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Thread: Tc bouzouki

  1. #1
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    I recently got a nearly-new TC bouzouki on Ebay. Can anyone give me a safe location on the heel of the neck for a strap button?
    I don't want to run into any neck bolts, etc.
    BTW, IMHO, it's a great instrument for the price. Plays well, sounds good, and good workmanship. The set up needed a little adjustment. It's no Weber, Petersen, et al, but I'm happy with it.
    bill brown

  2. #2
    Registered User groveland's Avatar
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    I put one smack dab in the middle of the 'ivory' colored stuff on the back of the heel... I pre-drilled a little first with a very tiny bit. Works great.

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    Unlike Groveland, I don't recommend putting a strap button on the back of the heel. #In my experience, it tends to "throw" the instrument too far forward. #Instead, put it on the treble side of the heel, as shown on Frank Ford's Frets.com website:

    http://www.frets.com/FRETSPa....n2.html
    EdSherry

  4. #4
    Registered User groveland's Avatar
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    Though on my TC I did it on the back of the heel, I did it the other way on my Moon, and I don't care for it so much, wrapping the strap around from underneath - Plus there are wood grain considerations I had to take into account when coming in from the side.

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    I put mine through the heel cap without any problem. Pre drilling and lubricating the screw with a bit of soap might be wise.
    Steve

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    Physically installing a strap button on the heel cap is not a problem (though, as others have suggested, you should drill a hole and lube the screw -- which you should do regardless of where you install the strap button). #

    The relevant question is whether it makes sense to install it in the back of the heel -- which, as I suggested (and Frank Ford's website confirms) means that the instrument will tend to "pitch forward" once the strap is attached -- or whether it makes sense to install it in the side of the heel -- which (in my experience) tends to "tuck" the instrument better into the body. #

    YMMV, but in my opinion there's a very good reason why no major guitar manufacturer installs strap buttons on the back of the heel, and why what in my experience is "standard" practice is to install it at the treble side of the neck (per Frank's photos).
    EdSherry

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    Quote Originally Posted by (EdSherry @ July 22 2007, 22:08)
    #

    YMMV, but in my opinion there's a very good reason why no major guitar manufacturer installs strap buttons on the back of the heel, and why what in my experience is "standard" practice is to install it at the treble side of the neck (per Frank's photos).
    [QUOTE]

    There's a guitar company called Gibson that installs them on the heel fairly often. #When I said I had no problems with the strap button on my TC bouzouki, that would include capsizing, throwing forward, etc.



    Steve

  8. #8
    Registered User groveland's Avatar
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    I really like my TC a lot. Whatever you decide to do, you might want to think about a couple things:

    TC is only 2 15/16" deep, whereas a guitar is probably 4" and the balance is very different with its small body overall.

    There isn't a whole lot of wood at the heel of the neck, being 1 11/16" wide at the base of the neck - Drilling from the side for a 1" screw seems pretty severe - I wouldn't want to weaken that. (Guitar maybe has 2 1/8" on average, leaving plenty of wood and minimizing the possibility of cracking over time.)

    Enjoy that thing!

  9. #9
    Registered User steve V. johnson's Avatar
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    The orthodoxy that I learned many years ago (on guitars) was that putting a button thru the heel cap risked splitting the wood over time from the pull of the strap.

    The preferred/recommended/orthodox method was to put it off center, as Ed mentions, usually on the treble side.

    I much prefer them that way, both for the above reason and for Ed's, that I like the strap position better, and honestly, I've only seen a couple of instruments that suffered at all from mounting a strap button in the heel cap.

    stv
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