If you have read my recent post on an inexpensive(ie, really cheap) way to create your own strap locks with your stock strap buttons, then you will be pleased with this short update.  I wasnt really happy with the ones i had bought from the local hardware store, so I went to the music store that had been selling the pink washers.(see last post pics).

They were of course out of this item, but the store owner then confided in me that these were actually the rubber stoppers that you find on your standard Grolsh Beer bottle.  So he said in a pinch I could go buy a 6-pack of Grolsh, and not only get the rubber stoppers I needed as strap locks but also enjoy a cold one on the back patio while strumming my favorite guitar.  Awesome!!

So now you know.

Saw these at a local music store a few months back, and grabbed a pair.  Basically they are a rubber washer that the guys said works really well as a budget strap lock on your guitar. Just keep your regular strap buttons on the guitar, put on the strap, and slip one of these babys over each strap button.  After trying it out for a few months I found they work like a charm, and they are about 50 cents each.  You cannot beat that, and I know most guitar players are incredibly cheap, like me.

What I also like about them besides saving $20 on strap locks, is that the strap locks I have tried all seem to have one or another slight annoyance about them. I have used the two most common brands, the Schaller and the Dunlop “solutions” for strap locks.  Don’t get me wrong, both of these have never failed to keep the strat on the guitar, so using that metric they are both great products.

I find the annoying things about both these conventional designs are:

-once you have them installed, the strap button/lock combination just sticks out really far from the guitar.  Just try leaning the guitar up against anything and its like the guitar is one on long stilt. Its all balanced on that lower button.

-Plus if you dont take the strap off your guitar, the Schaller at least will wear a hole straight through that gig back of yours.

-You can only use the straps that have the locks attached and cant also use those straps on another guitar in a quick pinch that may have standard strap buttons.

Anyway, I went to the local hardware store and couldnt find the exact size the music store had(1″ diameter x 5/16″ hole), but I did find the black one you see in the pick(3/4″ diameter x 5/16″ hole). The pink rubber one is also a bit thicker, so its really a tighter and more secure fit.  The smaller ones I picked up are not as secure but definitely keep the strap on the guitar.

So there you have it, incredibly inexpensive, easy to install, easy to change to other guitars, and effective way to add strap “locks” to any guitar in your arsenal, without any modifications.