LiveeviL2000
Ambassador of Pentagonal Pentatonics
I wanted to say it was grill cloth. But it looked too tightly woven.
TVvoodoo's Straplab
- Thread starter TVvoodoo
- Start date
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- guitar straps
OP
TVvoodoo
Ambassador of The Comfortably Slung
For years I fantasized about making a strap out of woven metal. I even bought some stuff a few years ago, tried working with it behind the scenes, I was stymied. Just didn't work out. Cutting it, trimming it, just a terrible mess.... and, it was expensive!
I was in the city last week and spied this cool stuff in a specialty fabric shop i go to, I guess it's mostly for upholsterers... it's where I stock up on my specific types of foam padding... I think this material is actually for awnings, maybe lawn chairs or even wall-coverings. It's super strong, looks like woven metal, but it's a poly weave of some sort. Not glittery/shiny but just a nice evil metallic sheen.
Decided to put this group in my Amp'd series, as it does resemble a modern amp grill fabric, though way more robust.
Here's "Goes to Eleven"
Felt it needed just a little metal something/something, like Nigel would want.
Fun little malevolently grinning skull in gunmetal, on a black snake snake-patterned dot.
Made three of these. They adjust from about 48" minimum, to around 62" max. If you find yourself shorted by length on these, you might be a monster. Lightly padded, 3" wide.
Visually stunning strap. the way it picks up and reflects light is super interesting. Strong 'n long! These will be up
on Reverb tonight most likely. Have a great weekend my bros!
I was in the city last week and spied this cool stuff in a specialty fabric shop i go to, I guess it's mostly for upholsterers... it's where I stock up on my specific types of foam padding... I think this material is actually for awnings, maybe lawn chairs or even wall-coverings. It's super strong, looks like woven metal, but it's a poly weave of some sort. Not glittery/shiny but just a nice evil metallic sheen.
Decided to put this group in my Amp'd series, as it does resemble a modern amp grill fabric, though way more robust.
Here's "Goes to Eleven"
Felt it needed just a little metal something/something, like Nigel would want.
Fun little malevolently grinning skull in gunmetal, on a black snake snake-patterned dot.
Made three of these. They adjust from about 48" minimum, to around 62" max. If you find yourself shorted by length on these, you might be a monster. Lightly padded, 3" wide.
Visually stunning strap. the way it picks up and reflects light is super interesting. Strong 'n long! These will be up
on Reverb tonight most likely. Have a great weekend my bros!
OP
TVvoodoo
Ambassador of The Comfortably Slung
A change-up in the shop today... telecaster pickguard toolin' goin' down! A forum brother was diggin' on my sunflower leather carving stylings he saw on a strap I made and wanted something for his umber burst tele he's been searching for a suitable pickgard for. The colour scheme will be a bit different, looking for a burst effect on the inner, a black border, with some splashes of red on the flower leaves.
I haven't done many of these, but they're not rocket surgery. Only looming pitfall could be the holes lining up between pickguards.. all I have here is your garden variety tele guard... the customer agreed he will use his current guard, best just to lay it overtop to mark accurate holes.
First we cut out a rough shape from a side of 9 oz vegtan, then we put the good glasses on and trim it up pretty good
Draw lines on, approximating the art we are going for
About three hours later, we have the lines carved in, and the petals, stems, leaves and outside border beveled out plus some seeder impressions to detail the flower centers.
Enough for today, next I'm going to use a bevel tool on the outside edges to smoov it out a bit, then we are ready for the first dye stage which I call mellow yellow, quite right! Maybe after that I think I will texture the background lightly, which will help the flowers jump out better. Very light texture tho..
I haven't done many of these, but they're not rocket surgery. Only looming pitfall could be the holes lining up between pickguards.. all I have here is your garden variety tele guard... the customer agreed he will use his current guard, best just to lay it overtop to mark accurate holes.
First we cut out a rough shape from a side of 9 oz vegtan, then we put the good glasses on and trim it up pretty good
Draw lines on, approximating the art we are going for
About three hours later, we have the lines carved in, and the petals, stems, leaves and outside border beveled out plus some seeder impressions to detail the flower centers.
Enough for today, next I'm going to use a bevel tool on the outside edges to smoov it out a bit, then we are ready for the first dye stage which I call mellow yellow, quite right! Maybe after that I think I will texture the background lightly, which will help the flowers jump out better. Very light texture tho..
OP
TVvoodoo
Ambassador of The Comfortably Slung
coming soon new in the Well-Hung Reverb Strapateria is "Bad News" Not going to bore y'alls here with all the deets, but it's from the much-coveted No Prisoners line. Buyers of these enter a growing cult of unique one-of-a-kind strap owners. Some are members here, and will agree wearing one feels just as good as becoming a new TTR Ambassador, but the elation lasts for the life of the strap! Many report ownership will turn boring respectable low-T office mouse types into yowly, brawling sex-crazed Neanderthal Chad-Stallions. *These results are expected, but not guaranteed.
Tried it myself today, WHOA! Could only endure the effect for a short period of time. My heart started palpitating, eyes immediately got clearer, then a hot wash of blood rushed t'wards all kinds of happy body places not so much used to all that anymore. Started to fear a possible priapsm situation and had to bail. I think maybe I could get used to it over time with repeated short exposures.
Also still finessing that ding-dang telecaster guard also as a side gig
I applied dye resist on the petals, stained the stems and edges of the pickguard a dark brown, the leaves went red, and the flower centers a dark oxblood then I did some burst staining around the edges. I didn't put resist on the stems and leaves because I wanted them to blend with the burst stain a little bit. Oh, and I also slashed in a bunch of decorative cuts to bring out the petals and leaves a little bit as well as textured the background lightly.
Then I did a few burst applications of a medium brown dye, sponge-blending everything a bit, taking care to keep mostly to the edges like a good burst should. Here's where we are now, it's just a tad on the light side right now, but that will change pretty quick tomorrow.
This photo of the pickguard from more direct light above shows the texture nice. All that rubbing of the burst 'round the edges faded the dye on the border a bit. Not worried about that, the next step will get it darker where it needs to be, dark brown, but not black.
Right now letting all this new dye set in and dry, tonight I will buff it out real good to a shine, resist coat the petals and leaves again to keep the colours where they are, and then antique paste the whole rest of it to fill in the cracks and crannies and bring the decorative cuts out. This will also darken everything down one more step and hopefully it will be where we want it to be.
Some other things I can do is before burnishing the edges, and after the final buffing is lightly brush just the edges of the petals with metallic gold, then clearcoat. Customer has chosen my recommended gloss finish
Tried it myself today, WHOA! Could only endure the effect for a short period of time. My heart started palpitating, eyes immediately got clearer, then a hot wash of blood rushed t'wards all kinds of happy body places not so much used to all that anymore. Started to fear a possible priapsm situation and had to bail. I think maybe I could get used to it over time with repeated short exposures.
Also still finessing that ding-dang telecaster guard also as a side gig
I applied dye resist on the petals, stained the stems and edges of the pickguard a dark brown, the leaves went red, and the flower centers a dark oxblood then I did some burst staining around the edges. I didn't put resist on the stems and leaves because I wanted them to blend with the burst stain a little bit. Oh, and I also slashed in a bunch of decorative cuts to bring out the petals and leaves a little bit as well as textured the background lightly.
Then I did a few burst applications of a medium brown dye, sponge-blending everything a bit, taking care to keep mostly to the edges like a good burst should. Here's where we are now, it's just a tad on the light side right now, but that will change pretty quick tomorrow.
This photo of the pickguard from more direct light above shows the texture nice. All that rubbing of the burst 'round the edges faded the dye on the border a bit. Not worried about that, the next step will get it darker where it needs to be, dark brown, but not black.
Right now letting all this new dye set in and dry, tonight I will buff it out real good to a shine, resist coat the petals and leaves again to keep the colours where they are, and then antique paste the whole rest of it to fill in the cracks and crannies and bring the decorative cuts out. This will also darken everything down one more step and hopefully it will be where we want it to be.
Some other things I can do is before burnishing the edges, and after the final buffing is lightly brush just the edges of the petals with metallic gold, then clearcoat. Customer has chosen my recommended gloss finish
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OP
TVvoodoo
Ambassador of The Comfortably Slung
New in the Well-Hung Strapateria today is a B-stock. Mad at myself for making such a thing, but it is what it is.
Slight turquoise and silver skulls, (like an aged pelham blue) on black leather. It's a B-stock because the strip is not exactly centered along the strap because I fell asleep at the wheel while sewing. Sigh.
Sunny Guard is coming along nicely... this morning I did the antique process which filled the cuts, and I used it to also darken the edges a bit, accent the burst and it makes the flowers popa bit more too.
this first shot here is probably the most colour accurate - I have a variety of light sources in my shop, so accurate pics can be a challenge sometimes.
I can't be sure if I got the exact colours of the telecaster here, but I don't think it's so far off that it will be offensive. The antique did turn the red leaves a bit more First Nations red, but it all works together real nice in my opinion. After I antiqued it, I also burnished the edges to shine, and hand-buffed the face, which is why it's glossy.
A few layers of leather protectant will pop it all a bit more and give this pickguard years and years of life.
I think it stands on it's own as it is, but I'm going to add some metallic gold highlights on the petals prior to the clearcoating process just to make it more really match with the receiving guitar (which has gold hardware).
Slight turquoise and silver skulls, (like an aged pelham blue) on black leather. It's a B-stock because the strip is not exactly centered along the strap because I fell asleep at the wheel while sewing. Sigh.
Sunny Guard is coming along nicely... this morning I did the antique process which filled the cuts, and I used it to also darken the edges a bit, accent the burst and it makes the flowers popa bit more too.
this first shot here is probably the most colour accurate - I have a variety of light sources in my shop, so accurate pics can be a challenge sometimes.
I can't be sure if I got the exact colours of the telecaster here, but I don't think it's so far off that it will be offensive. The antique did turn the red leaves a bit more First Nations red, but it all works together real nice in my opinion. After I antiqued it, I also burnished the edges to shine, and hand-buffed the face, which is why it's glossy.
A few layers of leather protectant will pop it all a bit more and give this pickguard years and years of life.
I think it stands on it's own as it is, but I'm going to add some metallic gold highlights on the petals prior to the clearcoating process just to make it more really match with the receiving guitar (which has gold hardware).
OP
TVvoodoo
Ambassador of The Comfortably Slung
This morning got a message on Reverb from a return customer, told me how much he loves my Old School Straplocks.
Said he was just about to head out on tour, wouldn't go anywhere without them.
I casually messaged back thanking him for his kind words, asked the name of his group. He comes back with "Saliva"
This really did not register with me, maybe some kind of niche thing? This one pretty much off my radar.
I said "that's a pretty nasty name, right?" He comes back with, "4 platinum albums"
Now I'm an old fugger, and listen to probably way too much music from the 80's and before. Sad to say it but
to me, beyond a few key instances... I'm stuck mostly on 50's jazz, priest and sabbath.
But had a Saliva on the playlist today, and dang it if they aren't legit as poop!
Man I felt kind of embarrassed. I need to tune in more. Thank you Mr. Starkey.
Anyway,... some photos back of a Custom Genocide strap in Class Act style that went to Mississauga. Daddy Dog tells me
he LOVES how easy it is to adjust, and so comfy on his big black Gretch
Said he was just about to head out on tour, wouldn't go anywhere without them.
I casually messaged back thanking him for his kind words, asked the name of his group. He comes back with "Saliva"
This really did not register with me, maybe some kind of niche thing? This one pretty much off my radar.
I said "that's a pretty nasty name, right?" He comes back with, "4 platinum albums"
Now I'm an old fugger, and listen to probably way too much music from the 80's and before. Sad to say it but
to me, beyond a few key instances... I'm stuck mostly on 50's jazz, priest and sabbath.
But had a Saliva on the playlist today, and dang it if they aren't legit as poop!
Man I felt kind of embarrassed. I need to tune in more. Thank you Mr. Starkey.
Anyway,... some photos back of a Custom Genocide strap in Class Act style that went to Mississauga. Daddy Dog tells me
he LOVES how easy it is to adjust, and so comfy on his big black Gretch
OP
TVvoodoo
Ambassador of The Comfortably Slung
Already up in the store a couple of new ones...
"Lancelot" is a new No Prisoners strap made of white python faux leather, with very real antique brass chain all up and down it
perfect for queen-stealin' hound dogs like you. Got a white custom that needs to get strap happy?
Also a cool new one in stingray-embossed leather, in the my most recent Prophecy line, called "Grey Horse"
I'm really liking the stingray texture look and feel
I may have mentioned I'll be attending a guitar show in early Oct. So for much of this month I'll be shoring up some of my
better sellers that I have left sell out, already got some Honey Pythons done, and a few new Basket Cases leather weave straps are on the way.
I'd like to get a bunch more new Prophecys done, and some more snakeskin straps and 1969 series... etc. Oh man, lots of work!
"Lancelot" is a new No Prisoners strap made of white python faux leather, with very real antique brass chain all up and down it
perfect for queen-stealin' hound dogs like you. Got a white custom that needs to get strap happy?
Also a cool new one in stingray-embossed leather, in the my most recent Prophecy line, called "Grey Horse"
I'm really liking the stingray texture look and feel
I may have mentioned I'll be attending a guitar show in early Oct. So for much of this month I'll be shoring up some of my
better sellers that I have left sell out, already got some Honey Pythons done, and a few new Basket Cases leather weave straps are on the way.
I'd like to get a bunch more new Prophecys done, and some more snakeskin straps and 1969 series... etc. Oh man, lots of work!
OP
TVvoodoo
Ambassador of The Comfortably Slung
Added two more Prophecy straps today, both yet-to-be-named in soft brown
One in chocolate brown one in aged saddle. Having fun trying out this new theme ... lots of possibilities. I've been a bit of a pack rat when it comes to interesting materials so my hoard of scrap pieces from the past comes in handy.
One in chocolate brown one in aged saddle. Having fun trying out this new theme ... lots of possibilities. I've been a bit of a pack rat when it comes to interesting materials so my hoard of scrap pieces from the past comes in handy.
So not that this needs saying, but...Added two more Prophecy straps today, both yet-to-be-named in soft brown
One in chocolate brown one in aged saddle. Having fun trying out this new theme ... lots of possibilities. I've been a bit of a pack rat when it comes to interesting materials so my hoard of scrap pieces from the past comes in handy.
Your creativity and attention to detail are uncomprimised. These three should all go to the same home. It would be a shame to split them up.
OP
TVvoodoo
Ambassador of The Comfortably Slung
@WavMixer I've had a few triple purchases from the same guy, at the same time over the years... those days will make a whole dang week for me.
This is going to be a longstanding series for me I prophesize.. the creative possibilities are nearly endless.
Next week a bunch will be coming in mainly black.
This is going to be a longstanding series for me I prophesize.. the creative possibilities are nearly endless.
Next week a bunch will be coming in mainly black.
OP
TVvoodoo
Ambassador of The Comfortably Slung
Cool stuff, Brad.... Love the blues of that Addict guitar, too!
There is no genuine stingray here... that stuff is crazy expensive LOL! The light gray strap body is stingray embossed cowhide... there are two stingray patterned crosses on the brown straps... those two cross bits are a high quality upholstery vinyl I messed with a bit to be more interesting and colour approprate
Jethro Rocker
Ambassador of Live & Loud Action
Now he needs to have at least a couple of Well-Hung straps!
syscokid
Ambassador of War & Peace
syscokid
Ambassador of War & Peace
Sure does! And after I researched Saliva and their song, "Ladies and Gentlemen", I was very surprised to find out that this song was released back in 2006, and the video was released in 2007! This is some really good and powerful stuff. I guess Saliva is still around, but not with Josey Scott as the frontman. I watched another more recent Saliva video with current frontman Bobby Amaru, and it doesn't have the stylistic impact of Josey Scott... This is just my opinion, and only based on just these two videos I've seen.
That there is the PERFECT strap for a Halloween gig!This morning got a message on Reverb from a return customer, told me how much he loves my Old School Straplocks.
Said he was just about to head out on tour, wouldn't go anywhere without them.
I casually messaged back thanking him for his kind words, asked the name of his group. He comes back with "Saliva"
This really did not register with me, maybe some kind of niche thing? This one pretty much off my radar.
I said "that's a pretty nasty name, right?" He comes back with, "4 platinum albums"
Now I'm an old fugger, and listen to probably way too much music from the 80's and before. Sad to say it but
to me, beyond a few key instances... I'm stuck mostly on 50's jazz, priest and sabbath.
But had a Saliva on the playlist today, and dang it if they aren't legit as poop!
Man I felt kind of embarrassed. I need to tune in more. Thank you Mr. Starkey.
Anyway,... some photos back of a Custom Genocide strap in Class Act style that went to Mississauga. Daddy Dog tells me
he LOVES how easy it is to adjust, and so comfy on his big black Gretch
OP
TVvoodoo
Ambassador of The Comfortably Slung
I like this one a little better. Even a little darker. Buffalo Bill and I both agree this peachy lambskin looks and feels disturbingly like human skin.
Regan was the sweet little girl in the first Exorcist movie, her tummy skin broke out with this message while possessed by a demon almost as bad as GAS! While sewing this stuff I kept saying to myself "It puts the lotion on it's skin, or it gets the hose again." Freaky.
LiveeviL2000
Ambassador of Pentagonal Pentatonics
There song Click Click Boom is cool.