Mess

This is the reason why I advocate for strap buttons to be lined with felt. Over time, metal & the guitar finish would react & create a mess as seen above.  You might say it's hidden away, nothing to worry about but it shows how much care you accord to your instruments. 

Crack

I can never come to terms with the default Gibson strap buttons (right). They made way for the D'Addarios. 

I don't know why Gibson could not include a strap button felt cushion to prevent this from happening. Folks, if you pressure a metal contraption against a lacquered surface without any cushioning, over time, if this pressure is released, the surface will crack. 

This, to me, is a necessary supplement to any guitars featuring strap buttons. It's not a costly investment, folks, so do consider.

The guitar in question is my LP Junior.

Orange justice

Decided to have a set of 10.5s in all 24" guitars. Was actually alright with a set of 10s but 10.5s handle aggression better. There's no mellowing out even with single coils, I am aggressive 😎

I am a firm believer that strap buttons should not come into contact directly with the paint job.

For a small price to pay, our instruments should get some due attention. These are available at Davis GMC/ TYMC.

This was taken near the front door yesterday. That's how much sunlight we get at noon. It's been cold the last few days, folks. 

Gibson: Les Paul Jr Special (2)

Some friends looked at my previous Les Paul Jr Special strap button pic & wondered what was actually wrong. I believe this would show you why the strap button on the right is a defect; a properly installed strap button should have some leeway for the strap material like the one on the left. These buttons are from the same guitar, one at the neck vicinity (L), the other at the tail end (R).

As my guitar isn't a priceless vintage make & it wasn't destroyed by any airline baggage handling staff, I don't think I deserve any special treatments, right?

Wanna read article? CLICK

Button issue

Let's get this straight; this isn't a campaign to bring down any manufacturer brand name but it's a necessary highlight. At the end of it all, I'm alright with the anomaly as I value the instrument in whole more than the fault in part.

My recently received Gibson Les Paul Jr Special is an impressive guitar but one of its strap buttons seems to be the blight to perfection. As you can see here, the button caved into its cavity rendering it useless as hardly any strap material could reside in that space. But hey, this is easily fixed- just replace this puny button with a larger counterpart, especially one with a bigger screw diameter. No sweat.

But the real issue here is, how did this accident get past the Gibson QC chaps? We could all agree to the fact that a name like 'Gibson' would have paid more attention in this department, we all have very high expectations from Gibson, don't we? Maybe models in a certain offering don't get that much scrutiny in terms of QC, hope it's not the case with Gibson.

The yellow fellow (4)

After the finish make-over, I still kept the booster unit in tact. I was thinking of doing away with it because it's seldom utilized but it's a default feature which is unique to this guitar so it's for keeps. The split coil switch was also preserved.

However, the default strap button made way for the Planet Waves version. I like how this dig into the slits of my straps, they also complement the use of locking contraptions like this one: CLICK

Golden buttons

New strap buttons for my Gibson LP Studio PP- Planet Waves buttons, as always but this time it's the gold finish.

ST-72 button

A new pair of Planet Waves strap button's for my Fender ST-72. Take a closer look at the original screw- note the oxidation. Internal components do deteriorate & unlike their external counterparts, we can't see this happening.

Jaguar tamperings (Part 4)

This is the default Fender Jaguar Special HH strap button which I dislike. It features the 'cup' design which serves to expand the strap slit over time.

Replaced it with a Planet Waves version with an additional felt inserted between the guitar body & the button itself.

It's not quite visible from the previous pic but here it is before going into the body. The benefit of having this in there is that it prevents the body finish from fusing with the button. This would prove damaging when you decide to unscrew deteriorated strap buttons for replacement; the button would lift off the finish & you'd hear this awful cracking sound only to realize the affected surface had indeed cracked.

That sticky problem

This here, is my Les Paul Standard. The strap buttons have deteriorated (click pic to see the tarnish/ corrosion). People seeing this would accuse me of neglecting my instrument but I've been eqully passionate about guitar maintenance as much as appraising, playing & owning them. So what might be causing the problem?

This guitar is kept in its hard case, the interior of which is lined with 'fur' (by default) for cushioning & scratch prevention. The protruding parts of the guitar or the ones forming a tight fit against the fur would cause the glue, which is responsible for attaching the former to the hardcase shell, to bleed over time. The glue is the culprit here.

The next time you open your Gibson hard case (or any hard case for that matter), feel the lining for glue seepage; it's best to line those sticky parts with cloth/ other fine fabrics.

Kramer Vanguard Part2

The Kramer Vanguard comes oddly with only a solitary strap button located at the body's bass-side tail bout. If you'd wish to strap this guitar, the other end of your strap slit would go into...?
This other strap button is my own installation, the reason its screw isn't black. If you wish to acquire this guitar, you are hereby forewarned of the lack of a complementary strap button, please do not blame the seller/ dealer for its unavailability.