Members SlayerofShadows Posted February 28, 2006 Members Posted February 28, 2006 Hi. Well, I've been listening to a song lately and decided I wanted to learn it ("What Hurts The Most" - Rascal Flatts). Well, it seemed very simple so I thought I'd bring my guitar with me to school and play it there. Well, being in a hurry I looked up the tabs/chord progressions and found out that it's played with a capo at the first fret. Thing is, I don't have a capo. What are some things I could do to replace the capo? I know I could just play it without the capo, but I really want it to sound right. Could it damage my neck to tune up a half step? Any help is appreciated.
Members Gretsch Fan Posted February 28, 2006 Members Posted February 28, 2006 You could change the tune up a half step. No reason that should do damage that I can think of but I'm not an expert in that area. Get a capo; they are worth the $20 or less investment. They are great and really give much better sound than barre chords. I really like trying to play the same song in various keys by simply capoing into a register I want to try and the whole song can really take on a whole new feel too. I recommend something in this general style: http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Accessories?sku=361503 This style lets you fine tune the pressure and keep it in tune better.
Members SlayerofShadows Posted February 28, 2006 Author Members Posted February 28, 2006 thanx for the reccomendation. I plan on buying one sooner or later (probably sooner), I was just hoping for a quick fix for tomorrow.
Members babablowfish Posted February 28, 2006 Members Posted February 28, 2006 I wouldn't tune a half step up. You really don't want to put the extra stress on the neck. In fact there are many of us that tune a half or a full step down to preclude the horror of a warped neck. A capo is one of those things that once you get it you can't imagine doing without it. My personal recommendation is that you buy a Shubb brand capo. They have a screw adjuster that lets you set the pressure on the strings at just the right place so that no matter which fret you set it at, you won't be throwing your guitar out of tune.
Members JasmineTea Posted February 28, 2006 Members Posted February 28, 2006 Play it without a capo untill you get a capo. Edit: Here's a capo alternative. A pen or pencil and a strong rubber band.
Members Freeman Keller Posted February 28, 2006 Members Posted February 28, 2006 Take a pencil and lay it across the strings at the first fret. Use a couple of rubber bands behind the neck to hold it on. Play the song. Then go buy a real capo.
Members JasmineTea Posted February 28, 2006 Members Posted February 28, 2006 Great minds think alike.
Members zookie Posted February 28, 2006 Members Posted February 28, 2006 If you downloaded the chords from some free online site, it's also possible the person who transcribed the chords was flat out wrong or had his/her guitar tuned a half-step too high. Did they capo to play in F or Bb or Eb? Moving the song to E, A or D won't make all that much difference anyway.
Members Hudman Posted February 28, 2006 Members Posted February 28, 2006 Play it a half step flat. Trust me, you will be the only one that knows you are playing it flat.
Members Blackwatch Posted March 1, 2006 Members Posted March 1, 2006 Buy a capo. Shubbs are good but I use one of these:http://www.musiciansfriend.com/product/Guitar/Accessories?sku=361600 Not only is it easier to put on but you can store it right on the end of the headstock.
Members SlayerofShadows Posted March 1, 2006 Author Members Posted March 1, 2006 Thanks for the suggestions. Luckily a freind of mine had a capo with him this morning and he let me borrow it. After school I went and bought one. It's a Dunlop Trigger.
Members DenverDave Posted March 1, 2006 Members Posted March 1, 2006 I use capos all the time, and in some cases it's pretty much unavoidable. There is no problem with changing keys to avoid using a capo, but if your playing with other players that ain't always possible. I use a Kyser capo all the time, and I really like them. I think the Shubb and newer/more expensive brand (? minor?) are better than the Kyser by a bit - but the ease of the kysers use, plus the fact that it goes on/comes off so fast (I use it sometimes in the middle of a song) sold me on Kysers...
Members kongholiday Posted March 1, 2006 Members Posted March 1, 2006 Originally posted by SlayerofShadows Thanks for the suggestions. Luckily a freind of mine had a capo with him this morning and he let me borrow it. After school I went and bought one. It's a Dunlop Trigger. That's the one I have. sure beats the hell out of the last one i had, the cloth band type.
Members pipedwho Posted March 1, 2006 Members Posted March 1, 2006 +1 on the Kysers. I have a Shubb that I use on the electric to avoid detuning, but on the acoustic it's Kyser all the way. I also have a G7th capo, but it has all the disadvantages of the Shubb. ie. It's slower to put on / take off than a Kyser, and (unlike the pictures/blurb would lead you to believe) it can't be clipped on the headstock. To it's advantage, it won't detune the guitar and it does look nice. It can also be used on any fret/guitar without fiddly adjustments (like the Shubb).
Members JasmineTea Posted March 1, 2006 Members Posted March 1, 2006 Kysers suck. I only use them because they're cheap.
Members pipedwho Posted March 1, 2006 Members Posted March 1, 2006 Originally posted by JasmineTea Kysers suck. I only use them because they're cheap. And your first choice would be ....?
Members babablowfish Posted March 1, 2006 Members Posted March 1, 2006 How can you use a Kyser and not have to retune? Is there a secret?
Members JasmineTea Posted March 1, 2006 Members Posted March 1, 2006 Originally posted by pipedwho And your first choice would be ....? If the shops around here carried them, I'd try these: Victor Although it's probly not much better than Kyser, the thing I like about it is, it does'nt have the long handles. Sterner This one's even smaller. The trouble I find with capos is having to re-tune when you move the capo. I thought someone had solved this problem...
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted March 1, 2006 Members Posted March 1, 2006 Originally posted by babablowfish How can you use a Kyser and not have to retune? Is there a secret? I use a Kyser on all of my acoustics w/o the capo affecting the tuning...it's super-easy if your guitar is set-up right.
Members babablowfish Posted March 1, 2006 Members Posted March 1, 2006 Funny, I never have the problem with the Shubb because I set it to put only the requisite pressure on the strings. The Kyser depresses the strings too far and out-of-tune we go. How would a set up change this?
Members Terry Allan Hall Posted March 1, 2006 Members Posted March 1, 2006 Originally posted by babablowfish Funny, I never have the problem with the Shubb because I set it to put only the requisite pressure on the strings. The Kyser depresses the strings too far and out-of-tune we go. How would a set up change this? W/o seeing your guitar, I can only guess, but it could be that your action might be lowered a bit...also, the intonation on your bridge saddle might use a bit of tweaking... A good guitar tech can probably look at it and give you more exact answers.
Members pipedwho Posted March 1, 2006 Members Posted March 1, 2006 Originally posted by JasmineTea If the shops around here carried them, I'd try these: Victor Although it's probly not much better than Kyser, the thing I like about it is, it does'nt have the long handles. Sterner This one's even smaller. The trouble I find with capos is having to re-tune when you move the capo. I thought someone had solved this problem... Kyser have a models with different spring tensions. The standard seems ok with 0.012" strings, but detunes with 0.011" and lower. Yes there will always be a little detuning, but it is barely noticeable if you use a capo with the right spring tension.Also, for playing live the Victor has the same problem as the G7th: you need to reset the capo's tension whenever you put the capo on. This is fine if you can strum a bit to make sure you've got it right, but if you don't get that opportunity (ie. on stage) then you risk a buzzy setting. And buzz is way more disconcerting as a player (live) than a tiny amount of detune.Trigger style capos (eg. Kyser and Dunlop) can be used one handed and clamped onto the headstock in those rush change moments. No of the others can do this, so for ease of use and consistency they win every time.Shubb is good in that you can set the tention to the ideal amount and just clip it on knowing your tension will be correct. A two handed operation, but still pretty quick. Can be removed with one hand, but takes two (or great skill) to remove it or change positions silently. (Actually, if it's put on up-side-down it can be flicked off silently.)The G7th is useful if you have a guitar that has a varying neck thickness between the first and fifth frets. It can be clamped on with one hand and is fairly easy to tighten while you play (just squeeze it tighter). It also takes two hands (or great skill) to remove or change positions silently. I'm still getting used to this capo, so haven't worked out all the tricks yet. I find I tend to overtighten it slightly to make sure it doesn't let the strings buzz.I have a Dunlop trigger capo for my classical and it hardly detunes at all. With the spring tension matched to string/guitar type, the Kyser is also nearly perfect. For live playing I would much rather ease of use than ultra perfect tuning that no one will hear anyway, so Kyser/Dunlop win here. For recording when I don't mind spending the extra effort to set the guitar up properly I alway go with a Shubb or G7th.All the other types I've seen are just too slow and fiddly to put on/take off. These get given away (for them to keep) to first person I play with that forgets to bring a capo.
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