As technology enthusiasts, we often focus on the primary technology to the exclusion of most everything else. What I mean by this is that we’ll carefully research and then purchase, say, an expensive mobile device costing hundreds of dollars, then cheap out on a $5 case or charging cable. Musical instruments are no different. Even starter electric guitars cost a pretty penny, but then we’ll just use any old strap to place it on our bodies each and every time we’re playing the thing. That was my situation with my Epiphone Les Paul Junior guitar that came with my Sony PlayStation 3 version of the original Rocksmith from Ubisoft, which I got back in late 2011.

While I’m still a complete guitar newbie thanks to my lack of time to practice, I’m now trying to stumble my way through Rocksmith 2014 on the PC. It was therefore good timing that I received a review unit of StrapSnake’s cotton guitar strap. There was nothing wrong with the Rocksmith-branded strap that came with my guitar, but I will say it was also nothing to take note of. It was a functional, if stiff, strap. Assuming that was what they were all more or less like, I thought nothing more of it.

Grabbing the StrapSnake strap, I immediately noticed the difference. I honestly don’t know what material the Rocksmith strap is made from, but it was nowhere near as supple as the StrapSnake strap. Whatever the material differences, the StrapSnake model is clearly a step up in nearly all areas of its design. While I’m not someone you should take musical advice from, I do know what good design is. The StrapSnake is good design.

In regard’s to the StrapSnake‘s specs, I imagine they’re pretty standard. It easily fit on my electric guitar and is said to work on acoustic models as well, which I didn’t test (I only have one other electric guitar and an acoustic ukelele). The strap itself adjusts from 33.5″ to 56″. I like my straps shorter, but as you can tell from the photos, there’s a lot of room for adjustment.

A guitar strap is not necessarily something to obsessively research, but it is something that you’ll constantly make use of and is therefore worth investing in a decent one. The StrapSnake is a good one and has a nice bonus of having no brand markings on it, unlike my previous Rocksmith strap which loudly advertised the brand of the product I was already using.