I finally got hooked (pun not intended) on Schaller strap locks. They cost about GBP10 a pair on eBay. My first pair was installed on マミカスタ by Steve, but once I saw how piss easy it was to install, I began to do them myself. To date, all my three SCANDAL signature guitars as well as TIMOchan have them. Here’s a step-by-step guide to installing them.

You need a manual Phillips screwdriver for the job[1] as opposed to a electric one as you want to do this job somewhat gently. Unscrew the guitar’s original strap button with the Phillips[2].

Schaller provides two screws of differing lengths – choose the one that is similar in length to the original screw[3,4]. The longer one tends to be for Les Pauls. Gently screw the Schaller button of choice on[5,6].

Now, it’s time to install the actual lock onto the strap[7]. The lock is made up of three parts[8] – the lock, a washer and a nut, all of which you need to take apart. Insert the ball of the lock into the hole of the guitar strap[9]. You will see that there is excess leather around the ball[10], which needs to be trimmed off. With the ball in place, trim the excess leather with a sharp knife[11]. If you like, you could also use a wire cutter[12]!

After trimming, the washer and the nut can be screwed back on[13,14]. Tighten the nut with a wrench or a pair of pliers[15,16]. You are now done.

Latch the lock onto the strap button[17], and once it’s clicked on – it’s locked[18].