On ES semi-hollow body guitar photo gallery I see some with the top strap button on the top corner of the body as it would be placed for a solid body electric. Others show the button on the solid core centre line or neck. With a screw lenght of 18mm I would assume there is insuffient timber behind the top body corner so should the button be place on the solid centre line?
That's the best place. It's also where Gibson put their strap buttons on the 335. There's only the thickness of the ply side on that top horn, which isn't enough to secure it firmly over time. I know the ES-1 is a light guitar, (it's about half the weight of a real 335) but there's still a lot of strain on the buttons when playing.
Yep, the risk of a tear out is way too high plus it seems to be better balanced with strap button located in centre line at back of neck (same place as on SG too).
# 1 - EX-5 https://goo.gl/fQJMqh
# 2 - EX-1 https://goo.gl/KSY9W9
# 3 - Non PBG Tele https://goo.gl/W14G5g
# 4 - Non PBG J Bass https://goo.gl/FbBaFy
# 5 - TL-1AR GOTM Aug 2017 https://goo.gl/sUh14s
# 6 - MMB-4 Runner-up GOTM Oct 2018https://goo.gl/gvrPkp
# 7 - ES-1 Runner-up GOTM Aug 2018https://goo.gl/T9BEY8
I get that it would not work to put the button on the horn without reinforcing. Let's assume that an enterprising person could glue or screw a small piece of wood in place to reinforce the plywood anywhere on the un-reinforced parts of an ES body. Let's also assume that this person was building a 34" scale bass like an ES4-B. Totally hypothetically, of course.
In other words, if you could put the strap button anywhere, where do you figure the best place to put it--particularly to avoid neck dive--would be?
Reinforcing the ply would not be that tough. Take a small piece of wood with a hole drilled in it. Put one of these on the "back" side if you want...
...but just a hole should be fine too.
Drill a small hole where you want the strap button.
Run a some fishing line through the hole in the back in the horn of the guitar, through the f-hole and through the hole in the little block of wood. Tie a washer to the fishing line sticking out of the block. Coat the side of the block that has the hole, but does not have the washer attached, with a liberal amount of glue. Pull the block up to the hole that has been drilled for the strap button. The glue should be in contact with the inside of the horn, and the holes should be alighned sufficiently to get a screw in to secure the block until the glue dries. Voila! as my grandmother would say...
So it could be done...but should it be? ;-)
Last edited by fender3x; 12-05-2019 at 06:53 AM.
The only way that it could effectively be done is to open the box, shape a plug properly and securely glue it into place, then close it up again. You can try fishing a plug through, but I’m not certain you’d get a good tight bond to the inner skin of the body.
FrankenLab
Hand crafting guitars, because Death Rays are expensive.
Probably right. Not even sure if that's the best place for the button.Originally Posted by FrankenWashie
Obviously, I have a tendency to overthink this... I imagine that I'll be putting mine on the heel somewhere. But where? Mine's a bolt-on ES type. Sort of like some the old Japanese Epiphones or a Fender Coronado. On my Coronado guitar it's here...
...I've seen them that way on an Ibanez or two as well.
I have seen this a lot on bolt on LP/SG guitars...
...although this seems to be on a Stratosomethingorother. I have also seen it like this...
...this last one would be relatively easy on mine because I used bolts and ferrules rather than a neck plate.
Assuming that it has to be in this area... Advantage to putting it like the Coronado is that leverage is best for the area and when you set the guitar down on it's back it's not resting on the strap button. I have gotten fairly used to this on my Coronado.
The downside is that you need a fairly thin strap end, or it bunches up against the neck. That's not horrible, but it's a disadvantage. Also hard to use some straplocks that have a sort of wide washer.
Using a neck screw puts some tension on that screw, and I have mixed feelings about that. I have seen it written up as a disadvantage, but it's not that different from the way a lot of strap extenders work, including the kind I have used with my G&L ASAT bass for a decade without problems.
Curious what folks think... I am inclined to go the Coronado route...but still thinking it through...
I went with something like the bottom shot on my EX-5 as it is such a long and heavy neck diver. The regular strap button spot was no good and had to drill one through same spot on the bolt-on neck plate and it made a huge difference. Still wants to dive a bit but nowhere near as much as before.
# 1 - EX-5 https://goo.gl/fQJMqh
# 2 - EX-1 https://goo.gl/KSY9W9
# 3 - Non PBG Tele https://goo.gl/W14G5g
# 4 - Non PBG J Bass https://goo.gl/FbBaFy
# 5 - TL-1AR GOTM Aug 2017 https://goo.gl/sUh14s
# 6 - MMB-4 Runner-up GOTM Oct 2018https://goo.gl/gvrPkp
# 7 - ES-1 Runner-up GOTM Aug 2018https://goo.gl/T9BEY8
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