Monster Mod Project: LPJDC Strap Button Relocation

JerkMoans

Right you talented crowd of luthiers and guitar modification freaks: prepare to be amazed AND all advice gratefully received.

The brief: I recently acquired this rather jolly LPJDC which I'm really rather fond of.  A LOT.  But there's this one thing: even with my trim, toned midriff as befits a 47 year old lawyer, the original position of the neck end strap button (Fig. 1) tended to dig into the paunch, causing irritability and distraction from playing Dad Rock riffs.

What to do?  Well did you know that with craftsmanship and the deft application of precision tools, said button proved capable of removal?! Problem solved! (Fig. 2)

But not quite: the issue that then arises is where (if anywhere - a kinda prequisite of having any pretensions to playing the thing standing up) to replace it?  Should one go for the tip of the top horn, shown yellow (Fig. 3), or slightly beneath it, as in the blue example?  Would either be likely to cause neck dive? 

All advice, as ever, gratefully received.

Fig. 1: original strap button in situ.

Fig. 2: strap button removed!  A schematic for the correct procedure can be made available, if required.

Fig. 3: the amateur luthier's dilemma.

SteveRobinson

Just attach the strap using a shoelace behind the nut, folk-singer style

stickyfiddle

Definitely 2, just like a strat. 3 would make for weird balance.

springhead

Tip of the horn, yellow.  That's where mine is relocated to. Balances nicely on the strap.

JerkMoans

springhead said:

Tip of the horn, yellow.  That's where mine is relocated to. Balances nicely on the strap.

All joking aside, have you actually done this to a similar model, and it worked ok?  Not keen to expose this bad bad boy to excessive mutilation before I'm pretty sure of my bearings.

JerkMoans

SteveRobinson said:

Just attach the strap using a shoelace behind the nut, folk-singer style

LOLZ awarded

JerkMoans

stickyfiddle said:

Definitely 2, just like a strat. 3 would make for weird balance.

Seems to be an emerging (non-folk singer) majority

springhead

JerkMoans said:

springhead said:

Tip of the horn, yellow.  That's where mine is relocated to. Balances nicely on the strap.

All joking aside, have you actually done this to a similar model, and it worked ok?  Not keen to expose this bad bad boy to excessive mutilation before I'm pretty sure of my bearings.

Here's mine.

Apologies for crap, old phone photo. That's an old DC special and it needed various things doing to it when I bought it - refret, nut etc. and it had really bad neck dive, no doubt made worse by having a set of Grovers.  So I took it into Chandlers to sort everything out, including fitting Straplocks with one on the upper horn. So wasn't my hand on the drill but I don't see it would be difficult to do. 

JerkMoans

springhead said:

JerkMoans said:

springhead said:

Tip of the horn, yellow.  That's where mine is relocated to. Balances nicely on the strap.

All joking aside, have you actually done this to a similar model, and it worked ok?  Not keen to expose this bad bad boy to excessive mutilation before I'm pretty sure of my bearings.

Here's mine.

Apologies for crap, old phone photo. That's an old DC special and it needed various things doing to it when I bought it - refret, nut etc. and it had really bad neck dive, no doubt made worse by having a set of Grovers.  So I took it into Chandlers to sort everything out, including fitting Straplocks with one on the upper horn. So wasn't my hand on the drill but I don't see it would be difficult to do. 

That picture of my guitar's Soul Twin settles it.  One more stiff G&T to settle the nerves, and I'm going in with the DeWalt.  Thank you, my new LPDC forum chum.

springhead

Good luck!  Show us the after photo too. 

Looks like nice wood - what sort of LPJ is it?

JerkMoans

springhead said:

Good luck!  Show us the after photo too. 

Looks like nice wood - what sort of LPJ is it?

Thanks!  This...  @FelineGuitars LPDC...

springhead

Ah, lovely! I had a play on one there when I took my Strat in for a refret recently. Very nice it was.  

ICBM

Tip of the horn, *just* on the neck side of the point - exactly like springhead’s. That will not only not cause neck dive, it will be better than it is now.

Just make sure you drill the hole properly, or there is a possibility of splitting the horn.

FelineGuitars

We did one guitar with a button on the horn and a recessed flush mount Dunlop straplock fitting on the rear

Thus giving both options, and not sticking out if you choose not to use the rear mount one

JerkMoans

FelineGuitars said:

We did one guitar with a button on the horn and a recessed flush mount Dunlop straplock fitting on the rear

Thus giving both options, and not sticking out if you choose not to use the rear mount one

Truly you think of everything!

Why do these and SGs tend to have rear mounted buttons? Not being critical, just intrigued...

impmann

JerkMoans said:

FelineGuitars said:

We did one guitar with a button on the horn and a recessed flush mount Dunlop straplock fitting on the rear

Thus giving both options, and not sticking out if you choose not to use the rear mount one

Truly you think of everything!

Why do these and SGs tend to have rear mounted buttons? Not being critical, just intrigued...

Cos, I think they feel wrong when the strap button is on the top horn on these guitars... I just am used to the guitar hanging a particular way. I guess its just what you are used to/comfy with. :-)

DrBob

impmann said:

JerkMoans said:

FelineGuitars said:

We did one guitar with a button on the horn and a recessed flush mount Dunlop straplock fitting on the rear

Thus giving both options, and not sticking out if you choose not to use the rear mount one

Truly you think of everything!

Why do these and SGs tend to have rear mounted buttons? Not being critical, just intrigued...

Cos, I think they feel wrong when the strap button is on the top horn on these guitars... I just am used to the guitar hanging a particular way. I guess its just what you are used to/comfy with. :-)

The problem is that as a fat man (me, not you) having the strap button there actually results in tilting the playing surface of the guitar away from you.
So the solution is less pies, clearly ! 

WezV

DrBob said:

impmann said:

JerkMoans said:

FelineGuitars said:

We did one guitar with a button on the horn and a recessed flush mount Dunlop straplock fitting on the rear

Thus giving both options, and not sticking out if you choose not to use the rear mount one

Truly you think of everything!

Why do these and SGs tend to have rear mounted buttons? Not being critical, just intrigued...

Cos, I think they feel wrong when the strap button is on the top horn on these guitars... I just am used to the guitar hanging a particular way. I guess its just what you are used to/comfy with. :-)

The problem is that as a fat man (me, not you) having the strap button there actually results in tilting the playing surface of the guitar away from you.
So the solution is less pies, clearly ! 

I’m not that fat, but the tilt bothers me too.  I much prefer to have the button on the top horn

ICBM

When they were first designed, guitars were worn a lot higher than they usually are today. The angle of the strap then works better with the button on the heel. You need a horn more like the length of a Strat’s to make it fit properly.