Members Guitin Better Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 I play electric guitar in a church band and our acoustic player frequently uses a capo. The problem is, it seems to be pulling her guitar out of tune (sharp) which makes sense considering the mechanics of how a capo works. Is there anything she can do to to correct this? In my experience on acoustic guitar, when I put the capo right on the fret it seems to minimize the problem but then it gets in the way cuz I have gorilla hands. She's pretty tiny so that might be the answer for her. She's not very open to suggestion . . . she's been playing for about 80 years and I'm relatively new so we'll see where this goes Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oldskool Texas Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 People here have had success with Shubb or G7th brand capos. They seem to pull the strings less than the Kyser clamp-on styles. Other than trying those, your guitarist may have to retune when using the capo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 Yes - most capos sharpen some or all of the strings (just as fingers do, in fact). Some capos are better than others but it's always best to check the tuning when you capo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitin Better Posted May 20, 2009 Author Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 Yeah, I have a Shubb and I really like it because you can set the tension to be just enough without changing tuning (as far as I could tell). She doesn't like Shubb because she can't put it on or change it's location as quickly between songs in a medley. I don't know much about the G7th brand. Is that a pistol grip style? That might work for her. Retuning when using a capo won't be an option because she sometimes plays without it and then she'd be flat . . . . aarrgghh! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members garthman Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 Retuning when using a capo won't be an option because she sometimes plays without it and then she'd be flat . . . . aarrgghh! If retuning is an issue she will have to learn to transpose between different keys. HST, it is fairly easy to learn to tweak the tuning by ear - a capo does not usually cause a drastic change. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members panhandler Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 SHUBB. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Taylor Davis Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 When I was trying out capos many seemed to make my axe go SHARP and i'd had to retune accordingly. I now have a capo that seems to work well and does'nt push my axe sharp. I have to get my gig bag and see what kind it is. Although I have found that on different guitars it works better on lower actioned axes and tends to push sharp on higher actioned axes. I've found sometimes one string(LOW E) will need to be retuned to a lower note to offset the push. But I attribute this effect to thicker strings and unadjusted nut grooves. I tune down a whole step and use thicker strings in order to keep STRING FLOP to a minimum and sometimes I don't regroove the nut to allow for thicker strings. I've found the better guitars with better tuner machines will be less affected by the sharp effect than a cheaper less well made axe. also make sure your strings are well stretched. thanks for lettin me share TD Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Hudman Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 Sounds like her action is too high. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 Hudman may be onto something. A good setup and a new Shubb should get her on the right path. FWIW, I use a Shubb (which is why I recommended one) and I find no need to retune with a properly setup guitar. I rarely capo past the third fret so intonation issues are minimal. Her mileage could well vary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guildfire Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 I try to avoid capos whenever I can unless absolutely necessary. Barre chords. This may or may not be an option for her. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Brokepick Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 Shubb, G7th, Planet Waves NS, not necessarily in that order. All these are fully adjustable as far as string pressure, and they all work well. The Shubb has the added benefit of a quick-on, quick-off, release lever, although it doesn't work as well on a fat neck, IMHO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Guitar_stringer Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 No capo. Transpose, or play it as written (barre chords). Problem solved! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Melodeous Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 80 years plus and still sharp. I just love contextual playgrounds. Yep, others have said about everything there is to say. If you put a mighty squeeze on Mr Shubb he's going to sing alto. If you tune a guitar to a trusty tuner and then put a capo on the tuner will tell you when there's too much squeeze going on. Somewhere between muting and going sharp there's a happy tension that will require little or no fiddling with retuning. That's if the guitar is set up well. On the flip side I've yet to play a guitar that intonated perfectly going up the neck. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members swing4u Posted May 20, 2009 Members Share Posted May 20, 2009 No capo has perfect intonation but in my opinion the Shubb seems to do the best job for maintaining. And it's pretty quick on and off. It's as quick as I need it to be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members guitarcapo Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 I agree with the Shubb thing. It's a perfectly designed tool. I can't think of an improvement. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members John Freiberg Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 +1 for Shubb. No issues at all. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Samilyn Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 Shubb is better than Kyser, IMO, but I put up with Kyser because it's a lightning fast on/off when I'm feeling too lazy to transpose on the fly. Erm....she's been playing for 80 years and hasn't figured out a capo/tuning solution yet? Hmmm............ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Davo17 Posted May 21, 2009 Members Share Posted May 21, 2009 Shubbs take a little longer to apply, but are more stable and detune less. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nhoj444 Posted May 22, 2009 Members Share Posted May 22, 2009 just try a few capos as they are cheap no harm there I own around 15 capos and I was looking for the perfect one, most are good enough so you will learn to use them accordingly to their design, your guitar setup and your playing Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members crashclc Posted May 22, 2009 Members Share Posted May 22, 2009 As others have said, there is a certain amount of pressure that's enough to fret the string without buzzing or making it go sharp. I have a G7th capo and it is a work of machined aluminum art. I rarely use it because I am a barre chord player anyway but sometimes my fingers get sore enough that I just throw the capo on there to lower the action and string tension so I can keep playing (Yeah, I am a masochist ) I imagine some folks with smaller hands might have trouble barre-ing chords up close to the nut b/c of the amount of string tension and their relative lack of finger leverage, so a capo would solve that quite nicely. In theory you could just tune down a step and then put the capo on the first fret and play the guitar "normally" as if it were in standard tune - unless you're bothered by the location of the dots. Downtuning 2 steps and putting the capo on the 2nd fret would put the dots back in their right place on most gits I suppose. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted May 23, 2009 Members Share Posted May 23, 2009 just try a few capos as they are cheap no harm there . . .I don't know that I'd say they're "cheap." A good capo costs $15-20. Not enough to break the bank, true, but not insignificant either. If you mean buy one and if it doesn't work out return it then yeah but keep spending $15-20 a pop on capos? Well, I have better uses for my money. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nhoj444 Posted May 25, 2009 Members Share Posted May 25, 2009 I don't know that I'd say they're "cheap." A good capo costs $15-20. Not enough to break the bank, true, but not insignificant either. ) I got 3 for $15 at harmonyegg.com and they are good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted May 25, 2009 Members Share Posted May 25, 2009 I got 3 for $15 at harmonyegg.com and they are good. If you're talking about the Alice A-007, it appears to be a Shubb knockoff. For Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members nhoj444 Posted May 26, 2009 Members Share Posted May 26, 2009 If you're talking about the Alice A-007, it appears to be a Shubb knockoff. For Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members michaeln Posted May 27, 2009 Members Share Posted May 27, 2009 I have a Kyser (hate it) and a G7 (it's OK, but not thrilled with it). Years ago I had Phill Elliott capos for my banjo and guitar, and they were by far the best capos I have ever used. I ended up selling them on EBay when I quit music, but now that I am back playing again it's hard to resist the urge to buy another Elliott. They pretty much make everything else look like crap. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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