Strap button felt washers needed or not?

[Chad]

I've installed Schaller straplocks on pretty much every single guitar I've ever owned. I've noticed some guitars have a felt washer between the button and body while some don't. I used to always think felt washers should be used, so I bought some of the washers from StewMac years ago and used them when I got new guitars that didn't come with them.

In the last year, I've bought some guitars (mostly high end) and have noticed many don't have the felt washers and I've opted to just install the Schaller strap buttons without felt washers.

I realize this is a rather anal retentive/trivial subject, but at the same time I've often wondered why some guitar builders use the felt washers and others don't. Needed or not?

 

[SabbathFan0220]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

No, they're not really 'needed' for any reason. In general Fender uses them and Gibson doesn't. But it does protect the finish under where the button is, so when I put straplocks on I always add one. I use Schallers too. When you take the strap buttons off of a Gibson, you can see the depression in the finish where it was. The felt helps prevent that. I also think it looks nice, if that matters...

 

[80's_Metal]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

I put Schaller straplocks on every guitar as well.
I have never put those felt washers on though.
I also put a tiny dab of glue on the screw, extra extra insurance.

 

[ehdwuld]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

Dunlop Straplocks for me

on everything even the ones I dont play

 

[metlking]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

I put Schaller straplocks on every guitar as well.
I have never put those felt washers on though.
I also put a tiny dab of glue on the screw, extra extra insurance.

Yep, dab of glue and I usualy don't bother with the felt. If it's there I throw it on, if not I don't go looking for one.

 

[GoDrex]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

For some reason I like the felt washers. I always use them. I guess they're not needed but I like 'em.

 

[scottish]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

i always use the felt washers. It gives the strap button something to bite into that isnt the guitar.

 

[DLT]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

I like to put them on my guitars.

 

[Blue313]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

I always use them, just for protecting the finish.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

Needed? No

Better for the Finish? Most definitely.

To me it´s a sign of somebody /a company making the 10 seconds of extra effort to do something properly instead of simply fast and cheap. It´s not a deal breaker when buying an instrument, but I WILL be much more scrutinous of the overall instrument on a guitar that doesn´t have them from the factory.

It´s like the Van halen "no brown M+Ms" rider thing.. If things that simple and trivial are not done, then you know you have to be doubly careful because it probably wasn´t the only corner that got cut.

 

[Jay 77]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

It's because the felt really rounds out the tone.... jeez, you guys should know that.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

^^ I thought it softened it?

 

[Jay 77]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

^^ I thought it softened it?

Depends on the felt density, of course.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

^^ and what´s scary: you just know that there´s someone out there somewhere who believes he hears a difference between cotton and polyester felt, and somebody else is believing it...

 

[blueman335]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

Needed? No

Better for the Finish? Most definitely.

To me it´s a sign of somebody /a company making the 10 seconds of extra effort to do something properly instead of simply fast and cheap.

+1. There's no excuse for a manufacturer not to use felt washers. How much money could they possibly save? To risk cracking the finish to save a few cents is irresponsible.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

^^ well, for a bean counter the savings could appear to be quite large.

washer cost in industrial quantities: maybe half a cent, assuming they aren´t just buying felt and stamping them themselves.
10 seconds per washer to install: about a cent at 10$/hr wages

So we´ll be gracious and say total cost per washer is 1 US cent. That´s 2 cents per guitar. calculated up to 200 thousand instruments a year, that`s 400,000 cents or 40 thousand dollars /year. That´s 2 worker´s salaries or one worker´s salary with decent benefits. 60k if we take the original 1.5 cents /washer approximation.

Again, I agree there´s really no excuse at all for not using them, even on a 2$ guitar, but I can understand why some larger manufacturers might see this as a good point to save a buck before the stockholders drive them to cutting employees.

 

[DLT]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

Remember when all guitar strings had the fine cotton wrap around the ball end side? Gibson still makes them in their vintage guitar string sets. I used to buy those because they looked cool.

 

[Zerberus]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

You mean that wrap that had a tendency to get hung up in just about every type of tremolo bridge on the market?? Yes, I remember, and am glad that that cost was cut for the benefit of greater tuning stability. What good does a string do me if the part nobody can see looks cool but the guitar won´t hold tune properly?

These days I usually only see it on bass strings, where IMO it looks more "in place" as well...

 

[blueman335]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

Gibson ain't making, or selling, 200,000 guitars a year, not at their prices. Not even trying to be the working man's guitar. All the Epi's & other imports I have came with felt washers. If they can do it, everyone else can.

 

[marvar]

Re: Strap button felt washers needed or not?

The felt washers are like putting a blanket on your amp- it just sucks all the tone right outta your guitar!!!

Seriously, I think they are really there to protect the thin finish found on lots of import guitars from cracking, they have come on almost all of my Korean made guitars.