Jesso Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Just recently taken delivery of a rather delicious 95 Streamer NT. It's lovely. It came with recessed strap locks. I think that they are a dunlop model, but I stand to be corrected. I gigged it 4 times last week, and every night I was super stressed out by the seemingly random failing of the front (nearest my left hand) strap lock. It's not a problem I can reproduce, but I think it happens when I tilt the headstock slightly upwards while I play. This is a problem, because that's how I like to play! Unless I concentrate on having the neck of the bass parallel with the floor (horizonntal) I'm rewarded with having to grapple to prevent my bass from falling whilst singing , whilst still playing the bassline! Not good enough really. I've ordered some new ones on line, but with the christmas post etc I can't see them arriving any time soon. I have a run of 5 weddings straight after xmas, and I need my bass to be fighting fit. Because these are recessed straplocks, it's a bit more complicated than just either not using the strap locks at all, or changing them for something else. I have tons of traditional schaller / dunlop straplocks lying around, but they're no use in this situation. I've considered gaffa tape.... but there must be a cleverer short term solution to my problem. Any help much appreciated. [attachment=95679:IMG_1353.jpg][attachment=95680:IMG_1352.jpg][attachment=95681:IMG_1354.jpg] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mart Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Yep, they're Dunlops. I've not had any problems with them (unlike the Warwick locks which seem to have very slack manufacturing tolerances). I guess yours must be a little worn away and so a replacement set should sort you out. If you can't wait for new ones to arrive, then the only quicker options I can think of are: 1) gaffa tape, and 2) try fitting the Schaller locks in place, but use an extra long screw to tap into the hole that's at the bottom of the recess. (You might need to remove the recessed lock, and put a dowel in its place, or you might not). If it's a natural wood finish, I'd be seriously tempted to just use gaffa tape for now. It should be easy to remove, and even if it leaves a mark you can scrub it off with scotchbrite, re-oil the wood and it should look fine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 Hmmm, I can only imagine either the sping-clip on the pin are worn (they keep the ballbearings forced out) or potentially worse; the socket is worn! Until you get the new kit to replace, have you tried reversing the pins and using the upper horn one in the bottom of the bass? Conversely, have you checked to see if the socket is worn? I've not had this problem with those fittings but it must be annoying if you just can't trust them and you have important gigs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BassBod Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 There's only two things to go wrong. Either the groove in the inset is worn and not holding, or the little ball bearings in the the strap part are not moving as they should. Might be worth a small squirt of WD40 or light oil into the bearings on the strap attachment - that may be enough to get them locking again (sparingly..and remove as much oil as you can before re-attaching or trying out the lock). Plugging the holes and fitting other standard buttons isn't that complicated, its worth seeing if there's a local repairer who could do it in a hurry? Long term I'd go for the Dunlop "dual" version that has a more standard button, with the hole for the strap lock mechanism. If you forget your strap (or have problems) you can use any strap without having to re-fit the locks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
warwickhunt Posted December 21, 2011 Share Posted December 21, 2011 [quote name='BassBod' timestamp='1324473857' post='1474648'] Long term I'd go for the Dunlop "dual" version that has a more standard button, with the hole for the strap lock mechanism. If you forget your strap (or have problems) you can use any strap without having to re-fit the locks. [/quote] My Sterling has what I think BassBod is describing; an 'external' version of the OP's Dunlop. They accept the strap-pin as the OP's pic shows but they also act as a standard button if you forget the locking pin and you can just slip a strap around it. Probably the best solution! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jesso Posted December 21, 2011 Author Share Posted December 21, 2011 Brilliant advice everyone, thanks for answering so fast. I've plenty of things to try now to fix the problem. I'll let you know how I get on. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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