Friday, March 25, 2016

Strap Locks for Guitar - Dunlop Recommended by Dave Smith

Probably only electrical musicos will see a need for these because electric guitars are almost always heavier than acoustic guitars and a solid-body electric guitar will always be heavier, usually much heavier.

The problem to solve is the strap coming loose from the guitar is an almost guaranteed broken neck because it will probably be impossible to catch her before she crashes to the floor.  However she hits it will be a sad day because it's almost impossible for the girl to survive a hit like that.  Electric guitars sound so tough but really they're quite delicate and that needs / deserves respect.

In forty-five years, I had never heard of strap locks and I discovered I have a friend who swears by them.  He was holding his guitar in such a way that I remarked I would never do that because I have a deathly fear of the girl getting away and breaking her neck.  He sez no problem and this is why.

From Guitar Center we find Dunlop Dual-Design Straplok System Black and Dunlop is the specific recommendation of my friend amid offerings from a number of different vendors.  They come in multiple finishes (e.g. gold, silver, nickel, etc) but my preference is black.


Here are the individual bits comprising the Dunlop System:




Here are the bits after installation and ready for use:



Probably you can see the little nubbies on the end of the part which inserts into the receiver on the body of the guitar and constitutes the locking mechanism.  My friend swears by the System and the picture sure shows he trusts it.  (I don't have permission to use the pic so you will need to visit Dave Smith on Facebook to see it.  Many will likely know him better as Anek Fuchs from SL.  Yah, the man can play.)


There is one li'l twist and there's always one li'l twist, isn't there.  I'm not clear on why this should happen but I have had trouble with each of the Godin xtSA guitars in that the screw for the upper strap receiver would work its way loose and then instead of the strap coming off, the entire receiver would come off.  That was solved with Gorilla Glue and that's a hell of a solution but anything which saves the life of a guitar is a friend of mine.

Mounting this Dunlop System would likely mean removing the screws by fairly savage means and that would mean filling in the aftermath with wood putty so the same location can be used again.  That solution is so ugly it's almost better to live in fear but it remains a consideration because fear is the mindkiller, blah de blah blah.

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