Why Acoustic Guitars Have Only One Strap Button

If you own, or have ever even taken a look at an acoustic guitar, most of them only have a single knob or button on the bottom where you can connect a strap. Have you ever questioned why? I have.


While I've searched Google, Yahoo, Bing and Wikipedia, I can not find an answer as to why. I've read the web sites of Taylor, Martin, Gibson, Fender and many more manufacturers and they definitely do not talk about it. I can not even find anybody on a guitar forum who has hypothesized as to why.

I'm not the only one who questioned that and thankfully, somebody named Lucas Man provided this explanation on YahooAnswers.


"Most acoustics only have a single strap button on the butt of the guitar. The reason they don't have one near the heel of the neck is because if you hook a strap onto an acoustic guitar that way, the guitar will suffer from "neck dive". That's when the guitar isn't balanced properly on the strap and the neck falls down instead of staying at a nice comfortable angle. This happens because the body of the guitar is so light and can't counter the weight of the neck."

Many people suggest the answer to the issue is to install a second strap button. I'm not about to drill on my guitar but I understand if I take it to Sam Ash or Guitar Center they'll be happy to do it for me. To that, Lucas Man advises,

"…remember, there's probably a good reason they didn't put one (strap knob) on in the first place."

Alternatives to the Shoe String.

If you accept that reasoning, then what's your choice for attaching a guitar strap to an acoustic guitar?
For several years, people have attached a shoestring to the top of the acoustic guitar to attach the strap to the guitar. In fact, it's so typical that many guitar straps are sold with a shoestring already connected to the strap. But, a shoestring is not only an unattractive choice but is likewise subject to being torn, frayed and broken during its use. Worse yet, many guitar players say it causes stress on the neck.


Now there's a brand-new product available which resolves this certain problem by providing good balance to prevent neck dive and covering more mass than a shoestring, thus eliminating the neck stress issue.

The Leather Acoustic Guitar Strap Holder.

The leather guitar strap holder offered by MAC Music Accessories secures firmly around the neck of the guitar over the frets and under the strings so that there is no interference when playing.

Furthermore, the strap holder is easy to button on and off so you can leave it affixed to the guitar or the strap; whichever you prefer.

The Advantages of Using a Leather Guitar Strap Holder.

There are definitely a variety of benefits to having your acoustic guitar secured by a leather strap holder instead of a shoestring. Clearly, a proper strap holder looks professional and provides a more pleasing look than a shoestring that looks homemade and amateurish.

Leather is not only flexible; it is extremely strong also. It requires only minimal upkeep meaning that under regular conditions the strap holder will certainly last for several years and only get even more beautiful in time.

For those who own an acoustic guitar, it's definitely worth thinking about making the small financial investment in a leather acoustic guitar strap holder in place of utilizing a shoestring or having another button attached to your guitar.


James Tabron, source