not another capo thread...

[bfloyd6969]

Hello everyone. I'm looking for some capo advice. I currently have four capos - a Kyser Quick Change, a Dunlop Trigger, a Kyser Pro-Am, and a Dunlop elastic. All of the four mentioned really dampen the overtones from my guitars, some moreso than the others. I understand there will be some dampening effect, but would still like to find the lesser of the evils. I actually find the Kyser Pro-Am to be the best of the above, but still dampens quite a bit. I have read some here and there that the high end Elliot capo lets the guitar ring more while capo'd. Of course the Elliot is not a low cost capo and would like to hear other's opinions on this before dropping the big coin on one. Thanks.

[williejohnson]

I've been using the Planet Waves capo for years now and I love it. I think they cost around $14. You might want to try one and see what you think before locking into the more expensive models.

[ocmcook]

Originally Posted by williejohnson

I've been using the Planet Waves capo for years now and I love it. I think they cost around $14. You might want to try one and see what you think before locking into the more expensive models.

i will second that regarding planet waves

[mchalebk]

I would suggest either the Planet Waves NS or a Shubb. The G7th also works very well, but is quite a bit more expensive.

[Ramblin Man]

Your issue is exactly why I mentioned in the other capo thread that I removed the black rubber sleeve on one of my Shubb's and replaced it with the "clear tubing" like the Elliots use.
And it works and sounds great.
Regards,Ramblin Man

[L20A]

I have used and loved Shubbs for over 20 years.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

[Ramblin Man]

Originally Posted by L20A

I have used and loved Shubbs for over 20 years.
If it ain't broke, don't fix it.

If this response was toward my comments,I agree with you.I've used Schubbs since 1978,ever how long that is,and I love them also.
I have 4 or 5 of them.But,on one of my guitars the "harder" material sounds better.The softer material muffles it some.My other Schubbs are O.E. and great.
This worked for me.
Regards to you all,Ramblin Man

[murrmac123]

Originally Posted by Ramblin Man

...on one of my guitars the "harder" material sounds better.The softer material muffles it some...

You're supposed to put the capo behind the fret ...

[Ramblin Man]

Originally Posted by murrmac123

You're supposed to put the capo behind the fret ...

Yes sir,I realize that.I've been placing it correctly all this time also.
I got the idea here on the AGF.If I had time to search,or think.I could be more specific,but a professional guitarist mentioned that he had a guitar that sounded better with an Elliot.I thought, outside of mechanics what is the difference in it and the Schubb.The pressing material is different.I experimented, it worked for me.
Thanks for the response,Ramblin Man

[jhchang]

Try the new Paige Clik capo. You'd be surprised.

[Wade Hampton]

Originally Posted by bfloyd6969

... I currently have four capos .... All of the four mentioned really dampen the overtones from my guitars, some moreso than the others. I understand there will be some dampening effect, but would still like to find the lesser of the evils. I actually find the Kyser Pro-Am to be the best of the above, but still dampens quite a bit. I have read some here and there that the high end Elliot capo lets the guitar ring more while capo'd. Of course the Elliot is not a low cost capo and would like to hear other's opinions on this before dropping the big coin on one. Thanks.

Bryan, I've noticed a diminishment of tone when capoed on a couple of my guitars, notably on a maple-necked Gibson J-100. Interestingly, I noticed almost as much tonal diminishment on another guitar that had a mahogany neck. What makes it interesting (at least to ME) is that when installing a strap button on the heel of that guitar I found the mahogany to be much harder and denser and more difficult to drill into than any previous mahogany I've encountered.

Anyway, loss of tone when capoing maple necks is a common problem; the loss of tone on this dense mahogany neck leads me to believe that this problem may be heavily influenced by how dense the wood of the neck happens to be.

Be that as it may, I found two capos that worked better than my Shubb capos on the J-100: the first was the Paige capo, which is quite inexpensive:




And a capo that worked better still than the Paige, the John Pearse Ol' Reliable:




As you can see, the basic design concept of both capos is similar. But the Ol' Reliable is a bit beefier all the way around, and it gave me the best tone on that maple-necked J-100. It is more expensive than the Paige, but considerably less expensive than the Elliot capos.

Hope this helps.


Wade Hampton Miller

[epaul]

I recently got a Taylor GA 12 string. I was initially very disappointed in the capoed tone. I was losing much of the shimmer. I also would sometimes get a bit of fret buzz on the D octave string.

I checked the neck relief. The neck was perfectly straight (and the action was very low). I gave the neck a smidgen of relief. The fret buzz went away. And the guitar now kept its shimmer when capoed.

I read (here) that when the action is low and the neck is perfectly straight (or even back-bowed just a tisch) it is possible for the strings to contact the frets enough to deaden their vibration but not enough to create an audible buzz. I don't know if that is true or not, but putting a little relief in my formerly straight neck improved the capoed tone measurably.

Just throwing this out there. I don't expect it is a likely culprit, but you never know ...

[FredLewis1979]

Originally Posted by bfloyd6969

Hello everyone. I'm looking for some capo advice. I currently have four capos - a Kyser Quick Change, a Dunlop Trigger, a Kyser Pro-Am, and a Dunlop elastic. All of the four mentioned really dampen the overtones from my guitars, some moreso than the others. I understand there will be some dampening effect, but would still like to find the lesser of the evils. I actually find the Kyser Pro-Am to be the best of the above, but still dampens quite a bit. I have read some here and there that the high end Elliot capo lets the guitar ring more while capo'd. Of course the Elliot is not a low cost capo and would like to hear other's opinions on this before dropping the big coin on one. Thanks.

This was my dilemma to, if you check out my post I got lots of great suggestions - I am sold on the paige capo - I play a fair bit of blue grass so its important that my open stings ring through clear, and they do woth teh paige capo

check out my

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7xOyDHtINiw

I don't know if this is what your looking for......

[bfloyd6969]

Thanks for the replies and recommendations everyone. I'll look into all the above mentioned. A couple questions - does Shubb make the clear tubing to replace the stock dark tubing? Also, is Paige still making both the standard and the Click capo? If so, what is the difference bwteeen the two and is one better tonally than the other? Thanks again all!

[Ramblin Man]

No sir,Schubb does not put out the clear tubing.I either got it at the hardware store or the auto parts store.
It will only take you a few minutes to try it.It worked marveously for me.You'll probably be surprised how little effort it takes to get a clean sound.
I wish you the best and all of you a great weekend!
Ramblin Man