How to adjust a leather guitar strap
A leather guitar strap adjusts by moving one end to a different slot cut in the tail. There is no buckle on most of them and no plastic slider: you pull the tab out of the slot it sits in, move it along the row, and push it back through. It takes under a minute, and the part people get wrong is threading the tail back on the wrong side.
How a leather strap adjusts without a buckle
Two parts do the work. The tail is the long thin end, cut with a row of slots down the middle. The other section ends in a tab, or in a short slit with a leather keeper loop behind it. The tab passes through one of the slots, the keeper holds the loose tail flat, and the weight of the guitar holds the tab flat against the slot so it cannot back out. It is a belt with the buckle taken out, and the load is what locks it.
Most nylon straps do not work this way. They run through a plastic tri-glide slider and you pull the free end to shorten, so the slot instructions below do not apply to those. A webbing strap that ends in a leather tail with slots adjusts the same way as a leather one.
What we sell: one strap, the Soldier double-layer cowhide strap, in black, dark brown, tan or white. Suede-finish back, length set through a row of slots on the tail. £54.95 with free UK delivery.
Changing the length in under a minute
- Take the guitar off first. Adjusting with it hanging means holding the weight on one arm and threading with the other.
- Pull the tab out of the slot, and pull the tail out of the keeper loop if it runs through one.
- Pick the next slot along. Measure the gap between two slots on your own strap, because makers space them differently, and the guitar moves about half that gap on your body, because the strap runs down both sides of you.
- Push the tab through from the same side it came out of. If the tail sat on the outside, keep it there, or the strap twists where it crosses your shoulder.
- Feed the loose tail back through the keeper, put the guitar on, and check it standing up.
Set the length standing, in the shoes you play in. A strap set while sitting is always too long when you stand, because the guitar rests on your leg and the strap goes slack. The length guide covers where most players land.
What to do with the excess tail
Once the strap is short enough to fit you, several inches of tail are left over, hanging down your back. Four things you can do with it, in the order I would try them.
- Back through the keeper. That is what the loop is for. Most tails tuck away completely if you feed them back the way they came.
- Back through a second slot. Fold the end of the tail and push it through a slot further along. It holds with no hardware and it undoes in a second.
- A spare keeper. A thin strip of leather riveted into a loop and slid onto the strap. A shoe repair shop will make one from a scrap, and a belt keeper does the same job.
- Leave it. A hanging tail is the normal look on a strap worn low and it does nothing to the leather.
Do not tape it and do not staple it. Tape leaves adhesive in the suede, and staples tear out of leather under load.
Still too long at the shortest slot
Check these before you decide the strap is wrong.
- The tab is in the slot nearest the end of the tail, not the one before it.
- The tail is not running through an extra loop, which quietly adds length.
- Both ends sit flat on the strap buttons, not doubled over one.
If it really is at its shortest and the guitar still hangs too low, the strap is too long for you. Adjustable straps do not all cover the same range, and the shortest setting varies from maker to maker, so check the listed minimum before you buy. Punching a new slot is the repair. A shorter strap is the fix, because a strap you take six inches out of carries a long useless tail for the rest of its life.
Still too short at the longest slot
Tall players and anyone who wears the guitar at the knee run out the other way. Three options.
- An extender. A short piece of leather or webbing with a button hole at one end and a loop at the other, fitted between the strap and the tail button. We do not sell extenders. Music shops and strap makers do.
- An extra-long strap. Makers list these as extra long or XL, often at 60 inches or more at maximum. Buying the right length beats stretching the wrong one.
- A lace end. If the strap ends in a leather lace, tying the lace longer gains an inch or two. A strap with a button hole at each end cannot do this.
Do not knot two straps together to make a long one. The knot ends up on your shoulder or against a button, and a knot in leather under load works itself loose.
Before you punch a hole or cut anything
Both are permanent, so take them in this order.
- Wear it for a week first. Leather gives a little under a hanging guitar, so a strap that is borderline today will be the same or slightly longer later, never shorter. A new strap is stiff for that first week and the care guide covers settling it in.
- Mark the new slot with a pen on the back of the tail while the strap is on you and the guitar sits where you want it.
- Use a leather punch, either a rotary punch or a hollow punch and a mallet over scrap wood. A drill bit or a screwdriver tears the fibers around the hole, and a heated nail chars the edge hard and brittle. Either way the hole is weakened, and a weakened hole is where a strap lets go.
- Match the shape you already have. A round hole does not hold a flat tab the way a slot does, and two round holes joined with a sharp knife make a usable slot.
- Cut the tail down last, and only once the new slot has been played in. Cut square against a steel rule with a fresh blade, and leave at least an inch of leather past the final slot so the slot cannot tear out through the end.
Where our strap fits
The Soldier double-layer cowhide strap sets its length the same way, through a row of slots on the tail, with no buckle and no slider to jam. What we cannot tell you is how far it goes at each end. We have not published the adjustment range of our strap because the maker has not confirmed it, and we asked on 14 September 2026, so if the range is the deciding factor, ask before you order. It is £54.95 with free UK delivery, and a 30-day return with the postage refunded stands in for trying it on. If you know you need an unusually short or long setting, buy from a maker who prints the range instead. The strap page lists everything we do know about it.
Questions
How do you shorten a leather guitar strap?
Move the tab to a slot nearer the end of the tail. If it is already in the last slot and the guitar still hangs too low, the strap is too long for you, and the repair is a new slot punched with a leather punch. Set the length standing up, not sitting down.
Can you cut a guitar strap?
Yes, and it is permanent. Cut only the spare tail past the last slot you use, and never into the row of slots, because that row is the adjustment. Most players never need to cut: the tail tucks back through the keeper and stays there.
How do you adjust a guitar strap with holes?
Same method as a strap with slots. Take the guitar off, pull the tab or pin out of the hole it is in, move it along the row, and push it back through from the same side. Then check the height standing up with the guitar on.
Why is my guitar strap so long?
Most straps are sold long so one size covers tall players and low-slung players, and you take up the rest at the slots. If the shortest slot is still too long for you, the strap simply has the wrong range, and the excess tail is not a defect. Check a strap’s minimum length before ordering, not just its maximum.