Review: Schaller Strap Locks

Have you ever been jamming, wailing away on your guitar or electric bass and all of a sudden your strap comes off and your instrument goes crashing to the floor causing nasty dings and dents or worse yet something breaks? I’m sure it has happened to many of you. It just recently happened to me a few times but I was lucky enough to maintain my grip and save my guitar from hitting the hard floor. I always had heard about strap locks but never really bothered to invest in some until this started happening. I purchased some Schaller strap locks and I definitely think it’s a must have, especially if your are gigging. You wouldn’t want your guitar or bass to go flying off at a gig during a song, essentially killing the song and possibly your instrument too.

The Schaller locks replace the stock strap buttons that come on most guitars and basses. One small button piece is screwed into your guitar and the other piece that slides and locks onto the button is secured to your strap with a thin nut and washer. The screw that comes with the locks should easily fit most guitars. I installed them on a Squier Jagmaster and it fit perfectly, so I’m pretty sure it would also fit most Fender models perfectly. The locking mechanism seems very sturdy and would be pretty much impossible to accidentally release. To release the lock, you have to pull up on the small knob with a fair amount of force and then slide the strap off.

The particular set I purchased are the black colored locks to better match my guitar, but they also come in gold and chrome to match most guitars. Since all the Schaller locks are the same and are interchangeable, once you buy one complete lock set, you can then purchase just the base button part that screws into your guitar and install them on all your guitars or basses. That way you can easily use your strap on all your guitars or basses.

There are other brand strap locks available that use a different locking mechanism, but after doing some research I decided on Schaller and am very pleased with them. They retail for around $20 U.S. dollars. So go out to your local music shop and get some. They are very much worth the price especially if you want your instrument lasting a long time.

**UPDATE: Berthos (comment below) brought it to my attention that the pics that I posted of one of the locks was upside down and not in the ideal position for maximum security. Deleted the incorrect pics to avoid confusion and yes, he is correct. The open end of the horseshoe should be facing up for the best results.