Schaller S Locks.?

[Count Bassy]

4 hours ago, BigRedX said:

That's not true. There's a spring-loaded ball-bearing mechanism that holds the two parts together. And that's what failed within 3 months on the only pair I've owned. On the other hand I have Schaller StrapLocks from the mid 80s that are still functioning perfectly.

There is IME more room for user error with the Schaller StrapLocks, but once you have worked out what needs to be done to fit each part securely to the instrument and strap, they work perfectly. 

In the end it's each to their own. We stick with what we know and what works for us. None of the methods are 100% perfect or fool-proof. Having tried all the different methods, the Schallers work for me. I can appreciate that they are not for everyone.

Yes, the Dunlops do need a bit of oil/WD40 (other lubricants are available) and checking every now and then. Dirt can get in the barrel and prevent the balls and/or the release machanism working properly.

I've had no problem with the Dunlops, but then  I've never tried the Schallers.

[adamg67]

I use Schaller ones and like them, mine have two nuts holding the strap half on, which seems to lock them on really well, and getting the body end nice and secure is just the same as with any screw, mine came with two sizes and I just take care to get the right size or fill and drill if they're not good. All my basses and guitars have them now. I had some cheaper ones before that, can't even remember the brand but they were bulky and harder to use.

They win over the washer / rubber ring things because they make swapping instruments live so easy, just unhook the lower strap button and you're off, no need to throw it over your head, then flip the strap from the new over your shoulder and clip it in. Handy even at home and rehearsals, the light fittings are a lot safer now.

Edited January 24, 2020 by adamg67

[BigRedX]

16 minutes ago, Count Bassy said:

Yes, the Dunlops do need a bit of oil/WD40 (other lubricants are available) and checking every now and then. Dirt can get in the barrel and prevent the balls and/or the release machanism working properly.

I've had no problem with the Dunlops, but then  I've never tried the Schallers.

Maybe, but there was nothing in the documentation that came with the bass that had Dunlop-style locks fitted to tell me this, so the first I knew was when the mechanism seized up at a just before going on stage and I had restrain my performance to prevent the bass falling of the strap mid-gig. 

Examining the mechanism after the gig, there did not appear to be any way to get it working again, so I ordered a set of Schallers to replace them. 

Conversely, other than fit them properly in the first place, I've never had to do any maintenance on Schallers - even the ones that are 35 years old.

[Mastodon2]

I have locking strap setups on all of my basses. I have two Dingwall racing straps, one with Schaller and one with Dunlop locks. I think the Schaller "cup over peg" is the most secure design, if you set the cup part on the strap so the peg sits in it under gravity, you could unscrew the locking part and if you've set it up right, the bass should still stay on the strap, sitting with the strap pegs in the cups. On the downside, the locking wheel on the Schallers is more prone to loosening, though I've never had to turn it more than a few degrees to tighten it, I can see that if you didn't check it could feasibly work loose, but you'd have to really avoid tightening it for that to happen. It's quite literally a 5 second job, so hardly worth skimping on.

My Warwick and Ken Smith basses have recessed strap locks, so they only work with Dunlop. I think Schaller is the slightly better design, as you can actively mitigate the risk of it failing by tightening it, and you can set the cups up so the bass won't hit the deck even if the locks do fail. While extremely unlikely, if the ball bearings on the Dunlop design failed, the bass could head south very quickly, however I think it's still very unlikely.

I must admit I get a bit nervous when I see people playing guitar or bass on a strap without any form of locking mechanism (or washer, if you're thrifty). I made the mistake of doing this with an Epiphone Les Paul (which was a crap guitar) as a teenager and nearly broke my foot. The guitar didn't have a mark on it, but if you dropped you £10,000 Alembic or even just your £500 Fender and marked it you'd be throwing expletives.

 

[Monkey Steve]

I have a set of Schallers on an acoustic bass - an Ortega, which came with them. 

I find them overly fussy to use compared to the Dunlops that I have on all my other instruments - pulling out and sliding the lock off sideways rather than just pushing in and popping off the lock on the Dunlops...had to retype that several times to make it sound less dirty...

Happy to put it down to personal preference, but Dunlops for me.  The Schallers are perfectly stable

 

[Jean-Luc Pickguard]

I have rubbery 'grolsch' style washers on most of my basses which have never let me down.

I've also found that oversized mushroom-style' strap buttons such as Gotoh EP-B3 N keep a comfort strapp secure on a thunderbird without needing a grolsch washer.

I had a set of schallers on my precision back in the 80s but one worked loose during a rehearsal and the bass hit the deck, The schaller straplocks went straight into the bits box and I've not felt inclined to give them a second chance.

[PatrickJ]

I've been using Schaller strap locks for a few years now. 

The older type with the nut were prone to working loose over time, an issue I had with other brands too. 

The new S Locks are much better, the thick circular washer secured with the grub screw has yet to let me down.  I should note however that these days I dont gig or rehearse much so they've not had to work particularly hard.

The other brand I found to be pretty good were the Loxx USA strap locks.

[Hellzero]

I'm using Loxx too, but it's a German company called Schaeffertec GmbH which is making them. 😉

https://www.loxx-products.com/