Spider Capo!

[powerball13]

Just picked up one of these babies. You can choose which strings the capo frets. It is awesome, especially if you are in rut for writing. I always found using other tunings was annoying since I would want to go back and play a standard tuning song the next minute (i only have one guitar... for now!) The spider capo just pops on any guitar, electric or acoustic and can adjust for use anywhere on the neck. I just wanted to share my excitement since it has opened so many new ideas up for me. It has pads on the sides so it won't scratch the neck.





I got mine from Zzounds.com and it came within a day or two.

http://www.zzounds.com/item--CRESPICAPO

[220volt]

I must say that looks menacing. At the first sight I thought it was a medieval torturing device, but now I might get one myself.

[Mystic]

interesting...

[powerball13]

Hey guys, here is a little example. Standard tuning with the capo fretting an A chord. The first bit is mostly single notes played over the A chord and the second part has some cool chords utilizing the open notes. Hope you like!

-Sean

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GjLGI1TDEz0

[ljguitar]

Hi Sean…
Not sure, but I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting so hello and welcome to the forum.

I play with split capos (usually either in the Esus or A positions), and I can see the value of this as an experimental tool, but not particularly performance friendly for a couple of reasons.

• Not quick and easy on/off
• Sticks up pretty high for the reach-over-and-play-other-side-of-the-capo maneuvers

Have fun with it...some player who use a lot differently configured capos (for seeding ideas for yourself) are:
David Wilcox
Phil Keaggy
Trace Bundy

You will often see them with 2 or 3 capos on the neck, usually either two cut or one cut and one regular...

[powerball13]

Originally Posted by ljguitar

Hi Sean…
Not sure, but I don't think we've had the pleasure of meeting so hello and welcome to the forum.

I play with split capos (usually either in the Esus or A positions), and I can see the value of this as an experimental tool, but not particularly performance friendly for a couple of reasons.

• Not quick and easy on/off
• Sticks up pretty high for the reach-over-and-play-other-side-of-the-capo maneuvers

Have fun with it...some player who use a lot differently configured capos (for seeding ideas for yourself) are:
David Wilcox
Phil Keaggy
Trace Bundy

You will often see them with 2 or 3 capos on the neck, usually either two cut or one cut and one regular...

Hi Larry,

Thanks for the comment. I definitely agree with you. I was trying to do some reach arounds and even fretting under the capo and it is definitely tough. I was thinking of picking up some partial capos to be able to use more chord voicings.

I do more recording than live performances so it isn't too bad. I can always take the capo off and record what I need to!

All I know if I have had an influx of musical ideas since using the capo and I wanted to share my excitement.

-Sean

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by powerball13

...All I know if I have had an influx of musical ideas since using the capo and I wanted to share my excitement.

Hi Sean…
I think it's a great idea and may suggest it to my wife for Father's Day for me (she never knows what to get a 61 yr old who had everything he needs)...

I cut my own capos, and my favorites are the ones I've done from the Planet Waves NS and Dual Action capos. Both are great, and easy to work with...and cheap...here are some I've cut...



I've actually experimented with Shubb, Kyser and the Planet Waves. Both Shubb and Kysers tend to tip severely with no way to redirect the angle of the top bar once it is sawn off...by building up the underside of the Planet Waves NS with shrink tubing (several layers) they can be re-angled to fit most necks.

What I like about custom cutting them is the ability to customize them for different width necks or different areas of the neck (string spacing changes as one goes up the neck).

Have fun and make some more recordings for us...

[BBWW]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Q2xLWIFsrg

Brian Gore does a good job with two of those. Got to check this out.

[Raystrack]

Good concept but for me I'd want to see a modification to replace the time-consuming, big (and ugly IMO) tightening knob with a spring clip like the Shubb or G7 if it was for live use.

I do like the accidental but effective spin-off of being able to 'fine-tune' the strings.

[joe bandy]

OMG- have you checked out this guy? He's changing the tuning IN the song..never thought of that

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU...&v=9YOveJT8kZY

[ljguitar]

Originally Posted by joe bandy

OMG- have you checked out this guy? He's changing the tuning IN the song..never thought of that

http://www.youtube.com/watch?list=UU...&v=9YOveJT8kZY

Looks like the solution for him.

These days I'm working hard to be a songsmith not a musical acrobat.

[ledocs]

Just got a spider capo by mail-order to France (from Strings and Beyond), after seeing a local professional player who had recently got one and was intrigued by the possibilities.

I am having trouble with the fretting of the high E string by the capo. The other strings work OK. I have only managed to get it to work on the high E string once so far, otherwise the string will not resonate and is only partially fretted. I have tried repositioning the capo and the "finger" many times, I have tried it on both of my acoustics. I am wondering if there is a trick that I am missing or if I may have got a defective model. On the other hand, there was no obvious damage to the capo in the packaging, it looked fine. I think, but am not sure, that the French guy who introduced me to this device may also have said that he had problems with the high E string at first.

(Now I see that the trick is that the "finger," the movable piece that frets the string, has to be positioned correctly above the high E string in a way that is not necessary for the other strings, presumably because this is the thinnest string. It seems to me that perhaps this finger should be slightly longer and fatter than the others, but is not. I sense a design flaw here that is probably more of a problem on some guitars than on others. Seems like this could be a real problem in performance, getting the high-E string to be fretted properly so that it will ring out.)

[callouses]

one of the things i love about agf is that its pretty much cutting edge on info about the guitar. If you don't know about it, and aren't ashamed to say so, somebody on here can hook you up. I'm not big on using capo's, just because i prefer to use my fingers if i can. but there is so much cool music out there that uses this kind of stuff that i have to admit, im tempted to get into it, of course that would probably mean lessons for awhile, or maybe i should just relax and let the ones who already do all this just take the wheel. I enjoy listening, even if i don't play it.

[Bern]

Originally Posted by ledocs

Just got a spider capo by mail-order to France (from Strings and Beyond), after seeing a local professional player who had recently got one and was intrigued by the possibilities.

I am having trouble with the fretting of the high E string by the capo. The other strings work OK. I have only managed to get it to work on the high E string once so far, otherwise the string will not resonate and is only partially fretted. I have tried repositioning the capo and the "finger" many times, I have tried it on both of my acoustics. I am wondering if there is a trick that I am missing or if I may have got a defective model. On the other hand, there was no obvious damage to the capo in the packaging, it looked fine. I think, but am not sure, that the French guy who introduced me to this device may also have said that he had problems with the high E string at first.

(Now I see that the trick is that the "finger," the movable piece that frets the string, has to be positioned correctly above the high E string in a way that is not necessary for the other strings, presumably because this is the thinnest string. It seems to me that perhaps this finger should be slightly longer and fatter than the others, but is not. I sense a design flaw here that is probably more of a problem on some guitars than on others. Seems like this could be a real problem in performance, getting the high-E string to be fretted properly so that it will ring out.)

Possibly a glued on thin hard rubber pad might solve this problem.

[ledocs]

The glued-on piece will have to be quite thin, I think, but that's probably a good idea, unless I become more adept at placing the finger properly. Thanks for the suggestion.