Rickresource Rickenbacker Forum

so,

I guess I need straplocks


anything that hooks up to the stock teeny tiny strap buttons on the ric basses?

big al

Schallers

Rickenbacker sells strap holders that will take them.

Also, the newer 2009 models already have these strap holders installed.

My 03 came with them too, I think it goes back some time...

How old is yours?

Excuse my ignorance. My 82 4001 suffered some damage years ago because the strap came unhooked and my bass fell to the floor...can someone show me a pic or URL of the item that I want that will remedy the possibility of this ever happening again? My strap of choice is the thin Vintage RIC strap...hopefully that still works with the straplocks?

Bighouse wrote:Excuse my ignorance. My 82 4001 suffered some damage years ago because the strap came unhooked and my bass fell to the floor...can someone show me a pic or URL of the item that I want that will remedy the possibility of this ever happening again? My strap of choice is the thin Vintage RIC strap...hopefully that still works with the straplocks?

Get one of these:
http://schaller-guitarparts.de/hp135050 ... 1d49XY79e4

...and throw away the bolt part. Then get two of these:
http://www.rickenbacker.com/cart.asp?vi ... cellaneous

...which uses the same thread as the stock strap bolt.

The latter part is original equipment on all standard (non-vintage reissue) Rics since the mid-'90s.

Let me add this: straplocks can sometimes cause annoying resonant frequencies to pop up, usually at a very high pitch, kind of like what happens when a screw vibrates loose. Maybe someone here knows if Loctite or another glue would help. But in any case, because Rics sound SO good acoustically, I rarely plug in just to practice my scales, etc. So as an after-effect I get barraged by the straplock noise. I also think this resonance, however meager, is often out-of-phase with "good resonance" in the body wood and did notice that some notes that were weak with straplocks on got stronger without them. (This test was not the slightest bit scientific, just a single comparison. Lots of unaccounted variables, etc.) For awhile I jammed up the join with electrical tape to absorb mechanical waves going to the lock altogether, but the tape always came undone with time. Now I don't use straplocks at all...

So, any thoughts on this? Similar experiences or suggestions?

Joshua, thanks for that comment. I typically play my bass unplugged...maybe that's not a good idea to really hear what it's doing, but often I'm not playing along or playing anything in particular but practice stuff.

I haven't had an incident of my bass flying off my strap in about 18 years, so maybe I should just stick with what I have.

kennyhowes wrote:Get one of these:
http://schaller-guitarparts.de/hp135050 ... 1d49XY79e4

...and throw away the bolt part. Then get two of these:
http://www.rickenbacker.com/cart.asp?vi ... cellaneous

...which uses the same thread as the stock strap bolt.

I'd go for this advice... got Schallers strap-locks for my 360 JG's Ric strap - only problem is the holes in the strap were tiny compaired to the straplocks. Anyone got any advice on how they enlarged the holes? I simply forced the strap over the straplock...



Cheers,

Werner

Here's another very effective and cheap option:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Hardware,_p ... ystem.html

Not the fastest on/off in the world, but if you want security...

I use a stainless steel fender washer with the vintage strap locks.

Bighouse wrote:Joshua, thanks for that comment. I typically play my bass unplugged...maybe that's not a good idea to really hear what it's doing, but often I'm not playing along or playing anything in particular but practice stuff.

I haven't had an incident of my bass flying off my strap in about 18 years, so maybe I should just stick with what I have.

I'm not trying to discourage you. Actually, I practice unplugged a lot, but I can only do it with Ric basses. If I ever did it with my (ex) Jazz Bass or Stingray, you're right, I couldn't hear what was going on to the fullest extent. But with my Rics, I always want to get the electric sound to just be a louder version of the acoustic sound, so it's okay for me to practice unplugged usually. Besides, Ric basses are so LOUD acoustically... they resonate everything around them, turning your bed mattress or chest or whatever they're close to into a kind of amp. Fun experiment in observing waves: lay down on your bed with your bass, head on your pillow, one ear flush to it. Play low E. First you'll hear it from your exposed ear, the between both ears 50-50 as it moves into your body, then just your covered ear as it moves into the mattress and pillow.

If there's some reasonable way to damp the annoying strap lock resonance, the locks would probably be a good investment.

FretlessOnly wrote:Here's another very effective and cheap option:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Hardware,_p ... ystem.html

Not the fastest on/off in the world, but if you want security...

I bet this would resonate and "sing" less because of the tension of the strap holding it in place.

I use these Gripper strap buttons on my acoustics with good results. http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Hardware,_p ... ttons.html

FretlessOnly wrote:Here's another very effective and cheap option:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Hardware,_p ... ystem.html

Not the fastest on/off in the world, but if you want security...

That looks like the best option if you dont want to remove the original strap buttons...

FretlessOnly wrote:Here's another very effective and cheap option:

http://www.stewmac.com/shop/Hardware,_p ... ystem.html

Not the fastest on/off in the world, but if you want security...

I've used these on my JB for many years. The old style buttons on it are tiny.

My only issue with the schallers on my Ricks are they unscrewed often.

"I practice unplugged a lot, but I can only do it with Ric basses. If I ever did it with my (ex) Jazz Bass or Stingray, you're right, I couldn't hear what was going on to the fullest extent. "

I personally think that's an individual instrument thing, because my JB is much louder than any Rick I've ever had.