I've been considering moving the strap button on my Epi SG gigging backup guitar, but have seen mixed reports.
I'm not massively keen on the way the SG balances with the button on the neck heel; I've tried the suede strap trick and while I don't get the dreaded neck dive, I still find it a little weird when going from a LP or Tele balance wise.
Has anyone moved the strap button to the end of the upper horn, Iommi style? That seems to me to be the most 'familiar' place to move it to. American forums suggest that if you move it to the upper horn there's a possibility of the 'horn snapping off' but I've seen no evidence of this; I have seen however ESPs and the like that have this mod done that people seem happy with.
Any real-world experience with this? Cheers!
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But to be honest as both 'fit' very comfortably on me with the strap, and I get no neck dive on the SG, and I have no problem when switching guitars, I'm happy to leave well alone.
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And the top horn on Tony's guitar hasn't "fallen off", despite the years of touring...
It sounds like the problem is more to do with balance on a strap. (AKA neck heavy). It it was me.....before moving the button I would want to know how a correctly balanced guitar feels. Find something heavy enough (coins in a bag) and tape it to the butt end of your guitar strap.
If the guitar works for you when balanced....you may conclude that a permanent weight (sown into a dedicated strap) is less drastic than moving the front button.
The mono straps are excellent
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If you have a neck heavy Epiphone SG grippy straps are not the answer IMO, they make it even more irritating when they pull your shirt up.
I eventually found the cure which works 100% every time - I gave the piece of shit away.
Cheers gents, it did feel a little bit like US forum scaremongering and I can't say I've ever actually seen any photos of the terrible damage that this foolish mod inflicts...FAKE NEWS. SAD. Etc.
Ta!
I have done a couple of variations on the top horn position on SG style guitars.. Both a bit more invasive than just adding a new screw hole but they worked well.
First way way is to bevel the rear of the horn and attach the button pointing back at an angle. Its invisible from the front and feels more solid than going into the thinnest point. Aesthetically, the strap interferes with the shape a lot less as it sits behind the point. You obviously need to consider the angle and screw length to make sure it doesn't appear out the front, but its not really an issue if you are sensible.
The other one is a recessed strap button - which go much further into the body so are more secure. when I have done this I have used a shallower version of the bevel above to hide it behind the horn
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I owned a 335 copy for a while and I desperately wanted to move the button to the top horn, not because it was neck heavy but it sat in the wrong place somehow. Anyway, sold that, but it put me off the neck heel button.