Installing a Strap Button on a Martin OOL-17

[Northern8]

I've read other threads that mention various locations on where to install a strap button on a new guitar, and the general consensus is on the treble side of the the neck where it joins the body or on the heel cap.

My HD-28 has one installed on the treble side of the neck, which as aforementioned, seems to be one of the most recommended locations for it. However, I've noticed that the end of the strap rubs against the heelcap/neck joint area as it bends to come up and around while being worn. To add to that, it even makes a squeaking noise when making even the smallest of movements while playing. This has forced me to place a small bit of cloth, tied up with a knot, around the strap button to act as a buffer between the guitar and the strap to prevent both the noise and the rubbing that may undo finish over time.

I just purchased one of Martin's new OOL-17 guitars and am looking at having one installed.

So, as you can figure, I am apprehensive about having my OOL-17's strap button installed just as my HD-28's. Are there any issues with the heelcap for a smaller bodied guitar like this?

Check images below for my OOL-17:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kN...goj5FW5Vgye5rw

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Py...hYruFrG8PtBVvw

[bnjp]

Originally Posted by Northern8

I've read other threads that mention various locations on where to install a strap button on a new guitar, and the general consensus is on the treble side of the the neck where it joins the body or on the heel cap.

My HD-28 has one installed on the treble side of the neck, which as aforementioned, seems to be one of the most recommended locations for it. However, I've noticed that the end of the strap rubs against the heelcap/neck joint area as it bends to come up and around while being worn. To add to that, it even makes a squeaking noise when making even the smallest of movements while playing. This has forced me to place a small bit of cloth, tied up with a knot, around the strap button to act as a buffer between the guitar and the strap to prevent both the noise and the rubbing that may undo finish over time.

I just purchased one of Martin's new OOL-17 guitars and am looking at having one installed.

So, as you can figure, I am apprehensive about having my OOL-17's strap button installed just as my HD-28's. Are there any issues with the heelcap for a smaller bodied guitar like this?

Check images below for my OOL-17:

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1kN...goj5FW5Vgye5rw

https://drive.google.com/open?id=1Py...hYruFrG8PtBVvw

I still like them on the treble side of the heel. Not sure why yours touches the heel cap unless they put it further toward the heel than I usually do. I typically try to place it so that the balance is slightly forward so the weight of the guitar pulls the guitar toward you rather than tipping forward.

As far as your squeeking goes. I wonder if you could use one of those big felt washers that they sell for car battery terminals?

[mirwa]

Originally Posted by Northern8

I've read other threads that mention various locations on where to install a strap button on a new guitar, and the general consensus is on the treble side of the the neck where it joins the body or on the heel cap.

One thing to consider is things can go wrong.

If you go through the heel cap, pretty well impossible to stuff it up.

If you go through the treble side of the heel, it is possible to split the neck open or create a point where a fracture can occur.

In the right hands it should not happen, but these things do sometimes happen and you need to be fore warned

Steve

[Hot Vibrato]

Originally Posted by mirwa

If you go through the heel cap, pretty well impossible to stuff it up.

Not sure what you mean by 'stuff it up", but if you mean that it's impossible to reverse the job so the hole is no longer visible, I contend that it's easier to replace the heel cap than to try to make a hole in the mahogany neck heel invisible.

Originally Posted by mirwa

If you go through the treble side of the heel, it is possible to split the neck open or create a point where a fracture can occur.

This will not happen if the pilot hole is drilled properly. But if the pilot hole is too small or nonexistent, the heel will fracture.

There are pros and cons for any strap button location. I prefer the treble side of the neck heel, except on guitars with cutaways, in which case I will sometimes mount a strap button on the guitar side next to the neck block. This requires adding a small block of wood for the screw to go into. For whatever reason, that location seems more appropriate on an archtop guitar, and I don't think I would ever put one there on a Martin. I've never been a fan of strap buttons installed on the heel cap, but that location may be less prone to strap squeaking.

Another option is to not bother adding a strap button and just tie the strap to the headstock. In practice this is more comfortable and ergonomic than it looks, and it actually seems to bring the neck of the guitar closer to your body when you're playing standing up.

[murrmac123]

Originally Posted by Hot Vibrato

Not sure what you mean by 'stuff it up", but if you mean that it's impossible to reverse the job so the hole is no longer visible, I contend that it's easier to replace the heel cap than to try to make a hole in the mahogany neck heel invisible.

This will not happen if the pilot hole is drilled properly. But if the pilot hole is too small or nonexistent, the heel will fracture.

There are pros and cons for any strap button location. I prefer the treble side of the neck heel, except on guitars with cutaways, in which case I will sometimes mount a strap button on the guitar side next to the neck block. This requires adding a small block of wood for the screw to go into. For whatever reason, that location seems more appropriate on an archtop guitar, and I don't think I would ever put one there on a Martin. I've never been a fan of strap buttons installed on the heel cap, but that location may be less prone to strap squeaking.

Another option is to not bother adding a strap button and just tie the strap to the headstock. In practice this is more comfortable and ergonomic than it looks, and it actually seems to bring the neck of the guitar closer to your body when you're playing standing up.

Good summary, Chris. Although any time I see somebody with the strap tied to the headstock, I get this weird sense of deja vu and I think I am transported back to 1963 ...

The ideal strap pin location IMO would be on the bass side of the heel.

Obviously you couldn't just fit a conventional strap pin there and attach a conventional leather strap with a punched and slotted hole ... the strap would just pull off, but if you had an elegantly machined eyebolt inserted into the heel, and an equally elegant quick release shackle fitted on the end of the strap, such an arrangement would both look far better, and be more ergonomic, than the conventional godawful looking wide strap curling round the heel and hooking on to the strap pin on the treble side of the heel.

I may just machine such an arrangement for my 000-18, on which I currently use a suction cup on the upper bout, next to the heel ...

[Hot Vibrato]

Originally Posted by murrmac123

Good summary, Chris. Although any time I see somebody with the strap tied to the headstock, I get this weird sense of deja vu and I think I am transported back to 1963 ...

Doesn't bother me, although it makes me think more of 1943. Don't you know the "retro" look is hip these days?

Originally Posted by murrmac123

The ideal strap pin location IMO would be on the bass side of the heel.

I've seen that before, although it didn't make sense to me at the time, but your explanation makes perfect sense. If you think you ever will want to sell the guitar, this might be a bad idea simply because it's not a commonly accepted place to drill a hole in the guitar and therefore it could devalue the instrument.

There's a leather shop in my area (Fayetteville AR) that makes straps that don't require a button at the upper bout or heel. They seem to work quite well. Here's their website: http://flyingpossum.net/

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[mirwa]

Originally Posted by Hot Vibrato

This will not happen if the pilot hole is drilled properly. But if the pilot hole is too small or nonexistent, the heel will fracture.

You would be surprised at what we have to repair.

Steve