***UPDATE: Apparently I touched a nerve. My video which I also uploaded to Amazon was taken down inexplicably, and I can no longer leave any review on the Rok Lol product page. I guess they don't like constructive criticism. Despite all this I am still using the product, but have added a 2" OD by 5/8" ID neoprene washer to protect the finish on all my basses and everything is working out great. Follow the facts or follow the marketing narrative...you as the consumer decide!
Hey man. My name is Mark Ranalli and I am the inventor and co-owner of Rok-Lok. I just happened upon this video and your comments and we are absolutely open to constructive feedback. I'm never one to make excuses but know that we have no control over anything that Amazon does. As an Amazon seller, we aren't even allowed to get the email addresses of those that buy our products. In July, Amazon mistakenly deactivated our account (again, if you're familiar with life as an amazon seller you'll know that this is something you have to deal with as well). Although they made a formal apology to us for the mistake, they did take our account down for 7 weeks including all of the review save 5 or 10 (we've gotten almost 450 total). I have no idea what was special about those 5 or 10. Anyway, your video should be back up now. Again, we have no control whatsoever over reviews, videos, who leaves what, and who the person is that leaves what. As far as the Rok-Lok scratching your instrument, we have had a few people with bare wood acoustics tell us that it looked like it started scratching. If you'd like to discuss it further, please email me at my personal email (markaranalli@gmail.com). I understand that most people see a company and think there's some corporate structure and that we don't care. That really isn't the case at all. It's just me and one of my friends. I invented it three years ago and I worked like crazy to get it right (7 different versions). Once we had it, I still wanted to make sure that it protected instruments so we held back almost a year to do more testing. When we added the protective pads I felt like we had a winner of a product. We went to the NAMM show to test the market and I still wasn't satisfied so we held off again. At some point you have to have faith that the product is good. That's ultimately what I went by and judging from the response, I feel like we have a winner. That's not to belittle or undermine your concerns. I do care. Not because I'm worried that you're going to spread the word and we are going to sell less. I care because I don't want your guitar to get messed up because of something that I did. I care because it's the right thing to do. I care because I'm a fellow musician and we are all a brotherhood. We have an even better version of it about to come out that eliminates any chance of scuffing. I don't feel like anything that you said was untrue, unfair or unreasonable (other than the Amazon thing that you just didn't know the deal about). The guy that wrote fuck'em below. Does he think that I'm intentionally trying to mess up guitars? Does he think that I'm making a ton of money from this and all I care about is making money? Believe me, you can't get rich selling strap locks. My hope is that we continue to improve it and that it becomes the industry standard someday. We really do try to respond to every single person who wants to discuss it, positive or negative. I really appreciate your time. Again, it's markaranalli@gmail.com if you want to BS, talk Rok-Lok, or RUclips (I'm a youtuber too). Take care, stay safe, be well. Mark
@@8MinuteAxe hey Mark thank you so much for your message. I will definitely email you. Let's catch up. I'm still using your product today just with oversized rubber washers. No issue since doing that!! Maybe we can do a stream yard live to chat. We'll have to schedule it as my wife and I just got ourselves a new baby German Shepherd AKA velociraptor ha!
I'd love to see the puppy. Here's my dog story. Never had dogs and when we bought our current home my wife begged me for one. I wasn't against it it's just that I'm a bit of a neatnik and I knew that once you introduce a dog into the mix anything resembling clean is a pipe dream. So, we got Molly. A boston terrier puppy that was so well behaved, never barked, and was born potty trained. We enjoyed Molly so much that after 2 years, my wife's brother's Boston Terrier had puppies, so we got Buddy. We've had a saying around the house for the past 3 years. What did Buddy do now! Buddy is the cutest complete menace that ever walked the earth. His destructive force is unprecedented. 2 years ago when we got our first box of Rok-Loks in, Buddy was left alone for t minutes and chewed through the shipping box and ate 5 RL boxes. Worst of all, he ruined Molly. Molly barks, and barks, and barks. And Buddy bites! Good luck! Lol. Email me at markaranalli@gmail.com as I don't always check comment replies. I'd love to connect. Take care.
I like this Rok-LoK because it fits over the larger Ibanez strap nuts. Thanks for the heads-up on the washer work-around. Good idea. FYI - on my Sterling I removed my Schaller strap locks because their screws loosen over time. They are thinner then the stock screws, and they unwind out. I now use the Planet Waves D'Addario Auto Lock Guitar Strap on the Sterling with the stock strap nut put back. That D'Addario would work on your guitar too, but you would have to use the entire strap, not your wide leather one, so that is a draw back.
@@anthonycurreri1543 thank you for that info. Yes I did see the D'Addario auto lock strap. Too bad they don't make that a separate system to work with other straps. I'm still using Rok-Lok with the washers. They work well, just wish they were more receptive to constructive criticism.
I looked into the popular brands, but don't like adding bulk to the strap or having to change the strap button. I don't want to change the buttons on all of my guitars. I was looking into the Rok-Lok because it can be used on just about any strap button. However, it has the same problem as the other brands when it comes to added bulk. I want my strap to look and work like a normal strap. The only one I found that fits that bill is the D'Addario Auto Lock. You wouldn't even know the quick connect is there at casual glance, yet it is strong and really easy to use. The Auto Lock isn't a screw on type. It is a whole strap and comes in different materials and colors/patterns. Works really well and hasn't hurt the paint yet. Will use the washer solution if it ever becomes a problem.
***UPDATE: Apparently I touched a nerve. My video which I also uploaded to Amazon was taken down inexplicably, and I can no longer leave any review on the Rok Lol product page. I guess they don't like constructive criticism. Despite all this I am still using the product, but have added a 2" OD by 5/8" ID neoprene washer to protect the finish on all my basses and everything is working out great. Follow the facts or follow the marketing narrative...you as the consumer decide!
i don’t buy shitty plastic adaptor on amazon, fuck em
@@sega62s yeah I won't support them, buyer beware.
Hey man. My name is Mark Ranalli and I am the inventor and co-owner of Rok-Lok. I just happened upon this video and your comments and we are absolutely open to constructive feedback. I'm never one to make excuses but know that we have no control over anything that Amazon does. As an Amazon seller, we aren't even allowed to get the email addresses of those that buy our products. In July, Amazon mistakenly deactivated our account (again, if you're familiar with life as an amazon seller you'll know that this is something you have to deal with as well). Although they made a formal apology to us for the mistake, they did take our account down for 7 weeks including all of the review save 5 or 10 (we've gotten almost 450 total). I have no idea what was special about those 5 or 10. Anyway, your video should be back up now. Again, we have no control whatsoever over reviews, videos, who leaves what, and who the person is that leaves what. As far as the Rok-Lok scratching your instrument, we have had a few people with bare wood acoustics tell us that it looked like it started scratching. If you'd like to discuss it further, please email me at my personal email (markaranalli@gmail.com). I understand that most people see a company and think there's some corporate structure and that we don't care. That really isn't the case at all. It's just me and one of my friends. I invented it three years ago and I worked like crazy to get it right (7 different versions). Once we had it, I still wanted to make sure that it protected instruments so we held back almost a year to do more testing. When we added the protective pads I felt like we had a winner of a product. We went to the NAMM show to test the market and I still wasn't satisfied so we held off again. At some point you have to have faith that the product is good. That's ultimately what I went by and judging from the response, I feel like we have a winner. That's not to belittle or undermine your concerns. I do care. Not because I'm worried that you're going to spread the word and we are going to sell less. I care because I don't want your guitar to get messed up because of something that I did. I care because it's the right thing to do. I care because I'm a fellow musician and we are all a brotherhood. We have an even better version of it about to come out that eliminates any chance of scuffing. I don't feel like anything that you said was untrue, unfair or unreasonable (other than the Amazon thing that you just didn't know the deal about). The guy that wrote fuck'em below. Does he think that I'm intentionally trying to mess up guitars? Does he think that I'm making a ton of money from this and all I care about is making money? Believe me, you can't get rich selling strap locks. My hope is that we continue to improve it and that it becomes the industry standard someday. We really do try to respond to every single person who wants to discuss it, positive or negative. I really appreciate your time. Again, it's markaranalli@gmail.com if you want to BS, talk Rok-Lok, or RUclips (I'm a youtuber too). Take care, stay safe, be well. Mark
@@8MinuteAxe hey Mark thank you so much for your message. I will definitely email you. Let's catch up. I'm still using your product today just with oversized rubber washers. No issue since doing that!! Maybe we can do a stream yard live to chat. We'll have to schedule it as my wife and I just got ourselves a new baby German Shepherd AKA velociraptor ha!
I'd love to see the puppy. Here's my dog story. Never had dogs and when we bought our current home my wife begged me for one. I wasn't against it it's just that I'm a bit of a neatnik and I knew that once you introduce a dog into the mix anything resembling clean is a pipe dream. So, we got Molly. A boston terrier puppy that was so well behaved, never barked, and was born potty trained. We enjoyed Molly so much that after 2 years, my wife's brother's Boston Terrier had puppies, so we got Buddy. We've had a saying around the house for the past 3 years. What did Buddy do now! Buddy is the cutest complete menace that ever walked the earth. His destructive force is unprecedented. 2 years ago when we got our first box of Rok-Loks in, Buddy was left alone for t minutes and chewed through the shipping box and ate 5 RL boxes. Worst of all, he ruined Molly. Molly barks, and barks, and barks. And Buddy bites! Good luck! Lol. Email me at markaranalli@gmail.com as I don't always check comment replies. I'd love to connect. Take care.
I like this Rok-LoK because it fits over the larger Ibanez strap nuts. Thanks for the heads-up on the washer work-around. Good idea. FYI - on my Sterling I removed my Schaller strap locks because their screws loosen over time. They are thinner then the stock screws, and they unwind out. I now use the Planet Waves D'Addario Auto Lock Guitar Strap on the Sterling with the stock strap nut put back. That D'Addario would work on your guitar too, but you would have to use the entire strap, not your wide leather one, so that is a draw back.
@@anthonycurreri1543 thank you for that info. Yes I did see the D'Addario auto lock strap. Too bad they don't make that a separate system to work with other straps.
I'm still using Rok-Lok with the washers. They work well, just wish they were more receptive to constructive criticism.
I agree. I have several. Maybe they should just include a washer !!!
@@RustyRaceHorse that would be best, something larger than the washer I found. It would be terribly expensive when you consider bulk pricing.
I just used 2 heavy duty picks I screwed in with the strap button.
I looked into the popular brands, but don't like adding bulk to the strap or having to change the strap button. I don't want to change the buttons on all of my guitars. I was looking into the Rok-Lok because it can be used on just about any strap button. However, it has the same problem as the other brands when it comes to added bulk. I want my strap to look and work like a normal strap. The only one I found that fits that bill is the D'Addario Auto Lock. You wouldn't even know the quick connect is there at casual glance, yet it is strong and really easy to use. The Auto Lock isn't a screw on type. It is a whole strap and comes in different materials and colors/patterns. Works really well and hasn't hurt the paint yet. Will use the washer solution if it ever becomes a problem.
@@rav3n595 I'll look into that system!! I think my old Planet Waves Straps had a similar mechanism.
I use dunlop strap locks. And nothing else
Same since the 1980s lol. I actually have one guitar with Schallers.
felt washers would do the trick
Using 2 a second strap lock to make the first one work is ludicrous. Just buy Dunlop strap locks
You are not wrong. That's why I'm hoping Rok-Lok sees this and makes the design change