Like the other patterns available, dAndrea have done a brilliant job bringing back the "Ace" straps from the dead, far better than other imitators. The quality and accuracy are exactly where they should be.
This might be a slightly less famous pattern than the X&O Ace strap, and perhaps a little harder to "pair" with all guitar colours aesthetically, but it's just as classic, and again dAndrea get everything right. The cotton weave is scaled and coloured correctly, and it's also soft to the touch. Unlike some reissues and replicas, the backing to the woven strap is white leather as per the original, not black or tan, or even worse, stiff nylon webbing. The leather is also soft and flexible, and that makes for comfortable wearing.
What the picture does not show, which is true for the strap I received as is true for the originals in this and the other lighter colourways, is that the strap ends are also white leather. Why the image shows black ones I don't know, I can only suppose it was an earlier run or prototype and has since been "corrected" - the darker coloured options have black strap ends as per their original designs too.
It's a very good strap for the money, quality and appearance wise, worth spending a little more than for a more basic strap, especially if you want to channel that 60s/70s image. Accurate enough to look at home on a genuine vintage guitar, as well as reproduction/replica vintage guitars or even just timeless designs.
It doesn't match everything though. From experiment, in this colour and style, do pair with:
+ white, natural, and light/pastel finishes, including light sunbursts, and mid toned dyed woods.
+ vintage / retro / traditional guitars
+ S-style and T-style electric, 70s or earlier bass, and acoustic shapes
Avoid pairing with:
- dark or black finishes (the blue and white strap just looks... odd)
- tobacco or red-heavy sunburst finishes (as above)
- neon colours (just a clash of two eras of colours)
- 80s era (PRS-style) / superstrats / "progressive" / metal guitars
- "modern" basses
Obviously, aesthetics are always subjective but this perhaps gives a good flavour of how the strap "feels" to the wearer, at least this wearer.
