How To Assemble a Guitar Strap Easily 

The guitar is a wonderful instrument that expresses itself differently depending on a number of factors. Even something as small as the way you hold the guitar against your body makes a big difference. 

You might be sitting down, legs crossed, with the guitar resting on your lap. If you're trying to express a little more power, you're probably standing up with a strap to hold things together. 

We're going to talk about putting on guitar straps today, giving you some idea as to how you can secure the instrument and situate the strap to your liking. 

Let's get started.

Different Types of Guitar Straps

The first thing to do is narrow down the sort of strap that you need. Different guitars require different straps. Most notably, classical and some other acoustic guitars might need a special strap. 

Some acoustic guitars don't have strap buttons installed when you buy them. Most of them have something to hold the strap on the back end of the body, but nothing to attach to near the heel block or headstock. 

If that's the case, you should go to your local guitar shop and see if they can attach the strap buttons that you need. If you have just one button on the back end, you can purchase a cheap ($5 to $10) attachment that serves as a way to tie the end of your strap under the strings behind the nut. 

How to Put on a Guitar Strap

If you take a look at the strap you have, you'll see that there are small holes of about an inch cut out on either end. These two holes are where you connect the strap to the strap buttons on the guitar. 

It's best to try putting these on while the guitar is resting on a safe surface. Holding the guitar and attaching the strap at the same time may look cool, but it's an easy way to fumble and drop your instrument. 

Attach both ends of the strap to their respective strap buttons. Now comes the fun part of putting the strap on. 

The strap should go over your head and run behind your strumming shoulder, over your shoulder, and in front of your fretting shoulder. So, if you play right-handed, the strap should connect to the strap button on the body of your guitar and run up the right side of your back.

It wraps over the right side of your back and loops back down to either the other end of the body or to the headstock if there isn't a second strap button. 

How Low Should The Strap Hang?

There's a lot of debate on how low the guitar should hang from your body. Those in the djent metal community might have you hang the thing all the way to the ground so that it swings between your legs. 

Others might ask you to bring it up to your chin. In the end, it's really a matter of preference. That said, there's probably an optimal length that fits your body and your playing style best. 

You want it to be comfortable, allowing the guitar to sit where you need it to for easy access. You shouldn't have to adjust to the strap to do your playing. Further, you shouldn't have to strain your arms or hands to get a good grasp on the instrument. 

You can account for style if you want to, but the playing is what matters at the end of the day.

Adjusting The Strap

Adjusting the strap is a pretty easy thing to do. Some straps might operate a little differently, but there's a mechanism that allows you to adjust the length of the strap by pulling or loosening a piece and pulling on the other end of the clip. 

If you're worried about figuring out how to adjust your particular strap, you can always call or ask the seller about how it works and the best way to use it. 

Options When It Comes to Straps

When it comes to choosing a strap, you've got a lot of options to work with. This is a great way to express your personality and style through playing guitar. 

Picking a strap to compliment your guitar color or just your personality is a fun thing to explore. There are a lot of cool guitar straps to pick from. 

Leather guitar straps are a great place to start because they're sturdy, classic-looking, and will go well with any guitar you play for a very long time. If you plan to take your guitar on the road and play it heavily for a long time, a leather strap is a smart choice. 

Beyond that, every design under the sun could be added to a guitar strap. If you're particular about your style, you should look into having a custom strap made. 

Custom straps might cost a little more, but they'll last and they'll look exactly how you want them to. Plus, store-bought straps might not fit you just the way you like. 

Having one custom made ensures that the length is just right, the material sits well on your shoulder, and it won't break. 

Practicing and Performing Live

It's a smart move to practice with your strap on if you plan to perform live. It might seem like a small detail, but it changes the way you play. At the very least, playing with a strap is a different feeling than playing without one. 

The last thing you want is to know your songs front to back and find that playing them on stage is harder with a strap over your shoulder. Incorporating a strap into practice streamlines that issue and makes performing a lot easier. 

Looking for More Guitar Insight?

Hopefully, our exploration of guitar straps was helpful to you. There's a lot more to learn about guitars, straps, amps, and styles, though. The guitar is an instrument you could pour your life into and never get bored. 

We're here to help you with the fine points. Explore our site for more ideas on choosing cool guitar straps and more.