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Post subject: My Musicmaster's Horror Story
Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 7:11 am
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So last night we had practice, things were going well and we were working on some new material. We were talking about a song we'd just done, what to change, what should be sung, etc. And it happened.......so suddenly.....the strap on the horn side/top of my bass just ripped through and the thing plummeted toward the floor. I caught before the neck hit but not by much.

My stomach was in my throat, it happened so fast and that could easily have been the end of my beloved Musicmaster bass that I've been discussing. I have these Fender logo straps on 4 out of my 5 guitars and I have the same Dunlop strap locks on these guitars as well. The strap lock was still in place, it was the strap that ripped, see the photos below. The strap lock and strap were purchased about 4 months ago, new, together and put on the bass at that time.

Just a reminder I guess to all to check stuff like that out from time to time so no one has to suffer the fate of having their treasured guitars bouncing off the concrete. It could have been really tragic, had the body hit and gotten a big gash in it that's one thing, but the way that mine fell last night the neck was headed straight to disaster. Hard to fix that kind of impact.

Sure would be nice if Fender would stand behind something like this. It is obviously a very new strap, hardly worn in. But of course I have no receipt for it, I've never had an issue with these straps so didn't expect one.

So I just had to vent about this, freaked me out. Check out the photos below.

Image

Image


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Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 9:37 am
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Scary! That's wierd your strap gave way so soon. This is a good reason for people to check these kinds of things out every so often. I wonder how many people are playing with straps that are 3, 4, 5, even 10 years old and have never checked them for wear, fatigue, etc.

Glad the MM was safe. Did you have to go change your pants? :)

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Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 9:57 am
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RickyD wrote:
Scary! That's wierd your strap gave way so soon. This is a good reason for people to check these kinds of things out every so often. I wonder how many people are playing with straps that are 3, 4, 5, even 10 years old and have never checked them for wear, fatigue, etc.

Glad the MM was safe. Did you have to go change your pants? :)


Not quite change my pants but def catch my breath. 8)


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Posted: Fri Dec 11, 2009 11:25 am
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:shock: those dang straps do break. I went and got mine reinforced with additional leather. i only have one (the fender logo that you have/had) and it is 30 years old - scary, scary stuff.

i just bought a fender mustang bass, which i am infatuated with. i also own two telecasters (one from 77 - the deluxe w/humbucker pickup and one thinline) and also one 'wildwood' acoustic.

i love my bass - would be crushed if anything happened by way of a strap breaking!!!!!


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Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 6:13 am
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What really bites now is that I can't get Musicians Friend to email me a copy of my receipt for the purchase of this strap. 3 different phone calls, 3 different people promising to email it, nothing on my end. Yeah, I checked the spam filter too.

I know, it's not a big deal financially, just sucks that MF's promises of customer service are empty when you're counting on them.

I have gotten an email from Fender asking me to send n the strap and they'll review it, so that's cool. 8)


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Posted: Wed Dec 16, 2009 2:52 pm
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Any strap can rip if it is subjected to enough stress so periodic checking is a good idea.

You are pointing out another problem with strap locks and that is that they hide the strap hole to a point where a tear like yours can deveolp without it being visible.

I would encourage you to buy a real leather strap and not trust the cheaper Fender logo straps if you have an "active stage presence."
Or in layman's terms- you jump around a lot on stage!
The end of that Fender strap is not leather, it some synthetic material that is not as strong as leather IMHO.

I am glad you caught your bass before it hit the floor.

I had a strap lock work it's way through a strap once on my bass. In the middle of a gig it took a dive but I luckly caught it and finished the song on one knee. LOL

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Posted: Thu Dec 17, 2009 5:50 am
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BCbassman wrote:
Any strap can rip if it is subjected to enough stress so periodic checking is a good idea.

You are pointing out another problem with strap locks and that is that they hide the strap hole to a point where a tear like yours can deveolp without it being visible.

I would encourage you to buy a real leather strap and not trust the cheaper Fender logo straps if you have an "active stage presence."
Or in layman's terms- you jump around a lot on stage!
The end of that Fender strap is not leather, it some synthetic material that is not as strong as leather IMHO.

I am glad you caught your bass before it hit the floor.

I had a strap lock work it's way through a strap once on my bass. In the middle of a gig it took a dive but I luckly caught it and finished the song on one knee. LOL


I guess that's something that until that night I never thought of, strap locks can cover a tear as it starts. I mean the whole idea of strap locks is that you're secure and your "baby" will stay safely where you want it.

I don't have the "active stage presence" of jumping or running. Although I do tend to walk around and take advantage of my wireless.

At a gig would be awful, good thing you caught yours too.

I guess the ends are leather on most straps so I just assumed that's what these were. I do like these straps comfort-wise though.

I'm sending it in today and they're gonna review it, no promises yet since I can't get a copy of my order from MF but it's a start.

I bought another Planet Waves strap, can't hurt to have an extra around either. I have those on my acoustics and had good luck with them so far.


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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 1:15 pm
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**Update**

I just rec'd a new strap in the mail today from Fender. exact replacement. And my best efforts to get an receipt from Musicians Friend were pretty fruitless.

Just good customer service I think.


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Posted: Tue Dec 29, 2009 3:54 pm
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Glad to hear it has been replaced, and that your bass is alright! That's a pretty odd thing to have happened in the first place, though, considering how relatively new the strap was.


Anyway WI KISSfan, I've finally recieved my Musicmaster I told you about if you'd like to check out the thread :)


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Posted: Wed Dec 30, 2009 5:41 am
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Toronado wrote:
Glad to hear it has been replaced, and that your bass is alright! That's a pretty odd thing to have happened in the first place, though, considering how relatively new the strap was.


Anyway WI KISSfan, I've finally recieved my Musicmaster I told you about if you'd like to check out the thread :)



You got it? Cool, is there pictures? Which thread was it on, I didn't see it on first look. 8)

The guy at Fender did a great job standing behind the strap. I already bought a replacement since I needed one. I like the logo strap but I'm seriously considering taking it to a local upholstery shop and see if they have some heavy duty black leather to strengthen the ends before use. One heart attack like that is enough for me. :D


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