Capo Buzz

[Aarfy]

Hey guys! As some of y’all might remember (probably not but hey, who knows!) I got my new D-40e a while back (it’s been well played and sounds great - tried different strings , still to decide the winner )

but when I’m playing with a capo it buzzes - not matter the placement, no matter the fret - any ideas?
I’ve tweaked the capo (it’s a shubb) grip, moved it around etc, but there is always a buzz. Differing strings - usually high e on down. It’s so annoying.

any thoughts would be appreciated

 

[wileypickett]

Sounds like the radius of the capo may not match the radius of the gutar neck. If it's a capo intended for classical guitar, the capo "finger" will be flat, rather than curved, which indeed will lead to buzzing.

If the capo is curved, and buzzes, get a a piece of thin mousepad material and glue it (cloth side out) to the capo finger. You can get mousepads for next to nothing online.

I do this on all my capos. It allows you to capo without having to tighten the thing so much -- which will often throw the guitar out of tune.

This "squishy" material is particularly effective on 12-string guitars, where you have thick and strings adjacent to one another.

 

[Stuball48]

Sounds like the radius of the capo may not match the radius of the gutar neck. If it's a capo intended for classical guitar, the capo "finger" will be flat, rather than curved, which indeed will lead to buzzing.

If the capo is curved, and buzzes, get a a piece of thin mousepad material and glue it (cloth side out) to the capo finger. You can get mousepads for next to nothing online.

I do this on all my capos. It allows you to capo without having to tighten the thing so much -- which will often throw the guitar out of tune.

This "squishy" material is particularly effective on 12-string guitars, where you have thick and strings adjacent to one another.

I would be interested in seeing one of your capos you have customized.

 

[Aarfy]

Thanks - it’s curved so I’ll try that if I keep having issues - but like Stuball said - I’d love to see an example of your modified capos!

 

[wileypickett]

Sorry -- I hadn't revisited this thread so missed your photo requests! I'm not sure what miracle of ingenuity you were expecting to see, but here it is gang -- a capo with a piece of mousepad glued to it!

Advantages:

1. The mousepad material is "squishy," so on a 12-string guitar it cleanly barres the thick and adjacent thin strings.

2. This mod requires less tightening of the thumbscrew to cleanly barre the strings -- so less re-tuning is required.

3. Gluing the mousepad with the cloth-side down, so it presses against the frets, means the capo rubber never wears out. On Shubbs yoiu have to replace the rubber sleeve every so often.

4. Even with frequent use, I only need to replace the mousepad material every three or four years, if that.

5. Cheap! You can buy mousepads for next to nothing online; a single thin mousepad will produce enough strips to last you the rest of your life.

Disadvantages:

None.

 

[Stuball48]

Thanks Glenn and excellent idea putting the cloth side down.

 

[Aarfy]

Thank you! I’m going to try this— although the buzzing has abated somewhat so I’m guessing it might have been my capo placement more than anything

 

[Brucebubs]

Great name for an acoustic band ... 'Capo Buzz.'