Artie Owl Posted September 29, 2010 Share Posted September 29, 2010 Ok, I see it mentioned on here a lot, but I don't know that I quite grasp what a straplock is and how they're installed. I understand that it's essentially a two piece system that interconnects to keep your strap from coming off, but from the look of the kits, do you have to drill into your SG to do it? Because I am NOT cool with that. Before I order anything can anyone give me a detailed acount of what you did to install them. I'm looking at a set of Dunlops from Musician's Friend for 15$, I need help! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onlyme Posted September 29, 2010 Share Posted September 29, 2010 Ok, first let me say that i am not a pro and I am happy to be corrected but..... They replace the existing strap "buttons" on your guitar. As such, the only drilling you may have to do is to widen the existing holes slightly if the screws supplied with the straplocks are wider than the originals. If you try to force a wider srew in, it may split the wood. The only other concern would be that the new screws may be longer than the originals as well. I have no experience of the Dunlop straplock so I cant say if either case is the fact but I am certain that you will not be drilling any extra holes unless you deliberately chose to change the location of the strap points. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Onlyme Posted September 29, 2010 Share Posted September 29, 2010 http://forum.gibson.com/index.php?/topic/55653-straplock-noob-question/ Read that thread for a lot of good info! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Owl Posted September 29, 2010 Author Share Posted September 29, 2010 Thanks, I usually do a search before posting but I'm a little out of it today, still I don't see an immediate benefit to buying those and doing that unless you're doing some stage performing and throwing your guitar around a lot. I think I'll just use a bit of string and tie it around the outside of the strap button on my regular one for now. Not enough reward for the effort imo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibSinCity Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Thanks, I usually do a search before posting but I'm a little out of it today, still I don't see an immediate benefit to buying those and doing that unless you're doing some stage performing and throwing your guitar around a lot. I think I'll just use a bit of string and tie it around the outside of the strap button on my regular one for now. Not enough reward for the effort imo. "Not enough reward for the effort", you say... You don't have to be throwing your guitar around to benefit from straplocks. I've read plenty of horror stories about people who didn't think they would need locks. Where the person "Couldn't believe that the guitar just fell". I can't gurantee it, but I'll bet if the day comes (And let's hope it doesn't) that your string solution malfunctions, and you're staring down at a damaged guitar, perhaps with a snapped neck, you'll be thinking, "Why didn't I spend the $25 bucks?" They're such an easy, effective precaution to take. If you value your instrument, the reward is worth the effort... IMO Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Owl Posted September 30, 2010 Author Share Posted September 30, 2010 I'll consider it, Meanwhile given the detail you've explained, I hope you're not the victim of that kind of tragedy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedgeSG Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 A.Owl straplocks should be as much of a requirement as brushing your teeth or wiping your butt. That said, I'm sure everybody has their favorites, but I'll throw out my prefrence for Schallers. Love the secureness of their system, to me the Dunlops have some slack/slop that seems a bit weird for the intended use. Another great thing about Schallers is that the individual parts can be purchased through Stewart MacDonald. If you use one strap on several guitars you can buy one pair of locks and some additional pins or vice-versa. Wedgie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibSinCity Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 I'll consider it, Meanwhile given the detail you've explained, I hope you're not the victim of that kind of tragedy! No. Luckily, I've never been the victim of a strap mishap. But that's because years ago, after seeing a friend of mine snap the neck on his new guitar, I've always used straplocks. Good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman5293 Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 It looks like I'm gonna have to make the same suggestion again. Straplocks are not required! Why worry about having the right size screws and finding the right strap locks to fit your guitar when you can just use a locking strap? Does the job way better and it fits on any guitar. http://store.daddario.com/category/146443?language_id=1¤cy_id=1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibSinCity Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 The point is, protect your guitar. Weather it's with typical strap-locks, or something "New & Improved". How, and if you protect it beyond tying a piece of string around the strap button is up to you. Again, good luck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Owl Posted September 30, 2010 Author Share Posted September 30, 2010 Tman, I'm sure those straps are really effective but I find them horribly ugly, no offence! So, has anyone installed straplocks that don't require drilling? I.E The hardware is the same size? I'd be on board for that kind of thing. The only time I've ever drilled into a guitar is when I added inch and a half wood screws to my input jack on my Godin to keep the jack from coming loose repeatedly, that worked, but nothing on my SG yet. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbonesullivan Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Gibson stock strap buttons are dinky pieces of aluminum. They are smaller than the buttons used by just about every other maker. Replacing them is a must. I can't believe they still put those little things on guitars like they do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Yeah I find those locking straps pretty unappealing too. They're ugly (IMO) and the ends look like they would scratch your guitar pretty badly. I also don't see how they do what straplocks do but way better. I've been using the stock buttons and a Levis strap on my SG the whole time I've had it. I've always been aware of the potential problem so I've never dropped it. I put the strap on in a way that it won't fall off (and it's more comfortable) and I also always keep a hand on or under my guitar to catch it if it falls. With that being said, I've been thinking about getting some straplocks. I just don't want to deal with all of this screw business. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman5293 Posted September 30, 2010 Share Posted September 30, 2010 Tman, I'm sure those straps are really effective but I find them horribly ugly, no offence! So, has anyone installed straplocks that don't require drilling? I.E The hardware is the same size? I'd be on board for that kind of thing. The only time I've ever drilled into a guitar is when I added inch and a half wood screws to my input jack on my Godin to keep the jack from coming loose repeatedly, that worked, but nothing on my SG yet. Yeah I find those locking straps pretty unappealing too. They're ugly (IMO) and the ends look like they would scratch your guitar pretty badly. I also don't see how they do what straplocks do but way better. I've been using the stock buttons and a Levis strap on my SG the whole time I've had it. I've always been aware of the potential problem so I've never dropped it. I put the strap on in a way that it won't fall off (and it's more comfortable) and I also always keep a hand on or under my guitar to catch it if it falls. With that being said, I've been thinking about getting some straplocks. I just don't want to deal with all of this screw business. Not sure what you guys think is so ugly about them. Mine is plain black. Looks just like any other strap. And it doesn't scratch your guitar at all. I would have stopped using them if they did. The side that makes contact with the guitar is hard smooth rubber and will not scratch your guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pete c Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 from what Ive read from past posts the locking straps dont work well on an sg, some people say you have to twist the strap and put it on back wards for it to fit the neck button. also one night at practice the lead player we had was just standing still talking, his strap popped off his LP and neck hit the back of a chair and broke one of the tunner pegs off. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EVOL! Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 You are all making this harder than it needs to be. I use these Dunlop plastic straplocks. Works with your current strap and no need to drill into your precious Gibson. They are also cheap, last forever, and work like a charm. I spent three years playing around the Midwest; acting like a stupid monkey, jumping, and doing kicks with my guitar. These straplocks never failed me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 Yeah evol I've been thinking about those. I'll probably pick a couple up next time I'm getting some new strings or something. I hate it when people have the strap all twisted up on their SG. It's very simple to put in on so that it's not like that and it's actually much better than the button placement on a LP or Strat IMO. Same with the 335. I like the button on the back that way ythey strap lays flat. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Artie Owl Posted October 1, 2010 Author Share Posted October 1, 2010 I'm glad I'm not the only one who doesn't want to drill into my SG, I was thinking along the same thing as that button instead of re-drilling. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dub-T-123 Posted October 1, 2010 Share Posted October 1, 2010 My main concern is dealing with the screw issues but aside from that I just think straplocks are big and ugly and I don't want to be poked by them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibSinCity Posted October 2, 2010 Share Posted October 2, 2010 from what Ive read from past posts the locking straps dont work well on an sg, some people say you have to twist the strap and put it on back wards for it to fit the neck button. That's just the way the SG is designed. The top strap button faces the player. There's no need to twist the strap. Just put the straplock on the opposite side of the strap on that end, so the outside of the strap is against the guitar. I have Schallers on all my guitars. I've had them on my Gibson SG Standard since 1993 when it was new. There was no complicated, extensive drilling required. And absolutely no drilling into the guitar. It's really simple. Only the rear straplock was drilled just enough to accept the original Gibson rear screw, not the guitar. The original screw went right back in and tightened up just fine. They've never failed, come loose on me, or needed tightening in 17 years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GibSinCity Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 A.Owl straplocks should be as much of a requirement as brushing your teeth or wiping your butt. That said, I'm sure everybody has their favorites, but I'll throw out my prefrence for Schallers. Love the secureness of their system, to me the Dunlops have some slack/slop that seems a bit weird for the intended use. Another great thing about Schallers is that the individual parts can be purchased through Stewart MacDonald. If you use one strap on several guitars you can buy one pair of locks and some additional pins or vice-versa. Wedgie +1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iddude Posted October 3, 2010 Share Posted October 3, 2010 GibSinCity is right IMO; +2. I've had holes made slightly larger on some of my Gibby's to accommodate Schallers. You can't see the hole anyway. I would rather have a slightly larger screw hole than have a guitar with a peghead snapped off or a major dinger because of the original strap button failing. The round black plastic locks used with the original Gibson buttons are better than nothing; but I wouldn't trust them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lazarusvt84 Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 Not sure what you guys think is so ugly about them. Mine is plain black. Looks just like any other strap. And it doesn't scratch your guitar at all. I would have stopped using them if they did. The side that makes contact with the guitar is hard smooth rubber and will not scratch your guitar. ...but will the rubber react with the finish??? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tman5293 Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 ...but will the rubber react with the finish??? Nope. I've been using the locking strap for several months now and the only thing it does is leave a smudge that easily comes of with polish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wedgeSG Posted October 5, 2010 Share Posted October 5, 2010 OK, time to present the new way to skin the cat. THE PROBLEM: Schaller button will not accomodate the factory strap button screw. Schaller screw is too small a diameter for factory hole. MY SOLUTION: Use the factory screw with the Schaller button and here's how. This is similar to GibSinCity's idea but I wasn't too keen on enlarging the strap pin hole for fear of losing retaining material in the load bearing area of the pin. SOOOO, put the factory screw into the chuck of a variable speed drill and slowly spin the screw head against a flat bastard file to reduce the diameter of the head until it just drops into the Schaller button. This way you can sneak up on a perfect fit. You dont lose the head's centering base taper and the now square sides fit the pins internal bore even better. If you're feeling especially machinisty now, finish it up with a quick spin over some 220 grit paper for any slight burrs that may result. Obviously you need to use a fine tooth file for this but it's possible that coarser grit papers might also work. I like a file to maintain the square sides better, however. Reinstall and enjoy. Additional tips, drop of glue on the screw threads and tossing the felt washers will go a long way toward ensuring that screw stays tight once installed. Wedgie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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