When learning to play the guitar for the first time, it is crucial that one not break the guitar. One of the easiest way to break your guitar while learning to play it (or anytime afterward) is to simply drop it. Dropping the guitar can cause incalculable damage which might render the guitar beyond repair. Be prepared as a bottle of Grolsch beer pops to the rescue.

It is well and good to purchase a locking guitar strap such as the Planet Waves Locking strap but what if you already have a guitar strap and just want to secure it?

One of my coworkers at my office, who had previously given me a guitar strap, gave me a couple of red rubber rings the other day. I looked at them curiously and asked him what they were. He said that they came off of bottles of Grolsch beer. I’m all for reusing things and for re-purposing found objects, but what was I going to do with a couple of small red rubber rings?

According to my coworker, these rubber rings could be used to lock a guitar strap onto the guitar. I was pretty excited when he told me this because I had been worried about dropping the guitar — after investing a couple of days worth of salary into something, you don’t want to lose it by failing to protect it.

I took the Grolsch rings home and struggled for awhile to put them on. There’s a reason these rings protect your straps so well – they are really tight on your guitar strap buttons! Look at this video for a demonstration of how to put attach the Grolsch ring.

The solutions for the problems in our life — both small and large — don’t always come in direct retail fashion. Sometimes it comes off of the top of a bottle of beer.

5 Comments

  1. Love this article, Gordon!

    I think half the fun of the solution is drinking your way to the bottom of the bottle. Ha! Seriously, this is such a great and ingenious solution to a real problem.

    I have fond memories of Grolsch. It was the first beer I ever tried when I was old enough to drink and it was my primary beer of choice for years. It was always delicious and refreshing and getting the bottle to “unlock” was always great entertainment.

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