Thread: 12 String Capo
View Single Post
  #7  
Old 11-16-2010, 05:31 PM
Glennwillow Glennwillow is offline
Charter Member
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Coastal Washington State
Posts: 44,927
Default

I use a Shubb 12-string capo and tighten it up until all strings vibrate without significant damping. For me, this means that the capo throws the strings out of tune. Any 12-string I ever used in performance was pre-tuned with the capo on if the song needed a capo.

It's probably just me and my old Guild F212 12-string, but the G7 capo never worked for me; it simply cannot hold the strings down hard enough to keep from damping the strings. I have played other 12-strings (eg, Taylor and Martin) and found them harder to play than my old Guild, so I don't think the problem is my Guild's playability.

I find that many people are content with a capo that damps the sounds of their strings somewhat in exchange for not having their strings thrown out of tune. I go the other way and accept retuning in exchange for better sustain.

I really like the sound of a 12-string with a capo on it, but the tuning issues are a pain during a performance.

Regards, Glenn
Reply With Quote