited October 15, 2014 by yorks5stringer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 16, 2014 Author Share Posted October 16, 2014 (edited) 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 October 16, 2014 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Count Bassy Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 [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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 17, 2014 Author Share Posted October 17, 2014 [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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 I'v obviously made it seem more complicated than it is! 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 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Andyjr1515 Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 [quote name='Kev' timestamp='1413575517' post='2579855'] I'v obviously made it seem more complicated than it is! 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? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted October 17, 2014 Share Posted October 17, 2014 Yes Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MoonBassAlpha Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 Doesn't this method rattle like buggery? I've not tried it though (the strap lock thing, OR the buggery, for that matter!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 (edited) [quote name='Kev' timestamp='1413575517' post='2579855'] I'v obviously made it seem more complicated than it is! 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 October 18, 2014 by BigRedX Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kev Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 [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. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
strtdv Posted November 5, 2014 Share Posted November 5, 2014 Just get the Schaller ones. They're widely available and clip on to the existing warwick "posts". Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BigRedX Posted November 5, 2014 Author Share Posted November 5, 2014 Done. As I said in my last post, I changed everything, but due to the orientation of the neck button, the strap still can't be used for any of my other basses. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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