Straplocks

[Burns-bass]

I recently purchased a very fancy boutique active 5 string which I took to practice. My band mates all loved it, talking about how they thought it sounded amazuing, sustained really well etc. 
 

However, on a couple of occasions it slipped off its strap and nearly crashed to the floor, so I need a set of straplocks.

I’ve never used them, never bought them or fitted them. I’m a busy man and need someone to telL me what I need.

[BrunoBass]

I like Schaller’s - replace the original strap button with the one supplied, this clips into the locking mechanism that you attach to your strap. Quick and easy! 

[TJ Spicer]

You need Jim Dunlop strap locks, as used by MTD, Fodera etc. The premium choice when it comes to strap locks. I've yet to be let down by them in 10 years. £17 to purchase but a lot cheaper than getting your neck repaired! Alternatively, for the minute, Fender's strap holders for about £4 for 2 pairs actually do a very solid job. I was using them on a couple of new basses for a few months, but just changed them to JDs like the rest of my collection. 

[Burns-bass]

I’m going to be incredibly lazy now, but could you paste a link here? I need to get this sorted by the weekend and I just want a solution. I’ve asked my guitar tech who is a total genius but he’s a guitar player, so god knows what he’ll suggest 🙂

[Frank Blank]

I’ve got to ACG basses, one with Dunlops and one with Schaller S-Locks. The Schallers are really nicely made and I feel confident with the bass on the strap, the Dunlops are not as sturdy and I find them more fiddly to use. No doubt it’s a matter of personal taste but imho the Schallers are superior in every way.

[Frank Blank]

 

[Burns-bass]

3 minutes ago, Frank Blank said:

I’ve got to ACG basses, one with Dunlops and one with Schaller S-Locks. The Schallers are really nicely made and I feel confident with the bass on the strap, the Dunlops are not as sturdy and I find them more fiddly to use. No doubt it’s a matter of personal taste but imho the Schallers are superior in every way.

Cheers Frank. Ever since I bought that AER from you (we’ll, sort of) and the jazz I’ve considered you a man of exquisite taste. These look perfect and reasonably priced too. If you say they work, it works for me.

[Woodinblack]

Don't ACG fit Dunlop's to all of their basses? Certainly where my first Dunlop came from. I was Schaller only before that

[Frank Blank]

3 minutes ago, Burns-bass said:

Cheers Frank. Ever since I bought that AER from you (we’ll, sort of) and the jazz I’ve considered you a man of exquisite taste. These look perfect and reasonably priced too. If you say they work, it works for me.

Thank you Sir. The ACG Harlot had the Schallers installed since it was built in 2009, I bought the S-Locks because they are compatible with the older Schaller strap buttons that came on the bass, they snap in crisply and are are really firm. When the Schallers are engaged it feels like both components become one solid unit, the Dunlops (which, btw, are on a much newer bass) rattle a bit and don’t inspire quite as much confidence.

[Frank Blank]

5 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

Don't ACG fit Dunlop's to all of their basses? Certainly where my first Dunlop came from. I was Schaller only before that

I think you are right, ACGs now come with Dunlops as standard, my ACG Harlot, which is an early build, came with Schallers.

[Skybone]

I always found that the Dunlop Straplocks were a real faff to fit. Just my experience.

I prefer Schallers. Just make sure the open end on the strap is facing up.

[Woodinblack]

I used to like the schallers, but had a few that unscrewed themselves. Apparently they have fixed that problem now, or mitigated it somewhat, so worth trying out.

The advantage the dunlops have is that if you end up with the wrong strap, you can still use a normal strap on a dunlop where you can't with a schaller.

[neepheid]

If you don't want to/feel confident to fit straplocks then you could always buy a couple of bottles of beer with the flip top (do you still get Grolsch in those big glass bottles?). Consume beer then get the rubber/plastic washers off the tops. Fit strap then push washer on top.

Not a straplock per se, but it will make the strap more difficult to get off the strap button. 

[Frank Blank]

7 minutes ago, Woodinblack said:

The advantage the dunlops have is that if you end up with the wrong strap, you can still use a normal strap on a dunlop where you can't with a schaller.

You can use a normal strap with the Schaller strap buttons that came on the eleven year old ACG and with the Schaller S-Lock strap buttons too.

[Woodinblack]

1 minute ago, Frank Blank said:

You can use a normal strap with the Schaller strap buttons that came on the eleven year old ACG and with the Schaller S-Lock strap buttons too.

Really? All the schallers I have (and the ones I have seen), have a very small lip part, so any normal strap wouldn't stand a chance of staying on for a gig without the locking part. Maybe there is another shaller type I don't know about?

Mine all look like the image you posted up there ^

[paul_5]

I’ve always preferred Dunlop’s to Schallers. Sure, you might need to drill a little bit deeper to fi them to your bass, but it’s not exactly a ‘faff’ is it?

[CamdenRob]

The Dunlop ones that came on my Fodera are useless if you want to use a strap thicker than a sheet of clingfilm... 😐

[Frank Blank]

Here’s a pic of the Schaller strap button for n the ACG which is an eleven year old strap button and also a pic of a Schaller S-Lock strap button that’s three months old. They look very similar, if not the same and I can use a normal strap securely with both.

Edited March 5, 2020 by Frank Blank

[mangotango]

Yes, S-locks for me, on each of my Spectors.

On my Bass Collection, however, I have a genius piece of kit which is a strap with locking plastic - a bit like this one:

https://www.stringsdirect.co.uk/parts-c4/strap-buttons-strap-locks-c115/ernie-ball-4056-2-wide-polylock-black-strap-for-guitar-bass-p10551?gclid=CjwKCAiA44LzBRB-EiwA-jJipJXTdx11qr6ruU-5F01F-L_RiRksSDcz6SytShNevmUWHIttUE5ILBoCiwYQAvD_BwE#fo_c=1949&fo_k=ddb9e24f70bf500dc154a1aab09a42fb&fo_s=gplauk?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_term=

Fits any of my basses or guitars and is remarkably durable - I've had it a decade and it's never let me down. As a relatively inexpensive and versatile option, it's not a bad shout.

[itu]

Take a look at this:

http://www.vigierguitars.com/html/Description_US/strap.html

[Woodinblack]

3 hours ago, Frank Blank said:

Here’s a pic of the Schaller strap button for n the ACG which is an eleven year old strap button and also a pic of a Schaller S-Lock strap button that’s three months old. They look very similar, if not the same and I can use a normal strap securely with both.

 

Yes, like that.

If you want to use that with just a regular strap, you are a braver man than me!

That is much worse than just using an ordinary strap button that comes with any guitar. That is what I like about the dunlops, they are about as big as an ordinary strap button so you haven't actually lost anything putting one on.

 

 

 

[neepheid]

I think people are jumping on your use of the word "can't" when perhaps "shouldn't" would have been more appropriate.

[Paulhauser]

4 hours ago, Woodinblack said:

I used to like the schallers, but had a few that unscrewed themselves. Apparently they have fixed that problem now, or mitigated it somewhat, so worth trying out.

The advantage the dunlops have is that if you end up with the wrong strap, you can still use a normal strap on a dunlop where you can't with a schaller.

Had to watch the video posted above to understand what you meant about using Dunlops with normal straps as the two basses I have Dunlops on have recessed "pins" , they are flush so there is nothing to attach a normal strap to. Never knew that they are offering pins, too. 
I'm using Schallers for most of my basses for the last 15 years, gig regularly and never had any Schallers unscrewing themselves. But I have to note that I tighten the strap-part especially strongly and check the pin screws every string change (when I normally oil the board and check up the bass in general)

[Frank Blank]

1 hour ago, Woodinblack said:

Yes, like that.

If you want to use that with just a regular strap, you are a braver man than me!

That is much worse than just using an ordinary strap button that comes with any guitar. That is what I like about the dunlops, they are about as big as an ordinary strap button so you haven't actually lost anything putting one on.

Ah got you. Seems to hold the particular straps I use securely enough.

[BigRedX]

You really need to try all the various options - Schaller, Dunlop, rubber washers, screwing the strap directly onto the instrument before you can make an informed decision.

Both the Schaller and Dunlop systems can suffer from user error when fitting and neither are 100% fool proof if you've never used them before. The Dunlop model does require additional maintenance in the form of making sure the ball-bearing mechanism is kept lubricated otherwise it will seize up and stop locking.

The other two methods make removing the strap from the instrument less than straight-forward which can be a problem if you need to remove it for transport or storage and not risk the strap damaging the bass.

Edited March 5, 2020 by BigRedX