#1
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Strap button location advice
I am going to add a strap pin to my 25 Year old martin with dovetail joint. I don't like strap attached to the headstock and I could use some advise on location. Stew mac has diagram showing 5 possibilities. I have made the decision to add this strap button. Already have the endpin. I have read debates on if this modification changes the value or not. I just need advise on placement please.
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#2
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I am a steadfast advocate for the "Taylor location". The reason is the mechanics of it - by putting the button there, the weight of the guitar pulls the strap tighter so the weight helps clinch the strap and secure it.
The absolute worst and opposite location the the "Les Paul location" where the weight of the guitar works to pull the strap OFF the button.
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Fazool "The wand chooses the wizard, Mr. Potter" Taylor GC7, GA3-12, SB2-C, SB2-Cp...... Ibanez AVC-11MHx , AC-240 |
#3
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For anyone that wants to see the StewMac page you referenced, it's here.
That said, I prefer position #5. #3 or #4 would be my second choice and it's fine until your strap end starts to wear and the stretches a bit. I've had straps slip off. #5 is, imo, the safest in terms of limiting the possibility that a strap will slip off the button. I don't like positions 1 or 2 at all. I'd always be worrying about cracking the guitar with the button sticking out on the back like that.
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Jim 2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi 2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood 2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar 2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce 2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce 1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos. YouTube |
#4
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I put the second photo to show where the original owner had placed the pin too close to the fingerboard (I filled the hole) and I removed and re-installed. This is where all my Martins get a strap button. I cut a leather washer to go underneath, although felt is fine, too. |
#5
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#6
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For those who own guitars with the strap button at position #3 it's a good idea to check and make sure that the builder actually installed a backing block. Gibson didn't bother on this one and eventually the screw hole stripped and the button fell out. Fortunately I discovered the problem and moved it before the guitar took a neck dive to the floor.
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Practice guitar for hours every day. Do that for years on end and one day you will make it look so easy that people who have never done any of that will say that you were blessed with talent. Last edited by DESERTRAT1; 11-12-2015 at 09:48 AM. |
#7
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Position 5.
There is a nice Martin Shop Youtube video that demonstrates the install. Very short, concise, easy to do. I followed it and installed a strap button in that location on my Yamaha 12.
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2019 Martin Custom Shop HD-28 (Adi/EIR) 1998 Taylor 914ce (Engelmann/EIR) 1995 Takamine EN10c (cedar/mahogany) 2013 Yamaha FG720S-12 (Sitka/mahogany) |
#8
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I'm told you have to drill a pilot hole, how large and deep I'm sure is dependent on the size of the strap button business end. I want to put one in the neck heel of my resonator, but chickened out.
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Barry Youtube! Please subscribe! My SoundCloud page Avalon L-320C, Guild D-120, Martin D-16GT, McIlroy A20, Pellerin SJ CW Cordobas - C5, Fusion 12 Orchestra, C12, Stage Traditional Alvarez AP66SB, Seagull Folk Aria {Johann Logy}: |
#9
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I do quite like #3 , what I might call the Strat position, but I realise it would be heresy on a Martin, anyway, all my guitars have already been #5ed. |
#10
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I put a piece of masking tape in the approximate spot, do any measuring needed (although at this point in my career I just eyeball the spot); mark an X; centerpunch & drill. Bear in mind you're drilling into a compound curve, and drill toward what would be the center of that compound radius. I also keep a dedicated drill bit the size for those screws, with a piece of tape on it marking the depth to which it will drill. They are all pretty close to the same size, and I only use one brand/style these days so it works fine & makes for a two minute job to add a heel strap button for myself or a friend. P.S. You didn't ask, but my recommendation for a strap button (and all I use anymore) is the Planet Waves black coated brass button. |
#11
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I would, and have, and will udoubtedly do again, including prewar Martins, every decade from the 1930's until present.
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#12
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One other think to keep in mind - standard twist bits have a tendency to wander, even on a flat surface, let alone the compound curve of a neck heel.
kydave's suggestion of a centerpunch helps prevent that, but what works best for me is a brad-point bit.
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Craig 1977 Martin M-38 1982 Stelling Staghorn 2013 Larrivée D-40R 2014 Andrew White Eos 1011 (sold) 2016 Pisgah Possum |
#13
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I am tempted to make a joke now about it being OK for you putting buttons on those old Martins, but some of us have new ones ... but I wont |
#14
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#15
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You absolutely want to drill a pilot hole so you don't crack the wood. You want your drill bit to be near as wide as the shaft of the screw without the threads.
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Jim 2023 Iris ND-200 maple/adi 2017 Circle Strings 00 bastogne walnut/sinker redwood 2015 Circle Strings Parlor shedua/western red cedar 2009 Bamburg JSB Signature Baritone macassar ebony/carpathian spruce 2004 Taylor XXX-RS indian rosewood/sitka spruce 1988 Martin D-16 mahogany/sitka spruce along with some electrics, zouks, dulcimers, and banjos. YouTube |