Shawn A.
New Member
I just got my first PRS a few months ago (PRS CE 24) along with a nice PRS black leather strap (the one with the birds embossed on it). I love the strap and its holes (which are really more like slits) fit fairly well over the large stock PRS strap buttons. But, being a new PRS owner, I've been really babying the guitar and I worried the strap's soft leather might be able to still slip over the strap buttons without too much effort. So, I decided to start researching strap locks and quickly found people have a lot of favorites (Schaller S-Locks, Schaller original strap locks, Dunlop strap locks, Loxx, and even Fender rubber washers).
I tried the simplest and cheapest solution first which was the Fender rubber washers for $5. The advantage being I didn't need to really "mod" my guitar and worry about possibly enlarging the strap button screw holes. My problem was I couldn't seem to get washers over the large stock PRS strap buttons. I guess maybe I could've actually gotten them over the strap buttons if I really forced them on but at that point I felt it be a real pain to remove them every time I wanted to take off the strap to put the guitar in my PRS hard shell case. I wound up ruling out the rubber washers based on that. Note: I didn't try real Grolsch beer cap rubber washers. Maybe they would be easier to put on and take off -- I don't know.
So at that point I decided I needed actual strap locks. But, which ones? I looked at the Schaller S-Locks which are the latest from Schaller. They looked really nice and secure but I was worried most about the strap button screw size for fear of splitting the guitar's wood or maybe somehow cracking the finish (not sure if that's actually possible). The Schaller screws definitely "looked" like they had a much larger diameter (I can't say for sure) and the last thing I wanted to do was bore out the existing screw holes.
I also considered the original Schaller strap locks which apparently allow you to optionally reuse your existing PRS strap button screws. I'm sure you can find these somewhere online but I didn't see them at the local G.C. store. Based solely on pictures I saw, the only thing I thought I potentially wouldn't like was the profile of strap lock with the attached strap -- it seemed like it would stick out pretty far. To someone whose never used strap locks like me, I thought that would look odd.
At that point, I looked at the LOXX strap locks on the recommendation from others here in the forums. From what I read, they were simple install with no drilling on PRS guitars, had a lower profile than the Schallers, and I'm guessing equally secure. So I went ahead and took the plunge and bought them online for about $19 with free shipping. I got the nickel version to match my existing PRS hardware. I installed them today with no drilling and can attest they work and look great.
Before installing, I used some calipers to measure the original PRS strap button screw outer diameter (threads included) which is 3.5 mm. The Loxx strap button screw outer diameter is 4 mm and have a length much shorter than the PRS screws. I can tell you, though, that 0.5 mm difference gives good wood bite in the existing screw hole so the shorter screw length shouldn't be a concern. I used the included Loxx hex wrench to install the screw but a socket would've worked a bit better since you wouldn't have to worry about the pointy end of the wrench (used for attaching the button head to the guitar strap) possibly scratching your guitar's finish if it were to potentially slip off when you were tightening the screw down. I took a bunch of pictures which I'll try to post later in this thread.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share my experience in case anyone else wanted to research strap locks for their PRS. Hopefully, this will help someone else who loves their PRS and is overly protective like me.
I tried the simplest and cheapest solution first which was the Fender rubber washers for $5. The advantage being I didn't need to really "mod" my guitar and worry about possibly enlarging the strap button screw holes. My problem was I couldn't seem to get washers over the large stock PRS strap buttons. I guess maybe I could've actually gotten them over the strap buttons if I really forced them on but at that point I felt it be a real pain to remove them every time I wanted to take off the strap to put the guitar in my PRS hard shell case. I wound up ruling out the rubber washers based on that. Note: I didn't try real Grolsch beer cap rubber washers. Maybe they would be easier to put on and take off -- I don't know.
So at that point I decided I needed actual strap locks. But, which ones? I looked at the Schaller S-Locks which are the latest from Schaller. They looked really nice and secure but I was worried most about the strap button screw size for fear of splitting the guitar's wood or maybe somehow cracking the finish (not sure if that's actually possible). The Schaller screws definitely "looked" like they had a much larger diameter (I can't say for sure) and the last thing I wanted to do was bore out the existing screw holes.
I also considered the original Schaller strap locks which apparently allow you to optionally reuse your existing PRS strap button screws. I'm sure you can find these somewhere online but I didn't see them at the local G.C. store. Based solely on pictures I saw, the only thing I thought I potentially wouldn't like was the profile of strap lock with the attached strap -- it seemed like it would stick out pretty far. To someone whose never used strap locks like me, I thought that would look odd.
At that point, I looked at the LOXX strap locks on the recommendation from others here in the forums. From what I read, they were simple install with no drilling on PRS guitars, had a lower profile than the Schallers, and I'm guessing equally secure. So I went ahead and took the plunge and bought them online for about $19 with free shipping. I got the nickel version to match my existing PRS hardware. I installed them today with no drilling and can attest they work and look great.
Before installing, I used some calipers to measure the original PRS strap button screw outer diameter (threads included) which is 3.5 mm. The Loxx strap button screw outer diameter is 4 mm and have a length much shorter than the PRS screws. I can tell you, though, that 0.5 mm difference gives good wood bite in the existing screw hole so the shorter screw length shouldn't be a concern. I used the included Loxx hex wrench to install the screw but a socket would've worked a bit better since you wouldn't have to worry about the pointy end of the wrench (used for attaching the button head to the guitar strap) possibly scratching your guitar's finish if it were to potentially slip off when you were tightening the screw down. I took a bunch of pictures which I'll try to post later in this thread.
Anyway, I just thought I'd share my experience in case anyone else wanted to research strap locks for their PRS. Hopefully, this will help someone else who loves their PRS and is overly protective like me.
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