Looking for capo recommendations

[PittPastor]

The only issue I have with any capo so far is on my new Aristocrat HH. It has medium jumbo frets and a Capo is always pulling it sharp. So, no mater what I try, every time I move my Capo, I have to retune. Kind of frustrating. But, my oh my, those Medium Jumbos make fretting easy -- even for my messed up left hand.

 

[Coop47]

On the pricier side, I like Thalias and the ability to use a pad that matches your radius. On the less expensive side, I like the D'Addario/Planet Waves NS Artist (which also works well on electrics).

 

[GAD]

The only issue I have with any capo so far is on my new Aristocrat HH. It has medium jumbo frets and a Capo is always pulling it sharp. So, no mater what I try, every time I move my Capo, I have to retune. Kind of frustrating. But, my oh my, those Medium Jumbos make fretting easy -- even for my messed up left hand.

If you have an adjustable capo, loosen it for that guitar. Just like your fretting hand, the capo should not have a death grip on the fretboard when jumbo frets are in play.

 

[markus]

If you have an adjustable capo, loosen it for that guitar. Just like your fretting hand, the capo should not have a death grip on the fretboard when jumbo frets are in play.

That leads me to the question: how to use a capo right? Between the frets or very close to the fret? Pressure adjustment: Just to avoid buzz or harder?

(Some Shubbs here. I love those, especially the ones I brought from Arlington where I met a nice bunch of LTGers. Memories … )

markus

 

[jp]

I guess I'll also try some of the D'Addario models. They seem to hit the right quality/price point areas for me too.

 

[dreadnut]

I find it works best when placed closer to the desired fret, about 1/3 above.

 

[geoguy]

I think the D'Addario capos are the same as the Planet Waves versions. Not sure of the relationship between those two brand names.

Thalia capos are beautiful, but too bulky & heavy for my taste. However, they are easier to reposition than the D'Addario / Planet Waves models that have an adjustable knob.

 

[Tom O]

I still have a couple Dunlap elastic capos from the 60s. Use Dunlap triger capos mostly with a Kyser 12 string for my 12 strings and they work ok. Dunlap triger has a classical model I use for my GAD-N5.

 

[dreadnut]

Like my guitar tech at Elderly Instruments told me "Your guitar has perfect intonation, but any capo is going to change that at least slightly."

 

[PittPastor]

If you have an adjustable capo, loosen it for that guitar. Just like your fretting hand, the capo should not have a death grip on the fretboard when jumbo frets are in play.

Yeah, I've played with that, but still haven't found the sweet spot.

Another issue, though, is the 3rd and 5th frets are high. When things start opening back up again, I need to drop this off and have someone level them. I don't want to try leveling frets myself.

Really weird, BTW. I got in one from SW, and the 3rd and 5th frets were high, as well as a couple of other QC issues. My new guy at SW (Andrew) is really great, and he told me that they'd replace it with a new one, and they even threw in a free setup. Great! So I send the first one back, and wait a week to get the new one... and frets 3 and 5 are high again. I asked the SW rep: "Do you check frets in a setup?" and he says, no. If you pay for a fret level, they do. Or of course you can pay to have it PLEKd. But a normal setup does not include checking for high frets.

That surprised me because Stuart Day considered that part of a setup.

Anyway, 2 of them coming with High frets in the same place tells me that Guild China has some QC issues.

 

[Zelja]

Then there's the good old golf pencil and rubber band method.

Check out this improvised capo from Australia's latest darling, Courtney Barnett:


I love capos, especially using two at a time. I like the Shubbs but the Planet Waves ones with the spring action like the Kysers but the the tension adjustment like the Shubbs are good too.

 

[Stuball48]

I have an old Paige that I like, also.

 

[CocoaPicker]

I had decent luck with a standard Shubb purchased from @Fixit and an inexpensive Guild-branded clamp capo bought off Amazon. Both worked best when placed practically right on top of the fret wire or ever so slightly behind, to minimize string bend. My Kysers that worked well on other guitars were too tight for my Guilds, as others have mentioned.

More recently, I’ve gotten a couple of Thalia capos and now that’s mostly what I use, using the 12” radius fret pad for my Guilds. They aren’t as low profile as the Shubb but somehow they can be placed halfway between frets and still maintain good intonation, so they’re actually less in the way except when placed on higher frets. I still have to retune some after moving them but far less than before. They’re crazy expensive, but I’ve caught two sales— a factory seconds sale earlier this spring, and then a COVID-19 pre-order discount which had me expecting to wait for their factory to return to normal, but it turned out they had what I ordered already in stock.

 

[crowlibrarian]

I wouldn't say they're the best, but I like my Nordic Essential really well for a clip-on style capo, much better than the Kyser I have. I'm really happy with my Paige capo as well. They both have low profiles and are quick to set.

 

[Velvet Phelts]

Anything that holds down the strings. You'll like what you get used to. In 1974 when I would lock myself in my room after school. I decided to learn Here Comes The Sun. I used a Bic pen and a rubber band. Have Kyser and G7th. G7th is a bit over priced for what it is IMHO.