Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

[J E C]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

Schallers all the way. You could always do what Eddy dos and use BIG ASS screw eyes and clasps! LOL

 

[GuitarDoc]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

Schaller = very secure, easy to use, good value. Even IF the locking mechanics should ever fail (which I seriously doubt would ever happen), it would still hold the guitar securely. Great design.

 

[GAS-a-holic]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

Schaller = very secure, easy to use, good value. Even IF the locking mechanics should ever fail (which I seriously doubt would ever happen), it would still hold the guitar securely. Great design.

+1

I have Schallers on all my electrics and have never had a malfunction. I store myguitars in a rack with the straps on, but I do check every time I put one on to make sure the nut hasn't worked loose.

 

[Fusion1]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

I've had more than one close call with the Dunlop lock disengaging while playing. No guitar but good thing for my fast reflexes once the lock gave out. The flaw is anything that hits the button automatically disengages the locking mechanism. If you are playing wildly and moving around a lot this can happen more frequently than you'd imagine. Schallers for me, Schallers for life!

 

[Fusion1]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

i prefer shcallers...ive got them on 3 axes and i have dunlops on one. The schallers just feel safer cos of the way they sit BUT....i reckon you need to use a dab of loctite on then, cos they can come loose. Having said that, the dunlops are very reliable and yo ucan use the buttons on normal straps too.

The dude in your signature highly recommends Schallers! Even after hitting a band mate with the guitar it stays latched. BTW it looks like even if the guy didn't get hit the way he swung the guitar backwards it would have never made it all ter way around.

 

[dystrust]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

This happened to me without me knowing, and then the pin failed, and the guitar dropped - needless to say it landed on a metal footswitch and dinged up real bad.

This is the only time I've had a strap drop a guitar in 20 years, and that includes quite a lot of straps just hanging off of studs in the normal way.

At that point I went to DiMarzio because hey, you're just screwing the strap into the body. Couldn't be safer.

Aesthetically, though, they're not perfect, and so when I want a more traditional look I now go with the Dunlop ones. I just can't trust Schaller any more after that.

+1

I installed a set of Schaller straplocks on my Explorer shortly after getting it in Feb. 2000 because I didn't trust the tiny Gibson buttons. Shortly thereafter the 'U' on the strap rotated and came loose. Luckily for me I was able to catch the neck before it hit the floor. I switched to Dunlops shortly thereafter and haven't had a single problem since. As some have mentioned it's a good idea to check that the post is seated when attaching the strap, and it only takes about 3 seconds. Likewise the 'Schaller incident' is the only time I've had a guitar come off a strap. I do not and will not trust Schaller straplocks.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

Is it really that hard to tighten the nut on schallers? I just put a pair of them on my jazzmaster last night... all it takes is a socket wrench or some pliers.

I ended up going with schaller because I remember how much of a pain in the ass it is to change the dunlops from strap to strap.

just make sure to put them the right way, and you're done. the whole thing seems a little more solid than all the parts needed for the dunlop.

with the schaller if you have the right size wrench you're good to go and you can swap straps as much as you like. granted, some people never swap them, but I have.

 

[pinto79]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

I've been using Schallers for 18 years now. I have them on all but 2 of my electrics and my acoustic.
Each guitar also has its own strap, length adjusted for perfect comfort.

I've had one come loose, but the guitar never fell. I make checking them part of my maintenance regime, take strings off, clean guitar, install new strings, check strap buttons and locks, tighten as necessary...

 

[oilpit]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

Schallers are vastly superior to Dunlops in every way, shape and form...

Dunlops are only a small step above not using strap locks at all. I have no idea why anybody trusts their guitars to those things.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

... I make checking them part of my maintenance regime, take strings off, clean guitar, install new strings, check strap buttons and locks, tighten as necessary...

I have always thought this to be a completely logical, obvious step in making sure your guitar is in shape.

 

[ExplorersRock]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

Dunlop for me, no question. Schallers annoy me for a variety of reasons.

The main reason is compatibility. You can use a strap with Dunlop locking buttons whether the strap has the Dunlop inserts or whether it has no inserts at all. With Schaller strap locks, a strap without the dedicated Schaller "hook" attached slips right off of the buttons very easily. Not every strap I have is equipped with locks, and the Dunlops make this possible. Also, sometimes I forget a strap, and if I do this with my one guitar that has the Schaller locks, I am screwed unless someone else at the gig has a strap I can borrow that already has the Shaller hooks on it.

Another reason is that they feel like a more secure latching mechanism than the Schallers. Reason 2.5 is that because of the design of this latching mechanism, they are quicker and easier for me to hook and unhook.

The third reason is that they look more like most stock strap buttons in terms of shape. And they are even better (tighter and heavier) than most stock strap buttons when used with a strap that doesn't have the Dunlop inserts attached.

The fourth is that you need a wrench to attach or remove the Schaller hooks. You can use a variety of tools (including any old key) to remove or install the Dunlop inserts.

Finally, the orientation of the parts that attach to the strap does not matter with the Dunlops. The Schallers must be rotated to a certain orientation when installing them, or else the strap sits oddly on the buttons.

Schallers are over-engineered and over-dedicated IMO. They may actually be the better built lock, but in terms of real-world usability and common-sense features, the Dunlops are a winner IMO.

I usually install the buttons, but I don't use the inserts except on straps with loose button holes.

+1 for one of the best articulated arguments I've heard in a long time! I'm a Schaller guy but i've got nothing to come back at you with here. Hell, i'm now considering buying a set of Dunlops to compare long term with. :scratchch Nicely done!

 

[fretburner]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

I got Schallers (and 1 Renegade Schaller ripoff) on all my guitars except my RG2550 which had DiMarzio straploks.

 

[jumble jumble]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

I really don't see how this is possible other than you weren't using the Schallers correctly. The design is mechanically and structurally impossible to drop your guitar unless of course the wood breaks or the peg comes out of the guitar itself or the metal of the strap lock system breaks apart which I don't see that happening either. Assuming none of those things happen, the strap peg on the guitar hangs inside the U shape of the piece on the strap. Mechanically, the strap lock has no way of coming off of the peg and failing. The only functioning mechanism that could fail is the pin that holds it in place. But this pin does not take any direct load, it just prevents the strap from coming off of the guitar in the opposite direction of how the guitar should be hanging in the first place. Even if this pin were to fail, there's no way possible for the guitar to fall to the floor if you had the Schaller's installed correctly. However I think you had the piece on the strap installed upside down.

No, I didn't have it installed upside down, it worked its way upside down after installation by turning a tiny bit every now and then. Because this at the time was my only guitar, I never took the strap off and so I never noticed it had turned around.

If your answer to that is to say, well, you were doing it wrong, you have to check that, then yes, I agree. With Schallers you have to regularly check that they haven't stopped working properly. With Dunlops you don't. Given that the entire point of the strap lock is to be a reliable way of holding your guitar, I think one that requires less checking up on is better.

 

[hareek]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

No, I didn't have it installed upside down, it worked its way upside down after installation by turning a tiny bit every now and then. Because this at the time was my only guitar, I never took the strap off and so I never noticed it had turned around.

If your answer to that is to say, well, you were doing it wrong, you have to check that, then yes, I agree. With Schallers you have to regularly check that they haven't stopped working properly. With Dunlops you don't. Given that the entire point of the strap lock is to be a reliable way of holding your guitar, I think one that requires less checking up on is better.

Well I didn't meant to insult your intelligence I was just trying to break it down mechanically. I've had my strap locks for 5 years now and have never had the schallers work there way upside down on the strap, however I have a strap with very thick leather ends and I tightened the schallers down good. No problem whatsoever. I always have to take the strap off in order to get my guitar in the case so every time I put the strap on, it's pretty much a quality check too on the strap locks so I see your point there.

However, assuming everything is installed correctly, in normal working conditions the Dunlops can still mechanically fail and your guitar will fall, and that is simply impossible with Schallers.

I do see some people's points about a regular strap staying on better with dunlop pegs versus schaller pegs, but to me that is a function of the strap and and the guitar. I never had a problem with my strap coming off the schaller pegs that came with my strat before I installed the locking mechanism on the strap. Again, it must be the thick and heavy duty leather ends preventing that from happening.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

you guys keep talking about double checking your strap on your guitar like it's some massive pain in the ass that gets in the way of all the rocking you are doing.

all it takes is a tug and a glance.

 

[jumble jumble]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

Well I didn't meant to insult your intelligence I was just trying to break it down mechanically. I've had my strap locks for 5 years now and have never had the schallers work there way upside down on the strap, however I have a strap with very thick leather ends and I tightened the schallers down good. No problem whatsoever. I always have to take the strap off in order to get my guitar in the case so every time I put the strap on, it's pretty much a quality check too on the strap locks so I see your point there.

However, assuming everything is installed correctly, in normal working conditions the Dunlops can still mechanically fail and your guitar will fall, and that is simply impossible with Schallers.

I do see some people's points about a regular strap staying on better with dunlop pegs versus schaller pegs, but to me that is a function of the strap and and the guitar. I never had a problem with my strap coming off the schaller pegs that came with my strat before I installed the locking mechanism on the strap. Again, it must be the thick and heavy duty leather ends preventing that from happening.

No worries, no insult taken. For me it was just enough that they dropped my guitar to not want to use them any more. Saying its impossible with Schallers is obviously not true! It happened! The "assuming everything is installed correctly" is basically getting around it by saying, they can only go wrong when something is wrong. They were installed correctly, and then they worked loose, and then they dropped it.

 

[hareek]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

Saying its impossible with Schallers is obviously not true! It happened!

ha good point. But as astro just said, it doesn't take but a second to check out the strap locks. I'll say it again that installed properly, the schallers are safer in my opinion. To each his own though.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

No offense, but if you are using a device that you know has a nut that isn't fixed, in other words it isn't glued or welded or anything, to me it's only logical that you check on it at least every once in a while.

 

[Jessie's ghost]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

Tastes great!

Less filling!

Tastes great!

Less filling!

all it takes is a tug and a glance.

This is not a secks forum.

 

[astrozombie]

Re: Straplocks: Dunlop VS. Schaller

Tastes great!

Less filling!

Tastes great!

Less filling!



This is not a secks forum.

I actually thought about that and giggled before you had pointed it out.