leave capo on or remove?

[Dogma]

I am learning a song w/capo at the 9th fret and am wondering whether it's bad, for the strings or anything else, to leave the capo on between playing sessions?

Thanks for any input!

[UncleJesse]

It could leave a dent in the neck. It could leave marks in the finish. It could cause excessive fret wear. I wouldn't do it.

[Goat Mick]

Most likely it won't actually hurt anything to leave it on there, but I always take the capo off after playing. Just doesn't seem right to leave it on. And the rubber on the capo can react to some finishes and cause dark marks, etc.

[DesertTwang]

Never leave a capo on for longer than you need it. Even if the guitar doesn't care, your capo will develop permanent dents from the strings, rendering it useless over time.

[Kerbie]

I don't leave capos attached. Just me though...

[Rosewood99]

I put mine directly on the nut when I'm done playing. So far (after several years) it hasn't left any marks on any of my guitars.

[CASD57]

Originally Posted by Dogma

I am learning a song w/capo at the 9th fret and am wondering whether it's bad, for the strings or anything else, to leave the capo on between playing sessions?



Thanks for any input!

I think it caused premature fret wear on my 9 month old Ibanez AW54CEOPN.... I've never seen fret wear that quickly before. Remove it when not in use

[ljguitar]

Hi Dogma

Despite promises or promos, capos always come off the necks of my instruments as soon as I'm finished playing the song they are used for.

I don't know if they'd harm the guitar, and I'm not going to find out either.

[Earl49]

I always remove them. If nothing else, leaving one clamped on will eventually divot the rubber of the capo. So balance the cost of a replacement capo (or the sleeve in the case of Shubb) versus the few seconds needed to remove one and set it aside.

Recently I have been using a capo a lot more than normal. I wanted to explore a shorter scale for a custom order, so put a capo on the first fret and played a lot. With a 25.5" scale, that gave me about 24.3" - a pretty good approximation of the 24.6" scale length that I eventually ordered.

[AgentKooper]

Originally Posted by DesertTwang

Never leave a capo on for longer than you need it. Even if the guitar doesn't care, your capo will develop permanent dents from the strings, rendering it useless over time.

That makes some logical sense, but practically speaking, the capo I've been using (a Thalia) is made to be stored on the strings above the nut. My Thalia has basically lived on my guitar for three years, even when cased, and I haven't noticed any decreased functionality of the capo (or any harm to the guitar, for that matter).

I don't leave it on the neck below the nut because it seems that might cause unnecessary wear on the strings and/or nearest fret.

[cliff_the_stiff]

I wouldn’t leave it on. I also probably would transpose the piece, and play it without a capo, or capo 4 and play it one string up.

[Dogma]

Thanks Everyone!
Good points all around. I was concerned about the strings and frets and didn't even think about the issue of the capo itself. All good stuff.

The song is Lyle Lovett's If I Had a Boat, which feels (and sounds!) like a big part of its charm comes from playing it up high. And, it's good practice - my first up-the-neck song.

[AgentKooper]

Originally Posted by Dogma

Thanks Everyone!
Good points all around. I was concerned about the strings and frets and didn't even think about the issue of the capo itself. All good stuff.

The song is Lyle Lovett's If I Had a Boat, which feels (and sounds!) like a big part of its charm comes from playing it up high. And, it's good practice - my first up-the-neck song.

Ha! That's funny, I've been learning the same song and that was the first thing I thought of when I read your post. My capo has spent a lot of time at the 9th fret for the past week!

[Ed66]

Originally Posted by AgentKooper

That makes some logical sense, but practically speaking, the capo I've been using (a Thalia) is made to be stored on the strings above the nut. My Thalia has basically lived on my guitar for three years

Same here. I have a few Thalias and keep them parked right on the nuts of the guitars I have out. I've never noticed any indentations or issues whatsoever. To each his/her own.

[Dbone]

Take em off