Straps

JDOD

JDOD

therecordingrebels.com
I think for the first time ever I'm actually thinking about buying myself a nice guitar strap. Contrary to popular belief - aside from when I'm lazing about at home - I do mostly play standing up.

I find straps are like socks, when you're a kid your parents buy them, then you buy the cheapest possible, then your misses buys them.

I'm finally in position to spend some money on something nice and the choice is fucking mind bending. I never thought I'd even remotely give a toss about this before, I've always just bought the cheapest that looked like it wouldn't break. Now I want the fanciest padded leather Gibson number!
 
JDOD said:
I think for the first time ever I'm actually thinking about buying myself a nice guitar strap. Contrary to popular belief - aside from when I'm lazing about at home - I do mostly play standing up.

I find straps are like socks, when you're a kid your parents buy them, then you buy the cheapest possible, then your misses buys them.

I'm finally in position to spend some money on something nice and the choice is fucking mind bending. I never thought I'd even remotely give a toss about this before, I've always just bought the cheapest that looked like it wouldn't break. Now I want the fanciest padded leather Gibson number!
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If you have a heavy guitar, then a broad, padded leather one is a must. I wouldn't get through a gig without mine.
 
Yeah, my new guitar is gonna weight a tonne. I'll probably order one of the really expensive Gibson ones. They do seem like they're just more expensive 'cos the say Gibson on them thought.
 
Go wide, go leather. Those cheap seat belt straps can get pretty stinky if you sweat a lot. Padded/not padded is up to you. For me, I need a strap that can slide on my shoulder. I use leather straps that have a slick underside. They're harder to find but I don't want that suede shit. It's too sticky. A smooth underside can slide over my shoulder so when I move the guitar around it's not yanking my shirt off.
 
Mine is by a company called Gaucho. Really strong leather, suede upper finish, slick underneath. Had it years supporting my gig beast and shows no sign of distress around the straplocks.

Gaucho - premium quality guitar straps

A real alternative to paying through the nose for Gibson.
 
Cheers, I ordered the Levy one in the end. Couldn't bring myself to order a Gibson one when I don't play a Gibson. I did have a look at those Goucho ones but my usual shops don't stock them and I just wanted to get one ordered.

Haha, I feel proud of myself for ordering something sensible!
 
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JDOD said:
Cheers, I ordered the Levy one in the end. Couldn't bring myself to order a Gibson one when I don't play a Gibson. I did have a look at those Goucho ones but my usual shops don't stock them and I just wanted to get one ordered.

Haha, I feel proud of myself for ordering something sensible!
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No worries, just so long as you get something tough and comfortable!

The suede takes a decent paint finish, btw. :)
 

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Just last week I just bought my first new strap in several years. I have a Levys strap for my LP, but all my others are the cheap poly-web ones. I saw some beautiful leather ones on Reverb from a guy named Braun hand making them in Buenos Aires and bought a couple. One in heavy relic red, one in heavy relic black. The red leather one looks pretty sweet on my Jazzmaster.
 
It don't matter about how fuckin pretty your strap is dude....but if you don't get good strap locks, your strap will look better than your guitar eventually...

I always liked a wide strap that's slick too so the guitar moves with me, instead of the other way around...
 
Bubba po said:
My lot must be making the best damn rock and roll in history. :D
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That's why northerners are so good at hard rock.

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minerman said:
It don't matter about how fuckin pretty your strap is dude....but if you don't get good strap locks, your strap will look better than your guitar eventually...

I always liked a wide strap that's slick too so the guitar moves with me, instead of the other way around...
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Hiya, Miner. How you feeling?
 
I'm partial to the Planet Waves woven straps. They are soft and comfortable due to their tubular weave, and they have a huge variety of woven designs. I wanted the same style of strap for all my guitars...and since they make many different designs, I was able to get all of them fitted with a different PW woven strap. They had some really sweet designs to pick from, and they look and feel great. They move smoothly on your shoulder no matter what you are wearing.
The only thing is if you have a head-heavy guitar that wants to dive down, these straps are pretty smooth, and they won't bind on your clothing...so with a head-heavy guitar you might need something different if you depend on the strap to not slide at all on your shoulder.

I was never into the big, wide leather straps with the huge shoulder pads...just never felt comfortable.
These woven straps don't cut into your shoulder at all, but if you need extra shoulder comfort, PW makes a gel filled shoulder pad that will fit most 2" straps. I have a couple of them on hand, mainly when my shoulder/neck hurt for other reasons (I cracked my left shoulder several years back, and also jammed my neck)...so I can just slip the pad over the strap without taking off the guitar (there are Velcro flaps on the pad, so it just wraps around the strap...you don't need to thread it on or anything).

Here's a strap example: Woven Guitar Strap

Here's the gel pad: Gel Shoulder Pad
 
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