Tagged As: Ibanez Guitar Strap
Question:
I'm contemplating adding a strap button to my Ibanez AW100CE acoustic/electric. I'm pretty confident in how to do it but I'm not sure what would be the optimal location. Should I place it on the neck heel or under the arch that leads up to the heel?
Answer:
I would not put the strap button anywhere on the heel. Usually there is enough wood on the side of the guitar near the heel. If not, it's very easy to glue a small block of wood inside the guitar and you can screw your strap button into the block. Drill a nice round hole just large enough for the screw to go through the thin side of the guitar. Don't forget to pre-drill the block with a small drill so that the block does not split. Also, don't forget space for the end of the strap so don't but the strap button up against the heel. I still say that the heel should not be tampered with for many reasons : 1. because it may crack, 2. the guitar does not hang well, 3. there is a truss rod nearby, 4. the guitar strap is attached at an odd angle that could lead to it getting unhooked, 5. strap button sticks out the back of the heel, 6. they always seem to catch on clothes, etc. As for the inside of the guitar, the preamp is not near the heel of the guitar on the inside of the body. If it is....I guess you will have to move it or risk a crack in the heel of the guitar. I am not saying that there will be a crack but the heel is a piece of hardwood that is prone to cracking. Also, the heel and the neck are not one piece but 2 pieces glued together. As for the block inside the body of the guitar..... I have only seen one guitar that did not have a thick piece of wood near the neck that was large enough to screw the guitar strap button into. I use a 2 x 3 size block approx 1/2 thick if there is not enough wood inside the guitar near the heel. A nice clean 1/8 hole is drilled through the side of the guitar so the screw can slip through into the block that can be held in place with your fingers until the strap button screw is installed or a drop of glue can be used to hold the block in place. I have yet to see a pre-amp/equalizer that would hinder any block of wood inside the guitar or be installed so close to the neck to prohibit the installation of a guitar strap button. If using the side of the guitar body to install the strap buttons was so dangerous, there wouldn't be a strap button at the bottom of the guitar.
Adding a strap button
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Comment #1 (Posted by guitar george)
Well there is already a factory-installed big block of wood at the end of the guitar, so that strap button doesn't cause any problems of course. But this does sound like a possible good idea. I never even thought of it. I did put a strap button on the heel of my Sigma DM 1 ST and it worked okay. But you're right in that it doesn't really seem to hang properly. If you let it go it tends to fall face down. I plan on getting a new acoustic soon. Do you think installing a button on the side would be okay without gluing the block? Also, the side isn't completely flat in that area unless you have a very square shouldered model like a Hummingbird etc. Do you think that the slight curvature there would cause the side to distort or crack when you tightened it into the flat block?