Can anyone recommend a good strap for an acoustic?

Iā€™m having a little trouble holding an acoustic and I was thinking a good strap would be helpful

Not sure where you are located but all my acoustics (and electrics) wear Minotaur from Thomann.

Minotaur @ Thomann

Welcome to the Community.

:sunglasses:

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My Yamaha has a button at the bridge end of the guitar, and one where the neck meets the body.
I found that when I used a strap on these two points the weight of the neck pulled the guitar down so that I had to hold it up with my fretting hand. Blechhh!

I bought a little widget for 7 bucks that loops around the head and connects to my strap, allowing me be hands free:

Then you can buy any kind of strap you want. A rough surface sort of sticks to your clothing, harder to put on and adjust, but then stays put. A smoother surface on a strap is easier to put on and adjust. Your call. Iā€™m a newb and wish I had bought a smoother surface strap for my acoustic guitar. Iā€™m trying to play standing up so I donā€™t look at my fretting hand, and also so in the (hopefully not too) distant future I might even be able to entertain people standing upā€¦thatā€™s my dream anyway.

Hey Wendall,

I have one of the Dā€™Addario quick releases that BC is recommending on one of my acoustics - it works pretty good! I use it with a leather strap that comes from Levyā€™s https://levysleathers.com/ - not the jeans manufacturer. Itā€™s a really comfortable strap - I got mine online & donā€™t remember who sold it to meā€¦ sorry. Probably Sweetwater here in the US but I think theyā€™re available on Amazon too. Mine is one of their less expensive ones - itā€™s leather, a little bit rough on one side & smooth on the other. Looks good, smells like tanned leather which I like & is very durableā€¦
Good Luck!

Tod

I find choosing a strap for acoustics is easier than for electrics for the simple reason they tend to be lighter and in my experience almost any strap will work.

By contrast I have an electric with a bit of neck dive and that needs a wide strap with a rough back (eg suede) to have enough friction to overcome the dive.

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Hey Wendellā€“welcome to the crowd. Iā€™m a 6 month newbie myself. Slow process for sure, but Iā€™m really enjoying it.

I have a short stool, about 6" high, that I that I rest my right foot on (Iā€™m a righty).
This helps me hold the guitar nicely atop my right thigh.

That, and as Justin sez in an early lesson, try it with skin touching the guitar top, rather than the fabric of clothing. Itā€™s a bit sticky and helps you hold the guitar without using your fretting hand.

Bruce

levys do some nice straps for electric and acoustic i have one on my acoustic and one on my Les
Paul both sun face design they are leather with cloth facing
image
they also do usual leather straps

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I have been told that you need to becarful with the straps that are bound up near the nut of a accoustic guitar. The reason was that after time they will cause issues at the neck body joint.

How true this is, I dont know. But I did stop doing it. Now I just deal with the pull.

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Another vote here for Levys straps, I also really like the Fender SuperSoft cotton straps but those I use on my electrics.

Have you by any chance used Levyā€™s straps? How do they compare?

Noop, so donā€™t know Iā€™m afraid, they seem a little more expensive (10euro +) for the type of style I go for, so I stick with Minotaur.

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I got a really nice denim strap from Dā€™Addario. Doesnā€™t itch, doesnā€™t fray, looks cool. I use a strap most of the time - it frees my mind and hands to focus on playing rather than on not dropping the guitar.
image

Hi Wendell and welcome to the Community.
Nothing is ever straightforward in the world of guitars. Hereā€™s something else to consider before you buy a cheap strap.
Leather strap on nitrocellulose
Nitrocellulose finishes - do they cure over time?

Wendell

I recently bought a strap for my guitar from VTar: they make vegan guitar straps - no leather or any other animal bi-products - so ideal for me (Iā€™m a vegetarian). I am very pleased with my Vtar strap.

Brian

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I avoid leather too - hadnā€™t heard of this brand! These look good, thanks! I feel a GAS attack coming on :slight_smile:

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Minotaur leather on all 3 Gibsonā€™s SG and 2 x LPs Gordon and no issues as far as I can see. :sunglasses:

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Hey @Ontime == thanks for the heads up, I never thought of that.

Scanning the interwebs I came up with the following thoughts on the detriments of attaching a strap to the headstock.
#1 seems to be a tie between ā€œI prefer it, been doing it for decadesā€ and ā€œI donā€™t like it becauseā€
#2 ā€œI heard ā€˜somewhereā€™ that it warpsā€, but me? I think that that logic is decidedly circular, because a reputable ā€œsomewhereā€ I could not find (locution per Yoda)
#3 The neck supports anywhere from 90lbs of tension for light strings, to as much as 250lbs for a bass. So the extra few pounds (albeit vectored differently) is negligible.

If affixing the strap to the headstock were an issue Iā€™d expect there would be a whole passel of scientifically backed up statements explaining torque, resolution of vectors, failure rates, various tests, etc. In a 30+ minute slog through folksā€™ opinions (maybe 100+) I found not one reference to a guitar actually suffering, and not one reference to an actual analysis or study.

My conclusion: (oh-so-scientifically based, or not) is that it is a non issue.

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Awesomeness, you went much further down the ā€œcheaking it out for myselfā€ route than I did. Your logic is sound.

1000047678

Wendel @waknowles, the OP, was asking about straps for acousticsā€¦Iā€™d just add that Martin sell (at least many of) their guitars without a strap button on the heel. I tried tying the strap at the headstock, and it didnā€™t work for me. I suspect folks with different body sizes and types have different preferences. (Full disclosure: Iā€™m short, my arms are short, my legs are short. :rofl:)

But your spirit is gigantic Judi!

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