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Originally Posted by david_m
If someone says, "It's in E-flat" you should be able to whip out the old I-IV-V in E-flat without using a capo.
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As you say, David, different strokes. There's no way I'm forcing myself to play in E-flat without a capo.
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My major issue with using a capo stems from cutting off a huge part of the instrument's range.
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I disagree. Putting a capo at the 5th string only eliminates the notes below low A, and while the tone is diminished somewhat, that only eliminates 5 notes (E-G#) from the bottom of the guitar's range. That's probably a lot to a classical guitarist, but to the average folk or rock guitarist, not so much. I will also submit that in many cases, the chords of "alternate" keys won't make much use of the 6th string anyway, unless you're playing more complex chords that allow you to fret that string without barring others.
Sorry, I don't mean to sound curmudgeonly either, but most people play for fun, and learning to play in "standard" keys is plenty of work for the average guitarist. I always encourage learning theory and developing the ability to transpose between standard keys (from D to G, for instance), but I see the capo as a tool rather than a crutch.