AG195 strap button

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Author Message Pitchpocket Username: Pitchpocket Registered: 12-2005 Posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 11:47 am:    I bought an AG195 in November and it did not have the strap button at the neck heel installed. According to the seller (Guitar Trader), this is normal because people want them in different places. Although the flat heel is the obvious spot, location is pretty important and I don't want to bore into the guitar in an inappropriate area or put it in a spot that is in the way. Does anyone have ideas or recommendations? Acetan Username: Acetan Registered: 09-2003 Posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 1:24 pm:    I've put the strap button on my AG195 as pictured: and on my FA100 and FG100, they are at a different spot: Both locations worked ok. Ace Wildfield Username: Wildfield Registered: 05-2005 Posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 3:38 pm:    I like that Ibanez sells the guitar without the strap button installed. It seems that placement is very personal. I cannot comment on what will be best for you, but here are some comments nonetheless: 1. I have heard some guitarists say they do not like to place the strap button on the neck heel (refer to Acetan's second photo of the blonde guitar) because it gets in the way or hinders their left hand when playing above the 12th fret. Personally, I do not find this to be the case, but I have heard many people who have made this comment. 2. I have an Epiphone Zephyr Regent which came with the button installed on the heel cap (refer to Acetan's first photo of the AG195). The only reason I do not like it there on my Zephyr Regent is that there is a shoulder or raised edge where the cap meets the body. This sometimes does not seem to allow the strap to seat securely. If the hole had not been drilled before I received the guitar, I would have located the button on the heel instead of the cap just because I don't like the way my strap engages the button in it's present position. 3. I once considered place a strap button on the heel cap of my (then) brand new Taylor 912C guitar. Like you, I decided to really think about it and consult others before committing to the placement of the button by drilling a hole. Good thing I did. I was told by the shop that sold me that guitar that less than a 1/2" below the heel cap was one of the steel bolts that secured the neck. I double checked Taylor's website and their tech sheet confirmed the location of the neck bolts. Had I not asked first, I would have run right into the bolt before drilling a hole deep enough to accomodate the strap button screw. Pitchpocket Username: Pitchpocket Registered: 12-2005 Posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 4:10 pm:    Thanks for your thoughts. I thought about both of those places, the flat and/or carved part of the heel. They are the obvious choices and I've seen them done on my own and other guitars. Tell me what you think about this idea. I thought about the back of the guitar where the neck fits into the body (maybe about one half inch or so south of the pin in photo #1). There is a large block of wood there that may be better than putting it in the carved or narrow part of the neck heel itself. I'm not sure about comfort and balance, but it would keep it and the end of the strap well out of the way when reaching in the upper frets. I really don't want to hang a strap off the head stock either. Not for any concern over the neck or headstock itself, but for aesthetic reasons. I may do it for a while during my hand wringing over drilling a hole in my new guitar. I'm going to sleep on it for a while and decide. An old woodworker, I've always ascribed to the adage "measure twice, cut once". Acetan Username: Acetan Registered: 09-2003 Posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 5:02 pm:    Hi Pitchpocket, I have the strap button at the spot you mentioned on my LE420 and it works fine. I do find the button gets in my way on my FA100 and FG100 as Wildfield mentioned but they were installed by the previous owner and I hate to drill an extra hole. Personally, I wouldn't have put it there. Ace Petruz Username: Petruz Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 5:10 pm:    pitchpocket, i think that the best place i ever saw for a strap pin is is the curve ABOVE the neck. i had a gb10 wich came with the strap pin mounted this way (see photo) and it was SO more confortable than my other archtop guitars in general. the difference is particularly big when you're playing standing: with the strap pin mounted above the strings axis the instrument actually HANGS under the strap, and naturally "flips" inward (so you can look better at the fretboard). if the strap pin is located under the axis the guitar will flip outward, facing the ground. argh! Pitchpocket Username: Pitchpocket Registered: 12-2005 Posted on Tuesday, January 10, 2006 - 5:37 pm:    Petruz, I like it. Is there some blocking behind it to secure the screw or is the ply thick enough to provide adequate anchor? Petruz Username: Petruz Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 12:53 pm:    pitchpocket, i don't have that guitar anymore (sigh), so i can't tell you. i'm sure that there's people here in the forum that can advise you. anyway that that strap pin was very solidly anchored. it would be impossible to access it internally so i bet the plywood was quite thick. Acetan Username: Acetan Registered: 09-2003 Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 2:17 pm:    It is a great spot for the strap button on solids like a Les Paul. But I would not want to place that much load on the side of a full or semi acoustic. Just my 2 cents. Ace Pitchpocket Username: Pitchpocket Registered: 12-2005 Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 7:13 pm:    I'd feel better if it were in something a little more solid than just the plywood of the body. A luthier or someone with the right tools and patience, could probably reach the spot with a small fender washer and a nut and bolt through. But I'm not sure I'd do that. I don't like drilling holes in the guitar, but I'm leaning toward the block in the back as the lesser of all evils. The screw is planted solidly in a block of wood and the pin is well out of the way of my hand. I've got nothing pressing my decision, so I'll continue to ponder. I'll call my luthier and get his opinion too. Regg Username: Regg Registered: 09-2005 Posted on Wednesday, January 11, 2006 - 8:45 pm:    I sit with my guitars a lot with a footstool, and I doubt I would try to drill this lovely thing myself. I dunno...if I get desperate enough, I'll take a trip to the luthier, we'll see. All my other electrics have their strap buttons, but I never had to do that myself. BTW, does anyone use the Fender black neoprene straps? Those are really comfortable! My LP used to feel like it was going to rip my arm off, but now it's pretty comfy, considering. Sorry about the totally useless post. Petruz Username: Petruz Registered: 05-2004 Posted on Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 3:44 am:    i just bought a cushioned strap (my as200 weights...). it's called "comfort strapp" and it's fantastic. besides the extra cushion it "gives" a little, absorbing part of the load. Funkle Username: Funkle Registered: 12-2001 Posted on Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 5:43 pm:    I would not put a strap button anywhere there is not solid wood below at least the depth of the screw. That rules out the side mount as Petruz has done - I bet that screw will pull out eventually. On the AG195, the button could also be mounted just below the heel where Ace mounted his, as there is a solid block at the neck joint. As far as straps go, I really like the heavy padded leather straps that you can get from Levy's or Carvin. They are great for heavy guitars. Acetan Username: Acetan Registered: 09-2003 Posted on Thursday, January 12, 2006 - 11:29 pm:    I found this nice leather strap by Musicman in the late 70's. It is a full 3.5 inches wide and I reserve it for the heaviest I got: the 2640, the 2617, and the AR150. Ace

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