Quality strap for quality guitar...

My ASAT Deluxe is such a nice guitar that none of my 'spare' straps do it justice. It needs a quality strap to hang it from!

It's also fairly heavy - a couple of ounces under 8 pounds.

Levy are widely available in the UK. Moody (ouch $ ) are not. Still considering a Moody though...

Anyone have any real favourite straps or other recommendations?

I could swear we had a lengthy thread here a while back regarding straps but I couldn't find it.

For me nothing beats a good quality leather strap. You already know about Moody, so I won't list them again.

These El Dorado straps look great and get rave reviews, but a bit pricey.
http://www.eldoradostraps.com/products-over.htm

Blackheart also look great...also on the pricey side.
http://www.actioncustomstraps.com/Guita ... heart.html

My favorite for the quality vs cost is Italia
http://www.italiastraps.com/

Don't let the cost fool you, they seem to have a permanent buy one, get one free sale on. I got one for each of my guitars. If weight of your guitar is an issue, check out their 4" wide strap.

One thing to keep in mind, I discovered while shopping for a strap last year that there is no such thing as a "standard" length. Be sure to measure your strap first and order accordingly.

Thanks Eddie. Good suggestions there.
Yeah, I'd put a strap on the ASAT and checked the length - found a standard Moody was only giong to give one inch more than my usual length - probably enough, even wearing a jacket, but those Blackheart straps are perfect for standard length and the deerskin are very nice; they would suit the colouring of my guitar. Wish they had goatskin as well!
I like the cobra too, but only because I seem to bond with cobras - was my job to put them out when they wondered into our living quarters in Malaysia!

Thanks Eddie. Good suggestions there.
Yeah, I'd put a strap on the ASAT and checked the length - found a standard Moody was only giong to give one inch more than my usual length - probably enough, even wearing a jacket, but those Blackheart straps are perfect for standard length and the deerskin are very nice; they would suit the colouring of my guitar. Wish they had goatskin as well!
I like the cobra too, but only because I seem to bond with cobras - was my job to put them out when they wondered into our living quarters in Malaysia!

Really? I invite a Cobra in any time I can find one:

I'm a wee bit partial to 289s too Jag!

moody is the way to go. bar none. you will not regret it. other ones to consider would be eyeland straps, brookwood leather. and Pete Schmidt guitar straps are not far from moody in quality.

moody is the way to go. bar none. you will not regret it. other ones to consider would be eyeland straps, brookwood leather. and Pete Schmidt guitar straps are not far from moody in quality.

Louis, what is so superior about a moody strap? I am no cheapskate, yet can't cost justify $145 for a guitar strap. Is it purely a prestige item?

~JagInTheBag

:confused0007:

moody is the way to go. bar none. you will not regret it. other ones to consider would be eyeland straps, brookwood leather. and Pete Schmidt guitar straps are not far from moody in quality.

Louis, what is so superior about a moody strap? I am no cheapskate, yet can't cost justify $145 for a guitar strap. Is it purely a prestige item?

~JagInTheBag

i thought it was until i tried one. now that is all i use. i paid much less though, got mine on craigslist. i don't think i could explain it, it is something you have to experience. it's the feel, the quality, the comfort. unparalleled. and i have over 25 straps, at least 10 costing 80+.

:confused0007:

moody is the way to go. bar none. you will not regret it. other ones to consider would be eyeland straps, brookwood leather. and Pete Schmidt guitar straps are not far from moody in quality.

Louis, what is so superior about a moody strap? I am no cheapskate, yet can't cost justify $145 for a guitar strap. Is it purely a prestige item?

~JagInTheBag

i thought it was until i tried one. now that is all i use. i paid much less though, got mine on craigslist. i don't think i could explain it, it is something you have to experience. it's the feel, the quality, the comfort. unparalleled. and i have over 25 straps, at least 10 costing 80+.

I read through all the testimonials on their website, I can understand a full time musician who wears an 8lbs hunk of wood around their neck for 6 to 10 hours a day can appreciate it.

Perhaps you are right Louis, some things you can learn about so much through analysis- others can only be known by experiencing them. Perhaps this is one of my own to experience. Cheers, ~JagInTheBag

Jodi Head makes some great straps. By far my favorite ones.

The Gibson Austin series strap is pretty nifty too.

IMO you don't need to buy a brand name strap* . While I don't doubt that those Moody ones are fine, at the end of the day its a piece of leather with some holes in it. For $145 I'd prefer a nice pair of leather shoes. I regularly play 4 set gigs with my inexpensive no-name leather strap and have not once felt uncomfortable. It wasn't made from soft leather (soft leather is for posh ladies handbags ), but even the toughest leather needs only to be rolled up tightly each way and twisted hard a few times to become very supple.

*I bought a brand name strap once and had a bad experience, so maybe I'm jaded. One to avoid at all costs is Couch guitar straps. Made by vegetarians out of old sharp edged vinyl with plastic adjusters. What was I thinking!?!?

I could swear we had a lengthy thread here a while back regarding straps but I couldn't find it.

We did.
The search function only goes back 6 months.

Loving the Blackheart straps for colour (bone and deer suede) and length, but the price + UK postage is slightly... eeek... plus it might be so pretty it would distract form my playing.... I mean from the guitar!

Moody are more... erm... sensibly priced and include worldwide postage (as long as I'm not raped by customs - kinda used to that from USA purchases). My Grandfather was an amazing craftsman and had a 'zen/simple beauty' approch to his art (pottery) that I grew up with. The minimal parts of a Moody sing to me on that. And it might not be a 'one guitar' strap, being less ornate.

Heck, it should last a lifetime, so if I divvy up the cost it's not bad.

The search function only goes back 6 months.

This is not true, the default is all results (all posts). You can limit your search to 1 day, 7 days, 2 weeks,
1 month, 3 months, 6 months, or 1 year. See the Limit results to previous: selections.

Check it out.

The El Dorado straps are very nice. I am partial to the hand tooled and have three of those on my guitars. I've got a plain black on my Gretsch and a Durango red/black on my Thorn SoCal. They are very nice straps and a fitting accessory to your quality guitar.

RickT

I have an El Dorado and it will outlive me, my children and their kids as well. They are not inexpensive, but real quality seldom is. Your ASAT is worthy! - ed

I ordered a Moody a couple of weeks ago - it's currently sat in British Customs, probably being assessed for our wonderful import taxes and VAT!
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I've enjoyed looking at the straps you've all suggested.

I ordered a Moody a couple of weeks ago - it's currently sat in British Customs, probably being assessed for our wonderful import taxes and VAT!
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I've enjoyed looking at the straps you've all suggested.

i hope you ordered the 4" version.

I ordered a Moody a couple of weeks ago - it's currently sat in British Customs, probably being assessed for our wonderful import taxes and VAT!
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I've enjoyed looking at the straps you've all suggested.

i hope you ordered the 4" version.

Thought you might say that - I had seen that you'd given the vote to the 4" in another thread. I've always used 2.5" straps and been very happy with them. I don't play bass (or LPs!) and I'm not *quite* as broad of shoulder as you are Louis, so I've gone for the 2.5". It'll fit all my cases better too...

Well the Moody strap arrived today, after paying the VAT and handling charges. I was expecting that. That's why I don't buy much stuff from the USA, and also why I drool over G&Ls on the USA sites which just never appear here. Typically I have to add around 24% to anything from the USA - not just to the item price but to the postage as well, so things get pricey quickly. And the G&L dealers here are 'factory website' prices whenever I look, so I'm keeping an eye on UK Ebay as the only viable source of sensible prices. I much prefer to try before I buy, but that's not feasible with G&Ls as there is so little availability here, and at UK dealer prices it would still be cheaper to import from the USA.

Am I happy with the Moody, even at a 'premium' price?
Yes, at first sight, I am impressed. I've put Schaller strap locks on it, so it can easily move between any of my guitars. If I come over to the USA to visit friends, I shall probably have a couple more sent to them, in different colours, before I arrive!

DIY!! Find a local leather dealer and buy a strip of leather you like. For example they can cut it for you 2 3/8 wide strip. This will come pretty cheap. Take one leather strap as a template, use your crafting skills, a pencil, a sharp razor knife and a sharp scissors. This is it!
I have one GHS leather strap which I can use as a template + improve some flaws and make it better. Another option is No1 Stretch Guitar Strap, which I think is pretty cool
[youtube]i3OgxKiAjvw[/youtube]

Tempest Leather Guitar Straps are pretty rad. Especially the Japanese styles. So are Jodi Head and Levy's.