Reviewed: Lock-It Retro Vintage Chestnut Bay Guitar Strap
Subscribe
X

Subscribe to Mixdown Magazine

Reviewed: Lock-It Retro Vintage Chestnut Bay Guitar Strap

Taking the snap-into-place styled locks, Lock-It has utilised a mechanism that creates an additional hold over your existing guitar strap pin that doesn’t need modifying and is in fact concealed in the ends of the strap. From a distance these look like your typical strap ends and they use leather, which is a nice touch. Easy to install, the strap is pulled over your strap pin as normal with the thumb button pulled up.

 

Once the thumb button is released, a snug tight fit is created with the downward weight of the guitar, and the beauty is how the locking mechanism slides into place when released, offering a second layer of protection. As mentioned, the whole design is hidden inside the end, which only has slightly more bulk to it compared to normal strap ends. You’d be hard pressed to notice any difference at a glance.

 

 

Locking mechanism aside, this particular model of Lock-It is from the Retro Vintage line. Named the Chestnut Bay, it’s got a slightly hippy, floral feel with hints of red and green-y yellow gold. Adjustable between 36” and 60”, it’s got most players covered and there are another 11 models in the retro range if you want to explore other colour options. Add in Polypro, Cotton, Bob Masse (as in the famed concert poster designer) and Leather and you’ve got plenty more offerings to check out. In use the Lock-It pops on just about as easily as a standard, non-locking strap and really just feels comfy and normal, in a good way.

 

It doesn’t feel like you’ve just connected yourself to a hi-tech protective device or some bulky design that almost feels more of a hindrance than a help. I tried it on a number of guitars with different strap pins and had no problems. I’m sure there might be some random guitars that might take a little bit of elbow grease to adjust to, but on the whole it really seems like a universal doesn’t take much work to get happening. A great design that will still please the traditionalists.