Guitar Strap Storage

[kentwinterton]

Just wondering how most of ya'll store your guitar straps. Since I first started taking lessons as a pre-teen I have just put my guitar in it's case and folded the strap over the strings and latched the lid. This is how my guitar teacher did it so I mimicked her. It has dawned on me lately that this is maybe not a good practice. My question is do you take off your strap every time you put your guitar in its case? Of course, those of you who leave your guitars out on a stand all the time can just leave the strap on. But I case my guitar after every session and just fold the strap over as I said above. Interested to hear some responses. Kent

[botofogo]

Here's a thread showing one solution:
https://www.acousticguitarforum.com/...d.php?t=576679

[Guilty Spark]

[Steve DeRosa]

Used to leave them on in younger days, remove and store in case now; only exceptions are banjos - those cradle and Chicago-screw straps are a royal pain in the posterior to remove/reinstall...

[YamahaGuy]

All mine come off the guitar and go into the top open area in the case under the headstock. I have a strap for each guitar. And they all use Dunlop straplocks on at least one end, sometimes both ends.

[Dru Edwards]

I have a couple on the guitars, which are on wall hangers. The rest are in a box in my guitar room closet. I'm going to fix that soon, just need to decide what to do. Great ideas here on the AGF.

[Silly Moustache]

I make (almost) al my own straps - app 4 m/m thick leather, secured on heel end with Schaller straplocks.

Like Yamaha guy, the straps are folded, and stored under or above head-stock in the cases.

Whilst all are veg tanned leather, I would NEVER put a strap against the finish of my guitars, nor would I compress the guitar against the case with a strap.

I do keep mini tuners on the headstocks with no ill effects, and I like to keep a clean bar towel over the body to retain humidity.

[FrankHudson]

I don't tend to strap my acoustics. I play sitting down the majority of the time in what is very loosely "classical guitar position" where I don't find a strap is needed. It is annoying when I'm "producing" and "engineering" with other players in that I have to set the guitar down to go over to some other area to adjust something, but I'm rarely tracking acoustic with other instruments in a live room and even with a strap the bulk of an acoustic would be in the way even if hanging around my neck.

On electrics, it's a different story. My studio electrics are out in racks, with straps, and ready to grab.

I tend to need straps even when playing sitting for electric basses. Straps on them even in my little office where I type this and do overdubs and all in the box no-amps playing.

It might make sense to store a few straps in my studio and swap them onto the guitar I'm playing at the moment, but I do switch back and forth a lot, so it's one less thing to fiddle with or find it's not adjusted to quite the right length for that guitar.

When I used to gig, I would see a lot of players doing the strap folded in half over the strings in the fretboard area thing. Like the OPs teacher I get the idea this it sort of a time-honored practice copied from one musician to another. I don't think I'd do this with modern metal strap locks, but otherwise I don't see it any more harmful that Silly M's tea towel over the body. There's no finish there to harm. I've done no "crash tests," but it might even be somewhat helpful in prevent the headstock break via whiplash on a bad case drop. I myself have never seen a guitar broken in mid neck where it rests on the case (Murphy has?) so loosing what a fractional amount of "crush space" in that area might be less of a concern than a similar amount of possible movement up and down at the fulcrum area in a catastrophic case drop. Maybe this is why the old-times did this? Anyone know, or get told a reason?

When I did gig I'd put straps in the accessories compartment on my electrics on my flat "Fender" style cases, or folded under the headstock for thin straps in "Gibson style" guitar-shaped cases. One significant exception: my workhorse electric in my punkier days was a Telecaster copy which used a screw mount that replaced the strap button. I find it hard to believe this in my elder years, but I used to sling it around to play behind my back etc and do Townsend-style bent leg leaps. Never a strap failure! That strap just stayed on the guitar along the edge of the body where the case fit had enough room.

[Misifus]

My guitars all live their lives on hangers on the wall. Therefore, their straps remain attached to them. On the rare occasions that I take one out for air, I either take the strap loose from the heel button, and lay it over the strings, as described, or I remove the strap completely, roll it up and stash it in the case pocket. The difference is entirely up to the fit of the instrument in its case. However, it has literally been years since either of those things happened.

[Mark Stone]

Originally Posted by kentwinterton

Just wondering how most of ya'll store your guitar straps. Since I first started taking lessons as a pre-teen I have just put my guitar in it's case and folded the strap over the strings and latched the lid. This is how my guitar teacher did it so I mimicked her. It has dawned on me lately that this is maybe not a good practice. My question is do you take off your strap every time you put your guitar in its case? Of course, those of you who leave your guitars out on a stand all the time can just leave the strap on. But I case my guitar after every session and just fold the strap over as I said above. Interested to hear some responses. Kent

For me, it just depends on the case. My 110e lives in a Hiscox Pro II case where there's a lot of room, so the strap stays on the guitar. My 814ce DLX lives in a Taylor Grand Auditorium case which fits the guitar like a glove (no room for a strap), so I roll up its strap and put it in the gear box.

The only thing I'd be careful with is the possibility of the strap material(s) wrecking the finish on a Nitro guitar, so that needs to be kept in mind.

[OregonJim]

Originally Posted by Steve DeRosa

Used to leave them on in younger days, remove and store in case now; only exceptions are banjos - those cradle and Chicago-screw straps are a royal pain in the posterior to remove/reinstall...

Exactly the same here. Banjo stays on. All others come off when the instrument goes in the case. For the non-cased guitars out on stands or on the wall, I have 5 or 6 straps that rotate to whatever I'm playing.

[ManyMartinMan]

Originally Posted by kentwinterton

.... I have just put my guitar in it's case and folded the strap over the strings and latched the lid. This is how my guitar teacher did it so I mimicked her....

Definitely the thing not to do. They are straps so I have no protocol for them. I keep 2 on my mic stand in the studio and the others are thrown in a bin. They come out if needed and go away (like everything else) when not in use.

[rstaight]

I have a strap for each guitar. Some are cloth others leather. They all come off, get rolled up, and put in the case.

[ahorsewithnonam]

Lay them over my amp or my case rack.

[B. Adams]

I have fixed-length straps that are one layer of leather, with straplocks on them. I roll them up and put them in the compartment under the neck in each case. They roll up fairly small, so it works great for me.