Top 7 Best Guitar Strap Lock

Guitar strap locks are not always high on the list of must-have accessories. But please, don’t wait until it’s too late to get some. Don’t wait until you’re looking over your smashed-up guitar with your head in your hands. Nightmare.

Also, don’t make the mistake of thinking that strap locks are only for people doing guitar spins, or generally abusing their guitars. Because they’re not. They’re for everyone.

The good news is that there are plenty of affordable options to be had.

All the best guitar strap locks we look at today can be used with electric, bass or acoustic guitar straps.

So, here are seven options for you to consider, plus a free cost suggestion, to keep your guitar off the floor and where it belongs.

Top 7 Best Guitar Strap Lock For Your Budget 2020 Reviews

1 Dunlop SLS1031N Straplok Dual Design Strap Retainer System

Let’s dive in with the first set of strap locks we’re looking at today. The Dunlop SLS1031N Straplok Dual Design Strap Retainer System in nickel. That’s a bit of a mouthful.

These are a long-established and affordable strap lock with plenty of years behind them in keeping your guitar off the deck. They are a well-tried and tested two-piece system comprising of a strap lock button and locking pin.

The strap lock button is a straight swap out for your old one and easy enough to install. The video recommends using a drill to widen out the hole. We’d suggest just trying to screw it straight in first. In most cases, this will work. Just ensure you don’t use excessive force. If the screw doesn’t go in freely, then it’s out with the drill.

The pin part of the strap lock is attached to the strap.

Once fitted, to connect the strap to the guitar, the pins on the strap simply push into the buttons screwed into the guitar. To disconnect the strap, simply press the end of the releasing pin.

Dunlop strap locks are easy to put on and take off. Because they are so easy to swap out if you have multiple guitars, but a favorite strap, it’s easy to switch between guitars once you have the system installed on all of them.

This is a very reliable best guitar strap lock system, and with Dunlop claiming to have release-tested the locks up to 800 lbs, you can be confident that they’ll do their job.

What’s more, once fitted, the ball and groove design allows the guitar to freely move whilst playing.

They’re also available in a choice of four different colors, so matching them with your guitar hardware won’t be a problem.

That’s nice.

2 Schaller S Locks Guitar Strap Locks & Buttons

Schaller S Locks are one of the more expensive strap locks but are also one of the most dependable and long-established options available. The quality of the Schaller strap locks is plain to see, making them one of the best rated guitar strap locks on the market. Even the clear case they come in shouts class.

Unlike a lot of alternate strap lock systems available, Schaller uses hardened steel in their products. This is a German company, after all. It makes their high level of engineering and manufacturing hardly surprising.

The design features a locking screw and threaded ring used to attach to the strap. There are some fairly complicated instructions to make this attachment, but once you have the pieces in front of you, it’s a relatively simple process.

Likewise, the attachment of the low-profile strap lock button into the guitar is straightforward.

Once fitted, the two separate parts slide together into a horseshoe-like housing with a reassuring click. Once in situ, they’re going nowhere until you pull the knob to detach them. A great design making them one of the best electric guitar strap locks.

What’s more, a nice touch on the Schaller S Locks is the length of the locking screw. This is relatively long compared to a lot of other systems and allows for the attachment of thicker straps more easily.

This latest design of strap lock from Schaller is also said to be silent. OK. We agree. They are. The only thing is we can’t quite see how this is any kind of advantage. Honestly, all the other strap locks we’ve seen, or rather not heard, have been noiseless. Also, when your guitars turned up to 11, who cares? Other than Schaller, that is.

As with other similar kinds of set-ups, the Schaller S Locks can be attached to a single strap and be easily switched between multiple guitars. Though obviously where Schaller S Lock strap buttons are also installed. And since we know the optimum number of guitars for any guitarist is n+1, this is definitely a useful feature.

Finally, there are three different variants available, nickel, gold, and chrome.

3 Ernie Ball Super Locks

There’s no doubt about it, Ernie Ball has a strong reputation for making well-made products. Happily, their strap locks are no exception.

These are made from nickel-plated steel and look pretty cool. We really like the Ernie Ball logo on the top of the release mechanism. If definitely makes them stand out from the crowd.

The first part of the lock is the strap lock button, which is screwed in and swapped out for your existing one. The second part of the lock, containing the release mechanism, is clamped into place on your guitar strap using the provided washers and built-in screw.

Once installed, the guitar strap can be locked or unlocked by pinching both sides of the release mechanism. This operates really smoothly, and though it requires very little pressure, its two-sided operation makes it almost impossible to inadvertently engage.

There are black, nickel, and gold strap locks available.

4 Eison Straplocks Premium Guitar Strap Locks & Buttons

This is a similar system to the other three we’ve already reviewed. It’s a mid-price ranged alternative to all systems of this type, though it is not as well known as any of the others.

The strap button if fitted as a replacement to the stock one, and unlike some other systems, the screw should fit without requiring it to be drilled out.

What’s more, the Eison strap lock buttons are available for separate purchase and at a very fair price. If you have a large collection of guitars and plan to use just one strap, this is certainly something to keep in mind.

However, it should also be kept in mind that Eison strap locks and buttons are only available in black nickel-plated steel. Great for all the Goths and Metalheads out there, but it might not exactly match everyone’s taste, or existing guitar hardware. However, they would probably be the best guitar strap locks for Les Paul, especially a beautiful Ebony one.

Once your Goth hardware is in situ, it has a relatively low profile.

The locking pin mechanism part of the strap lock is an easy push release system. It’s simple to attach to all types of guitar straps. It’s a horseshoe slide-in design and locks solidly into place. Releasing the strap is easy enough, but it can be a little tricky to engage.

Also, the Eison strap lock isn’t as smooth in operation as some of the other locks, but the quality is good.

5 Fender Straplock W/ Button

This is the last of our two-piece strap lock systems from those lovely Fender people. The only guitar maker to enter the fray, which is a little surprising.

So, let’s take a closer look and see what Fender can bring to the party. Could these, in fact, be the best strap lock for guitar?

What they bring is another replacement screw-in strap lock button and a locking pin to be attached to the strap. They’re an absolute synch to install, but if your struggling, you can always watch their five minutes instructional video. There’s even a guy there from the Fender University.

He must be clever.

A nice touch is the inclusion of a felt washer for use with the strap lock button. This is useful to both protect the guitar and help the button bite more easily.

The pin part of the locking mechanism, secured onto the strap, gives a very reassuring clunk when it locks into position. There’s no doubt that these are not going to come apart.

Additionally, the spring-loaded release pin is super smooth and feels nice to operate.

Like a couple of the other products we’ve looked at, the Fender Straplock W/ Button also sells separate strap lock buttons. Surprisingly, given the Fender name and the quality of their products, these are the least expensive strap locks we’ve reviewed with a two-part system. For either both the combined unit or for the screw in buttons only.

All these great features could well make these the Best Guitar Strap Lock currently available. But are they? Read on to find out…

6 Ebony Black Rubber Guitar Strap Lock

There’s no doubt about it, if you’re looking for one of the least expensive strap locks available, then this is pretty much it. However, there is one cheaper option, so let us, please explain.

For the uninitiated, the reference in the product description to ‘Grolsch Style’ is referring to a rubber washer found on the caged cap of a bottle of the Dutch beer. These Grolsch washers are then removed and used as a free and drunken means of safely securing the strap to the guitar.

So, if you don’t want to shell out the price of a cup of coffee for a basic set of strap locks, there really is a less expensive and potentially free option that also has the benefit of involving beer!

Back to the strap locks, we’re reviewing. These are made from high-quality rubber, are manufactured in the US, and are undoubtedly a better fit and quality than you’ll find at the end of a bottle. They are made by Bright Vision and come in a pack of three pairs.

They have a low profile once installed and are much less visible than the two-piece systems. However, once in place, it’s not easy to switch straps.

You install them in seconds by simply pushing them over the strap lock button onto your strap.

Easy.

7 Fender Strap Blocks

Finally, we have another pair of Grolsch like strap locks.

These are even more affordable than the previous rubber strap locks we reviewed. Fender calls these strap blocks, but they are essentially the same simple design.

Though the same design, they are a little stiffer and also slightly thicker than a lot of similar products on the market. This does make them slightly harder to put into place, though not much. But the upside is that they potentially offer a more secure fit.

The Fender strap blocks come in a pack of two pairs. One pair is black and the other red. We’re not really sure why they’ve done this as it does seem a bit of a strange color combination. We can’t see many people wanting this kind of color mix.

Also, the very prominent Fender logo could potentially limit their appeal to non-Fender guitarists. However, for guitarists who own a Fender or Fender style of guitar, we’re sure you’ll agree that these Fender logos look really cool.

Best Guitar Strap Lock Buyer’s Guide

We strongly believe that fitting a set of the best guitar strap locks is a good idea to protect your guitar.

There are basically two types of best guitar strap locks available. One is a simple rubber washer that fits over your guitar strap and onto the guitar strap button. The other is a two-piece system that involves attaching a locking pin to the strap and mating it into the dedicated strap lock button.

Both Have Their Advantages & Disadvantage…

So, here’s the deal, the simpler washer style lock has the advantage of being extremely affordable and easy to install. Absolutely no tools or removal of the guitar’s hardware involved. Additionally, they have the added advantage of being unobtrusive.

This is in contrast to the two-piece systems, which can be bulky and are much more visible.

The more complicated two-piece system can arguably offer better strap security. They also are a much better option where a guitarist has a collection of guitars but prefers to use just one strap and switch it between them.

Where use of a single strap used between multiple guitars is desired, a more cost-effective solution to achieve this would be to use a system where guitar strap buttons can be bought separately. Fender, Dunlop, and Eison are all able to provide this.

The Best Strap Lock For Acoustic Guitar

Care needs to be taken when choosing the best acoustic guitar strap locks. And a number of the ones we’ve covered won’t do a very good job. The majority of electric guitars have their strap buttons is very roughly the same place, but that isn’t the case with acoustics. Often they are either behind the heel, which makes two-piece systems uncomfortable. Or they can be found in a similar position to those on electric guitars, in which case you should be OK.

However, there is another factor. In that, on a lot of electro-acoustics, the rear strap button is also the input jack, i.e., where you plug your guitar cable into. So obviously that can’t be removed or changed in any way.

Therefore, as you can see, if you’re looking for acoustic guitar strap locks, there is a lot more to consider.

So, What Is The Best Guitar Strap Lock?

In summary, we’d have to say that any strap lock is better than none.

But which guitar strap lock is best? If we had to choose one, our top pick would be the…

Though the quality is not quite up there with Schaller, they do offer the same functionality, and ease of operation. We like the reassuring sound when they click into place. They feel solid and secure.

We also like the fact that they are the least expensive of these systems we’ve looked at and the fact that you can separately buy the screw-in buttons. Finally, if that’s all not enough, the Fender strap locks are compatible with Schallers’.

In our opinion, a clear win for Fender.

Happy playing.