Improving the Shubb Deluxe capo

[Rudy4]

Don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of the Shubb Deluxe capo. That said, I'm always willing to check out a "new and improved" capo. (Although I'm really not all that willing to go beyond my self-imposed $30 limit.)

Much as I love my Shubb Deluxe sometimes it takes a bit too much re-adjusting to get all the strings to be buzz-free so I purchased the new D'Addario Pro Plus with the thicker soft bar pad designed to imitate the real finger of a player. Does it work? Yes, and it looks great. So where's this going?

Had a playing buddy over for some socially distanced duet time and I was showing him my new capo, explaining I thought the thicker, softer pad made a lot of difference in getting buzz-free capoing without a lot of re-adjusting of the tension.

He pulled out his older style non-roller Shubb and said "I just take off the original pad and slip on a pad pulled from a new Dunlop 71S capo.

You know what I did the next day. A few days and $3 later I pulled the original sleeve off my Shubb Deluxe, stuck the bar in the dishwater for some lube factor, and slid the Dunlop sleeve in place.

Does it work? Yes! It doesn't look as good, but it clamps on easier with far less futzing with setting the string pressure to clear up any errant buzzing.

[Matts67]

Nice. The only thing that would concern me is a reduction of finger / hand clearance for those of us who like to attach capos in a more "forward towards the fret" position. Which, by the way, if you normally capo in the position pictured, you'd likely alleviate any buzzing issues by sliding it forward towards the actual fret.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Matts67

Nice. The only thing that would concern me is a reduction of finger / hand clearance for those of us who like to attach capos in a more "forward towards the fret" position. Which, by the way, if you normally capo in the position pictured, you'd likely alleviate any buzzing issues by sliding it forward towards the actual fret.

This pad works well with those slanted positions that give you a bit more clearance on the first string side where your finger might be more apt to contact the bar pad.

[6L6]

Interesting!

But for me, I prefer the original Schubb to the Deluxe model.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by 6L6

Interesting!

But for me, I prefer the original Schubb to the Deluxe model.

I have both, the Dunlop 71S capo sleeve works the same way on the original series or the roller model.

[pegleghowell]

You cannot improve upon perfection.

[Silly Moustache]

Originally Posted by 6L6

Interesting!

But for me, I prefer the original Shubb to the Deluxe model.

Me too C1s and C1bs.

[Parlorman]

I replaced the Shubb pad (which had started to deteriorate) with surgical tubing. It works great and has lasted for years.

[Beakybird]

So Rudy4, how does the hacked Shubb compare to your new D'Addario Pro Plus?

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by Beakybird

So Rudy4, how does the hacked Shubb compare to your new D'Addario Pro Plus?

That's an interesting question and comes with a multi-faceted answer.


First, the D'Addario Pro Plus is an interesting capo. My very first impression wasn't head-over-heels-in-love at first use. My first observation was to consider the tone as not as clear and crisp as when using my Shubb Deluxe. I thought about this for a few moments and wondered if it wasn't the result of the soft pad. I then compared the sound of a capoed note to the sound produced using my finger instead of the capo.

The sound was identical.

I then listened a bit more subjectively and realized that all of my other capos tend to produce a brighter tone than what i produced when the string is pressed with the fingers. After a session or two with the Pro Plus I found myself preferring that more natural tone. It's not a night-and-day comparison, and the difference is subtle but noticeable.

The Pro Plus is very attractive and easy to use, with the ability to produce clean buzz-free notes easily. To see it in use you can watch this video where I change capo position mid-song and have no problem with buzzing.



With that said, if you already own a Shubb Deluxe the switch to the Dunlop 71S bar pad will give you pretty much the same ability to more easily produce buzz-free notes without as many tension adjustments as you go up or down the neck.

The amount of finesse in fitting a Shubb is somewhat dependant upon the the guitar you use, as some have more change in thickness along the length of the neck. My Taylor 322 seems to require much less change along the neck length because it doesn't change in thickness as much as some other acoustics I've owned in the past.

The cost to try it out is minimal, so it's a pretty easy experiment that may just improve the ease of use of the Shubb for the player.

[MrBJones]

Originally Posted by Parlorman

I replaced the Shubb pad (which had started to deteriorate) with surgical tubing. It works great and has lasted for years.

Nice idea! For a more "original" look, you can get a replacement...Strings By Mail has them for $1.49.

[Rudy4]

Originally Posted by MrBJones

Nice idea! For a more "original" look, you can get a replacement...Strings By Mail has them for $1.49.

Elderly has a variety of replacement capo sleeves available, including the Paige replacement sleeve, which looks to be Tygon.

https://www.elderly.com/search?q=cap...e&type=product

I've picked up the Shubb sleeves at Elderly where they were positioned in a basket on the counter by the cash register, the musician's equivilant to picking up a candy bar when going through the check out at the grocery store.

[tadol]

The only time I’ve had a problem with a Shubb capo has been when the radius on the capo bar didn’t match the radius of the fretboard. It has to be a fair bit off to be a real problem, but when I adjusted the bar to be a near perfect match, the capo worked quickly, easily, and flawlessly all up and down the neck -

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

Elderly has a variety of replacement capo sleeves available, including the Paige replacement sleeve, which looks to be Tygon.

https://www.elderly.com/search?q=cap...e&type=product

I've picked up the Shubb sleeves at Elderly where they were positioned in a basket on the counter by the cash register, the musician's equivilant to picking up a candy bar when going through the check out at the grocery store.

Yes, but they are very chewy and if you get the ones with nuts you sometimes get string buzzes.

[FrankHudson]

Originally Posted by Rudy4

That's an interesting question and comes with a multi-faceted answer.


First, the D'Addario Pro Plus is an interesting capo. My very first impression wasn't head-over-heels-in-love at first use. My first observation was to consider the tone as not as clear and crisp as when using my Shubb Deluxe. I thought about this for a few moments and wondered if it wasn't the result of the soft pad. I then compared the sound of a capoed note to the sound produced using my finger instead of the capo.

The sound was identical.

I then listened a bit more subjectively and realized that all of my other capos tend to produce a brighter tone than what i produced when the string is pressed with the fingers. After a session or two with the Pro Plus I found myself preferring that more natural tone. It's not a night-and-day comparison, and the difference is subtle but noticeable.

I've noted the same thing subjectively, that sound of the same chord, voiced the same way with a capo seams different that with a finger barre replacing the capo. And I've read threads here where some hear different sounds (timbres) depending on the model of capo used.

However when I try to formulate a theory to understand what I think I'm hearing (barre vs capo, I'm not sure I hear a distinctive timbre from one capo to another) I'm stumped.

The string is stopped at the fret, not at the capo or the finger surface. This isn't like changing out a nut or saddle is what by mind tells me. The only thing I can come up with is that my full barres have some kind of unconscious audible muting, where the strings are not exactly buzzing, but they aren't meeting the fret completely like they'd be with a properly adjusted capo.

We certainly know there a audible change that can be made when one is fretting and then relaxing the fretting fingers (including a barre) rhythmically in that classic funk thing--something one can't do with a capo instead of a barre. Are we doing something less extreme, but still related to that, even if it's a held chord?