Gibson "Slingshot" strap !

morrow · September 12, 2020, 07:05:55 AM

Anyone tried these ?
Apparently there's hidden elastic that enables you to change the length of the strap while you're in the midst of that interpretive dance during your bass solo .
I think this was developed by the same creative team of mad genius that created robo tuners .
Now the regular price seems a little steep , although in some reviews they do say the leather smells quite nice .
I have a chance to pick up a used one at a more than fair price .
I'm tempted ...

TBird1958 · September 12, 2020, 11:20:20 AM

Nothing says Lovin' like leather!

Pilgrim · September 12, 2020, 11:55:10 AM

It has a nice look to it, and the idea sounds good. If the price is reasonable, why not?

westen44 · September 12, 2020, 11:59:06 AM

I think probably because I've already reached my limit on buying straps this year. But never say never.

morrow · September 12, 2020, 01:18:58 PM

Heh , got it , there's a hidden elastic so you can pull down on the strap and lengthen it by about two inches . I don't know quite why someone invented that . That said , it seems to be a nice heavy duty leather strap. Original owner bought it because he had a heavy Les Paul .
It's just about brand new .
I'll try it out tomorrow night , I'm in the house band in the local blues dive .

Highlander · September 12, 2020, 02:04:50 PM

I made a custom strap for my RD from a bit of old plastic strapping for securing an HR12 (cherry picker) to a trailer... works for me... the PC has a denim strap... the Jazz has my clan tartan... I have a couple of (Mork and Mindy) rainbow straps from the 70's...
The tartan one was the last one I bought...
No leather straps for over 30 years...

Dave W · September 12, 2020, 09:48:06 PM

If the price is fair, I say go for it. I haven't seen one but the leather Gibson straps I've seen are very nice.

OTOH I bought my first guitar this month in 1959, and in 61 years, I've never once wished I could change the strap length mid-song.

morrow · September 13, 2020, 07:29:26 AM

I'm kinda puzzled by the feature . I bought the strap through a musician's classified . The strap seems brand new , and is horrifically expensive new , but I picked it up for about 1/3 of the regular price , and was curious .
This was supposedly designed to make the weight of a fairly heavy instrument bore bearable . The two I'll be taking out tonight are featherweights . A Longhorn and DC Jr .

Highlander · September 13, 2020, 08:04:08 AM

Quote from: Dave W on September 12, 2020, 09:48:06 PMOTOH I bought my first guitar this month in 1959, and in 61 years, I've never once wished I could change the strap length mid-song.

Dave W · September 13, 2020, 08:12:10 PM

Quote from: morrow on September 13, 2020, 07:29:26 AM
I'm kinda puzzled by the feature . I bought the strap through a musician's classified . The strap seems brand new , and is horrifically expensive new , but I picked it up for about 1/3 of the regular price , and was curious .
This was supposedly designed to make the weight of a fairly heavy instrument bore bearable . The two I'll be taking out tonight are featherweights . A Longhorn and DC Jr .

I know (from an indie Gibson dealer) that Gibson was forcing dealers to carry straps and -- at least during the late Henry era -- were sending out way more than most dealers could sell in a reasonable time. Maybe yours was excess NOS inventory being dumped.

morrow · September 14, 2020, 06:04:13 AM

I managed to spot the strap on kijiji so it was a private sale , and picked it up for about 1/3 of the regular price .
Used it with a couple of basses last night and decided it's a keeper although the elastic thing is a little odd . Previous owner bought it because his Les Paul weighed a ton and sold the guitar .

uwe · September 15, 2020, 08:17:36 AM

What's new about stretch straps? I played those famed "No1" stretch straps for ages in the 80ies with my Kramer XKB-10 "Flying Broom". Not because of comfort, but because I liked fooling around with different "bass altitudes" when throwing shapes on stage. The XKB-10, tremendously neck-heavy as it was and with a totally un-ergonomic body form to boot, required to be "carried" in any position.

Highlander · September 15, 2020, 03:31:18 PM

Yeech... sorry, but what an ugly bass... imho...

ajkula66 · September 15, 2020, 06:30:36 PM

Quote from: uwe on September 15, 2020, 08:17:36 AM

I played those famed "No1" stretch straps for ages in the 80ies with my Kramer XKB-10 "Flying Broom".

Wow. I haven't thought about those straps in decades. Had a few in choice colours back then...but not the XKB-10 so you win there...

gearHed289 · September 16, 2020, 08:50:04 AM

I bought one of those nylon "seat belt" straps (not the stretchy kind) with my new Kramer Stagemaster SMB-2 back in 1982. Talk about neck dive!