Do I need a strap locking system on my Les Paul? - and if so - which one?

[Bob Ross]

Originally Posted by Musiclab

The only way your guitar can fall out with the Schallers is if you completely never pay attention to then and they wind up upside down.

Actually, the problem I had with the Schallers wasn't with the lock/button interface, but with the strap attachment method: The stock washers are (or were? this was ~1985) much smaller than the ones the Dunlops come with, and so it was annoyingly easy for the entire Schaller straplock to twist its way out of the hole in the strap.

[Bluzzi]

Originally Posted by Musiclab

I think so, I didn't have them for that long when this happened, but my Les Paul
is heavy, but still, never again. The only way your guitar can fall out with the Schallers is if you completely never pay attention to then and they wind up upside down.

That is strange but on mine you have to pull on the spring loaded center pin to insert or remove them from the guitar part. So even if the guitar is upside down that part will not come off. It just spins in place.

The strap part is the weakest especially if you get a strap with slits instead of a single round hole. The slit allows for the strap lock pin part to go through and out the strap because it does not "lock" the pin into it. If your strap has a single hole then it is a lot better and unlikely to come off if you tighten the nut properly. However the strap material is leather or some other fabric and eventually will wear off or weaken enough to rip and not hold on to the lock washer. Of course this happens when you have the most stress on it...which is when your guitar is on your shoulder!

The idea of always leaving the locked strap on the guitar is probably the better idea. But I'd still periodically check on the parts and maybe change to a new or stronger strap when you see fit.

I still feel better with a lockstrap on my guitars.

Cheers

Jim

[Musiclab]

Originally Posted by Bluzzi

That is strange but on mine you have to pull on the spring loaded center pin to insert or remove them from the guitar part. So even if the guitar is upside down that part will not come off. It just spins in place.

The strap part is the weakest especially if you get a strap with slits instead of a single round hole. The slit allows for the strap lock pin part to go through and out the strap because it does not "lock" the pin into it. If your strap has a single hole then it is a lot better and unlikely to come off if you tighten the nut properly. However the strap material is leather or some other fabric and eventually will wear off or weaken enough to rip and not hold on to the lock washer. Of course this happens when you have the most stress on it...which is when your guitar is on your shoulder!

The idea of always leaving the locked strap on the guitar is probably the better idea. But I'd still periodically check on the parts and maybe change to a new or stronger strap when you see fit.

I still feel better with a lockstrap on my guitars.

Cheers

Jim

Well mine did not, if you think about it what's better about the Schallers is ifthelocking pin lets go you guitar will still not fall out.
And Bob, all the schallers I've bought in the last few years
fit my straps perfectly

[philoking]

I put dunlops on all my guitars and they just making the whole strap on, strap off, strap detangle thing so painless.

[Jules]

Er...

Slight problem.

The screws with the schallers are much thinner than the originals on the guitar. So it will be a v poor / lose fit. And the fatter / longer screws won't fit through the schaller parts.

Gahh!

What now!?

[TenaciousJ]

Originally Posted by LimpyLoo

[TenaciousJ]

Originally Posted by Jules

The screws with the schallers are much thinner than the originals on the guitar. So it will be a v poor / lose fit. And the fatter / longer screws won't fit through the schaller parts.

Yep, they use some beefy screws on Les Pauls. I did actually solve it with duct tape. I wouldn't necessarily recommend it though; the strap will come off if it's folded over on itself. But I can say that none of the multiple scratches on my old LP are from dropping it and I've had this taped up strap forever.

(I think this may qualify for There, I Fixed It LOL)

When I finally retire this strap (soon, very soon) my plan is to unscrew the posts and put metal washers on there that are physically impossible to fit through the holes in the strap. Permanent solution, I see no reason to ever take the strap off.

[kennybro]

Originally Posted by Jules

Er...

Slight problem.

The screws with the schallers are much thinner than the originals on the guitar. So it will be a v poor / lose fit. And the fatter / longer screws won't fit through the schaller parts.

Gahh!

What now!?

Toothpicks. Put some of yellow wood glue on a toothpick and shove it in the screw hole. Then shove another toothpick in, wipe off any excess glue, and screw the smaller screw in. It should grab tight and hold. When the glue dries, everything is tied together.

Or, Augustino LoPrinzi's trick of filling the hole with steel wool, and then putting the new, smaller screw in. This has also worked for me but I prefer to toothpicks & glue.

[lds]

Yep, toothpicks and carpenter's glue.

I knew there was another reason I switched from Schallers to the Jim Dunlop strap locks. Along with having beefier screws, the Dunlops allow you to use strap buttons with wider shoulders, and retain the strap more safely without the locks. And actually, the buttons Gibson put on my old EB3 when they refinished and rewired it for me at the factory about ten years ago were the Dunlop type. That may have been the tech's personal preference though, since he uses them on all his guitars.

[dimag333]

grolsch rubber seals from their 20 oz's

[TenaciousJ]

Inspired by this thread I have a new strap and a new way of keeping it on the guitar. Thought about turning the washers around but I like my new "STRAPLOK SYSTEM" so I left the text visible.

I did have to steal a part from my Flying V to get things fitting right. Gonna have to work that out soon; I want to do the same thing to all my other guitars.

[rumbletone]

i use washers. straplock hardware always seemed to loosen from the strap or getted stripped threading, and they were a bit clanky for studio use. i've never had a strap come off with washers, and the only downside is that it takes longer to remove the strap from the guitar. no modification to the guitar, and they cost pennies.

[vodka gimli]

Planet Waves Elliptical Endpins