SchallerAccordion Accessory (14010501)

I have been using schaller locking strap locks on all of my guitars since the early 90's. For 20 years, I never had one break, come undone, or let a guitar fall.. then around 2000 every single new one I bought, or came included with a (fender) guitar, ended up breaking and coming undone. For some reason, and I believe it is the quality of the metal of the inner washer, they ALL broke... and I had stopped using them for that reason. FYI, my old ones still are holding on.. Then, they released this new design with the promise of a quieter more secure attachment.They are expensive, and considering the low quality original design produced by Shaller over the last couple of decades, I was reluctant to try them out again.. but I did... I'm happy to say that they are indeed, once again, a worthy purchase.You will need an allen wrench to install the screws, and a very small screwdriver like the kind to fix glasses, neither of which are included. The new design allows for thick leather straps, which is what I use, and I have not had a problem with fit on any strap I have used. You'll need that small screwdriver to tighten the nut on the strap, which keeps it well attached and is a welcome addition.The old original design had a problem with installing the screws in the original hole. A common trick was to insert a toothpick to help with the grip. The new button and screw are combined, self threaded, and the old hack is no longer needed. You will use your own allen wrench to screw it in. Works great.. HOWEVER I have noticed one issue. On my Fender Strat Elite, which is made of ash, the screws slowly unscrew from the guitar body. No, I do not move around alot, this is from just regular playing, taking the guitar on and off, and it takes several weeks, but all of a sudden I'll look down and see the strap attached perfectly to the button, but the screw has come almost all the way out. A quick grab of the allen wrench and all is good again, until a couple of weeks later. So, this is something I have to check on constantly. FYI, it has not happened with any of the other guitars I use these on. My Les Paul, Telecaster, Flying V, Explorer, and several others have not exhibited this issue. I think it has to do with the Ash wood and the tight grip of the new design. Perhaps a little glue might help.The new design promised to be quiet. Those of us who used the original design will all testify how noisy and clattery they were. You could actually hear the noise through your guitar amp. The new ones have indeed solved this problem brilliantly and is a very welcome addition to the design.They are expensive, but worth every penny for those who wish to protect their fine guitars from the damages that can happen all too often when a strap pops off the button. You'll need a couple of your own tools, and those with ASH guitars may wish to either keep an eye on those screws or try some glue.All in all. I do highly recommend the new design and definitely warn other guitarists to NOT purchase the older design, or even use it if you got it for free. They are flawed. The new design is well done and has proven once again that Schaller makes a great product.

(1) Nice and compact buttons that are beautifully finished.(2) Black screws supplied look a little bit cheap compared to a brightly plated screw.Two screw lengths supplied - a short one and a long one. In my opinion one medium length screw (not supplied) would be ideal.(3) Choose your strap carefully because if the strap material (leather most common) is even moderately thick like many quality leather straps (Levy is a common brand), you will encounter great difficulty installing the lock on the strap because of the limited length of the threads on the lock.(4) With a new not-too-thick Levy leather strap, I found I had to use sharp scissors to trim a bit of leather (small triangles on each side) in order to be able to work the strap end over the threaded portion of the lock and have enough threads to protrude above the strap end so that the thin nut can engage the threads using just my thumb and fingers to start the nut.(5) It is important to securely attach the lock to the strap. I carefully used a small 6-inch "Crescent" wrench on the thin nut and a small pair of slip-joint pliers on the side of the lock that fits over the button. To prevent marring the nice plating on the lock, I pad the pliers with a strip of scrap leather. Using the right size wrenches I can get the strap lock tight enough, but not so tight that the fine-pitched lock threads could be stripped which would be unfortunate.(6) One final point: There are no "perfect" strap locks on the market that I know of. Schaller Strap locks main "drawback" is this: Due to the small diameter "head" of the Schaller strap button, you are tempting an unfortunate accident if you use a strap without the lock. If you don't like to use strap locks, at least replace the Schaller button with a standard strap button with a larger diameter "head".Thanks for reading and good luck with your strap lock experiences!

I have these strap locks on all of my guitars , and they work great . They are good looking and dependable. What more can I say .

I recently bought a limited edition Gretsch G5420TG hollow body guitar. It is a beautiful instrument, and of very pleasing quality overall, but one thing bothered me; the guitar comes from the factory with straplocks of a sort, but these are merely knob type thumbscrews that screw onto threaded posts in the guitar. The problems with this arrangement are they tend to loosen up with the strap attached after a while, and also the threads are not very precise and it's easy to cross thread them. I wanted something better for this guitar, and the Schaller locks are perfect. It was a ten minute task to remove the existing factory lock posts, and substitute the Schaller lock buttons. Another five min to fit the locks themselves to my favorite strap, and total perfection. This is one of those rare products where I see no way or reason to change or improve it in any way.

I take photos for a lot of local shows and have had the misfortune to see a few guitars dropped onstage thanks to artists using the standard OEM strap buttons without any locks. I have 9 guitars currently and while not all of them are ultra expensive, the time and work I invest into them is.I am also not a fan of reliced guitars either. To me every instrument is an investment and how it looks shows something about the player's personality. The fakeness of a pre-purposesly worn out guitar does nothing to impress me.The same with a car or your house, how it looks shows your level of care or lack of it. Even if I only spend $200 on a guitar, I want it looking and reflecting that I take care of my gear. Just like tools at work, if you take care of them they'll be there for you when you need them the most.This is a very small investment on insuring my guitar doesn't wind up bouncing on the floor or stage and cracking or destroying something I regard as a part of myself. Let alone ruining a performance!