
Fig. 1 -Strap buttons come in an amazing array of shapes and sizes.
Everything you need to know to easily secure your acoustic or electric.
For most performers, it's essential that a guitar has strap buttons (Fig. 1). Though many guitars come with strap buttons already installed, some don't. If you have a guitar without strap buttons and want to install them, the good news is it's a straightforward job—if you know the correct procedures.
There are two critical considerations: The first is to find the right location. If strap buttons are installed incorrectly, your guitar won't balance well when you play standing up. The second consideration is to be very careful when installing a button on the neck heel—you can crack it. So, using both an acoustic and an electric guitar to illustrate the process, let's find out how to do this right and avoid those potential problems.
Our instruments.
Recently, a client brought in two guitars: a Larrivée OM-03 Vintage Sunburst and a 2002 Gibson SG Supreme. The Larrivée already had an endpin, but it lacked a strap button. The owner wanted me to install one so he could stand when playing onstage. For the SG Supreme, he wanted me to replace the stock buttons with a set of locking devices, so he could safely rock out with his band. For the Larrivée, we decided on a standard nickel-plated strap button and felt washer from Allparts; for the SG Supreme, we chose Schaller Security Locks.
One caveat.
My client wondered if adding a strap button would devalue his acoustic. On most modern flattops, a correctly installed strap button won't devalue the instrument (two exceptions are high-end vintage guitars or classical guitars). A strap button is useful for working musicians, and most guitar manufacturers will offer to install one before the guitar leaves the factory. Another reason to add a strap button to an acoustic is that tying a strap around the headstock (the old-school approach) can damage the finish, and in some cases, add unnecessary pressure to the neck joint. There's a lot of debate about this. Most collectors would never want anything installed on a guitar that was not considered original, so if you have a vintage axe keep this in mind.
Selecting the location.
Fig. 2 (left) To install a strap button on the treble side of a flattop's neck heel, you need to take two measurements. One is the distance down from the fretboard. Fig. 3 (right) The second measurement is the distance away from the body.
Let's begin with the acoustic. The first step is to decide where to install the strap button. For the Larrivée, I determined that the best location was on the treble side of the neck heel about 1 1/4" below the top of the fretboard (Fig. 2) and about 1 1/2" out from the body (Fig. 3). I selected this spot for balance and structural integrity: This placement will keep the guitar from leaning away from you when you play, and this part of the neck heel is very stout, so you won't have to worry about cracking the heel—assuming the button is installed correctly, as we'll discuss in a moment.
Fig. 4 - Mark the strap button's location by pressing the screw tip into the wood.
Once you've made these two measurements and located their intersection, mark it. You can mark the location using a pencil or gently press the strap button screw into the heel (Fig. 4).
Tip: If you use a screw to mark the drilling location, be careful not to slip—you could scratch the heel.
Selecting the drill bit.
The goal is to drill a hole that's slightly smaller than the outside diameter of the screw. If you use a drill bit that's too big, the screw will strip the wood and the button will not hold properly. Most strap button screws are relatively close in size, but they do vary depending on the manufacturer. Make sure you measure both the threads and the screw shaft so you know what size drill bit to use.
For example: The outside diameter (including threads) of my strap-button screw was 9/64", and the shaft (without threads) was about 7/64" in diameter. By choosing a 7/64" bit, I left enough wood for the screw to tap (or thread) itself into the heel without damaging it.
Gauging drill bit depth.
Fig. 5: Measure drill bit depth, then mark it with a red Sharpie.
With the screw inserted into the button, measure the depth needed for the screw and mark your selected drill bit with a red Sharpie (Fig. 5). This way, you'll know how deep to drill the hole. If you drill too far, you could hit the neck pocket. But if the hole is too shallow, you could crack the heel when you install the screw. Measure carefully and get it right.
Drilling the hole.
This is where all your measurements pay off. Remember, you don't have to push hard—let the drill and bit do the work. You simply control the process by keeping the bit aligned and watching the depth (Fig. 6).
Fig. 7: Countersinking the hole with a Phillips screwdriver.
Before you insert the screw, use a medium-tip Phillips screwdriver to countersink the hole you just drilled (Fig. 7). This prevents the finish from chipping around the hole when you insert and tighten the strap-button screw. After countersinking the hole, install the strap button with a small felt washer between the wood and metal. The washer prevents the strap button from marring or denting the finish and wood, and it looks nice.
Fig. 8: Place a felt washer between the neck and button, then slowly tighten the screw until
the button is flush to the neck heel.
Voilà—a correctly installed strap button can add utility to a steel-string guitar (Fig. 8).
Strap-locking devices.
Fig. 9: Each Schaller Security Lock consists of an integrated screw and button, a locking mechanism that attaches to the guitar strap, and a washer and nut used to secure the locking device to the strap.
There are many different types and brands of locking devices on the market, but as I mentioned, my client wanted Schaller Security Locks (Fig. 9) for his SG. Once you've selected your locking hardware, it's crucial you measure the length of the included screws that go into the body and subsequently attach to the locking mechanism. In a moment, we'll see why.
The work begins.
Fig. 10: Comparing the length of the stock SG screw and button (left) with the Schaller screw.
Installing the Schaller button on the SG's lower bout was easy because it was already pre-drilled for the original strap button I'd removed. Because the Schaller screws with their integrated buttons were longer than the original Gibson hardware (Fig. 10), I redrilled the hole to the proper depth using a 7/64" drill bit. So far, so good.
Fig. 11: The Schaller screw is too long for the SG's neck joint—it might hit the truss rod.
Ah, but the other strap button was a different story. On SGs, Gibson typically installs a strap button on the back of the guitar, right behind the neck joint. After I removed the stock button and measured the depth of the Schaller screw against the SG's neck joint (Fig. 11), I realized the screw would penetrate too far and possibly hit the truss rod. Yikes!
This left me with two choices: see if I could use the original hardware, or shorten the supplied Schaller screw and integrated button. Fortunately the Gibson button fit inside the Schaller locking mechanism, so I decided to reuse the original screw and button, rather than shorten and rethread the Schaller screw. Once again, I included a felt washer between the body and button.
Loading the strap.
Fig. 12: Attaching the Schaller Security Lock to the strap.
One of the features that makes the Schaller system so secure is that the locking mechanisms attach to your strap. It's simple: Slip the strap-lock base into the strap's slit. Place the included washer over the device's shaft. Using a 9/16" deep-well nutdriver, tighten the nut over the washer (Fig. 12). This makes it nearly impossible for the locking mechanism to slip out of the strap. Rinse and repeat.
To mount the strap to the guitar, simply pull up on each lock's post, slip the lock onto its respective button, and release the post to lock it to the button.
[Updated 10/8/21]
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- Guitar Shop 101: How to Install a Soundhole Pickup - Premier Guitar ›
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- (Acoustic) Size Matters - Premier Guitar ›
- Guitar Shop 101: How to Install a Soundhole Pickup - Premier Guitar ›
Lollar Pickups introduces the Deluxe Foil humbucker, a medium-output pickup with a bright, punchy tone and wide frequency range. Featuring a unique retro design and 4-conductor lead wires for versatile wiring options, the Deluxe Foil is a drop-in replacement for Wide Range Humbuckers.
Based on Lollar’s popular single-coil Gold Foil design, the new Deluxe Foil has the same footprint as Lollar’s Regal humbucker - as well as the Fender Wide Range Humbucker – and it’s a drop-in replacement for any guitar routed for Wide Range Humbuckers such as the Telecaster Deluxe/Custom, ’72-style Tele Thinline and Starcaster.
Lollar’s Deluxe Foil is a medium-output humbucker that delivers a bright and punchy tone, with a glassy top end, plenty of shimmer, rich harmonic content, and expressive dynamic touch-sensitivity. Its larger dual-coil design allows the Deluxe Foil to capture a wider frequency range than many other pickup types, giving the pickup a full yet well-balanced voice with plenty of clarity and articulation.
The pickup comes with 4-conductor lead wires, so you can utilize split-coil wiring in addition to humbucker configuration. Its split-coil sound is a true representation of Lollar’s single-coil Gold Foil, giving players a huge variety of inspiring and musical sounds.
The Deluxe Foil’s great tone is mirrored by its evocative retro look: the cover design is based around mirror images of the “L” in the Lollar logo. Since the gold foil pickup design doesn’t require visible polepieces, Lollartook advantage of the opportunity to create a humbucker that looks as memorable as it sounds.
Deluxe Foil humbucker features include:
- 4-conductor lead wire for maximum flexibility in wiring/switching
- Medium output suited to a vast range of music styles
- Average DC resistance: Bridge 11.9k, Neck 10.5k
- Recommended Potentiometers: 500k
- Recommended Capacitor: 0.022μF
The Lollar Deluxe Foil is available for bridge and neck positions, in nickel, chrome, or gold cover finishes. Pricing is $225 per pickup ($235 for gold cover option).
For more information visit lollarguitars.com.
A 6L6 power section, tube-driven spring reverb, and a versatile array of line outs make this 1x10 combo an appealing and unique 15-watt alternative.
Supro Montauk 15-watt 1 x 10-inch Tube Combo Amplifier - Blue Rhino Hide Tolex with Silver Grille
Montauk 110 ReverbThe two-in-one “sonic refractor” takes tremolo and wavefolding to radical new depths.
Pros: Huge range of usable sounds. Delicious distortion tones. Broadens your conception of what guitar can be.
Build quirks will turn some users off.
$279
Cosmodio Gravity Well
cosmod.io
Know what a wavefolder does to your guitar signal? If you don’t, that’s okay. I didn’t either until I started messing around with the all-analog Cosmodio Instruments Gravity Well. It’s a dual-effect pedal with a tremolo and wavefolder, the latter more widely used in synthesis that , at a certain threshold, shifts or inverts the direction the wave is traveling—in essence, folding it upon itself. Used together here, they make up what Cosmodio calls a sonic refractor.
Two Plus One
Gravity Well’s design and control set make it a charm to use. Two footswitches engage tremolo and wavefolder independently, and one of three toggle switches swaps the order of the effects. The two 3-way switches toggle different tone and voice options, from darker and thicker to brighter and more aggressive. (Mixing and matching with these two toggles yields great results.)
The wavefolder, which has an all-analog signal path bit a digitally controlled LFO, is controlled by knobs for both gain and volume, which provide enormous dynamic range. The LFO tremolo gets three knobs: speed, depth, and waveform. The first two are self-explanatory, but the latter offers switching between eight different tremolo waveforms. You’ll find standard sawtooth, triangle, square, and sine waves, but Cosmodio also included some wacko shapes: asymmetric swoop, ramp, sample and hold, and random. These weirder forms force truly weird relationships with the pedal, forcing your playing into increasingly unpredictable and bizarre territories.
This is all housed in a trippy, beautifully decorated Hammond 1590BB-sized enclosure, with in/out, expression pedal, and power jacks. I had concerns about the durability of the expression jack because it’s not sealed to its opening with an outer nut and washer, making it feel more susceptible to damage if a cable gets stepped on or jostled near the connection, as well as from moisture. After a look at the interior, though, the build seems sturdy as any I’ve seen.
Splatterhouse Audio
Cosmodio’s claim that the refractor is a “first-of-its-kind” modulation effect is pretty grand, but they have a point in that the wavefolder is rare-ish in the guitar domain and pairing it with tremolo creates some pretty foreign sounds. Barton McGuire, the Massachusetts-based builder behind Cosmodio, released a few videos that demonstrate, visually, how a wavefolder impacts your guitar’s signal—I highly suggest checking them out to understand some of the principles behind the effect (and to see an ’80s Muppet Babies-branded keyboard in action.)
By folding a waveform back on itself, rather than clipping it as a conventional distortion would, the wavefolder section produces colliding, reflecting overtones and harmonics. The resulting distortion is unique: It can sound lo-fi and broken in the low- to mid-gain range, or synthy and extraterrestrial when the gain is dimed. Add in the tremolo, and you’ve got a lot of sonic variables to play with.
Used independently, the tremolo effect is great, but the wavefolder is where the real fun is. With the gain at 12 o’clock, it mimics a vintage 1x10 tube amp cranked to the breaking point by a splatty germanium OD. A soft touch cleans up the signal really nicely, while maintaining the weirdness the wavefolder imparts to its signal. With forceful pick strokes at high gain, it functions like a unique fuzz-distortion hybrid with bizarre alien artifacts punching through the synthy goop.
One forum commenter suggested that the Gravity Well effect is often in charge as much the guitar itself, and that’s spot on at the pedal's extremes. Whatever you expect from your usual playing techniques tends to go out the window —generating instead crumbling, sputtering bursts of blubbering sound. Learning to respond to the pedal in these environments can redefine the guitar as an instrument, and that’s a big part of Gravity Well’s magic.
The Verdict
Gravity Well is the most fun I’ve had with a modulation pedal in a while. It strikes a brilliant balance between adventurous and useful, with a broad range of LFO modulations and a totally excellent oddball distortion. The combination of the two effects yields some of the coolest sounds I’ve heard from an electric guitar, and at $279, it’s a very reasonably priced journey to deeply inspiring corners you probably never expected your 6-string (or bass, or drums, or Muppet Babies Casio EP-10) to lead you to.
Kemper and Zilla announce the immediate availability of Zilla 2x12“ guitar cabs loaded with the acclaimed Kemper Kone speaker.
Zilla offers a variety of customization to the customers. On the dedicated Website, customers can choose material, color/tolex, size, and much more.
The sensation and joy of playing a guitar cabinet
Sometimes, when there’s no PA, there’s just a drumkit and a bass amp. When the creative juices flow and the riffs have to bounce back off the wall - that’s the moment when you long for a powerful guitar cabinet.
A guitar cabinet that provides „that“ well-known feel and gives you that kick-in-the-back experience. Because guitar cabinets can move some serious air. But these days cabinets also have to be comprehensive and modern in terms of being capable of delivering the dynamic and tonal nuances of the KEMPER PROFILER. So here it is: The ZILLA 2 x 12“ upright slant KONE cabinet.
These cabinets are designed in cooperation with the KEMPER sound designers and the great people from Zilla. Beauty is created out of decades of experience in building the finest guitar cabinets for the biggest guitar masters in the UK and the world over, combined with the digital guitar tone wizardry from the KEMPER labs. Loaded with the exquisit Kemper Kone speakers.
Now Kemper and Zilla bring this beautiful and powerful dream team for playing, rehearsing, and performing to the guitar players!
ABOUT THE KEMPER KONE SPEAKERS
The Kemper Kone is a 12“ full range speaker which is exclusively designed by Celestion for KEMPER. By simply activating the PROFILER’s well-known Monitor CabOff function the KEMPER Kone is switched from full-range mode to the Speaker Imprint Mode, which then exactly mimics one of 19 classic guitar speakers.
Since the intelligence of the speaker lies in the DSP of the PROFILER, you will be able to switch individual speaker imprints along with your favorite rigs, without needing to do extensive editing.
The Zilla KEMPER KONE loaded 2x12“ cabinets can be custom designed and ordered for an EU price of £675,- UK price of £775,- and US price of £800,- - all including shipping (excluding taxes outside of the UK).
For more information, please visit kemper-amps.com or zillacabs.com.