Paige capo P12E assessment

Clearly some thought has been given to the needs of the 12-string player, but the execution could be better.

1.        The latch for the bar is both tight and fiddly. The groove on the old Hamilton Quick Action works better.
2.        The screw does not withdraw far enough. There are many old C-neck 12-strings still in use. The back bar appears to have been specifically shaped for V-necks which further reduces clearance for C-necks. On my Mugen THE 78-12 and THE80W twin-neck the P12E can be forced on at the first fret and then slid up the neck to the fourth fret – but it then pulls the guitar badly out of tune.
3.        The rubber is too thin – so one cannot file grooves into it for the fat strings to ease fit and get round the inadequate sleeves (see below).
4.        The sleeves to reduce the risk of string rattle on the thin E A D and G courses are a good idea in principle but:
a.        The pack that came to me said it contained transparent sleeves. They were black – this may simply indicate a lack of oversight but it looks like amateurishness.
b.        They were a VERY tight fit over the bar – needing washing-up liquid and a lot of force to get them on –and the tightness also made it very hard accurately to locate them.
c.        They were sloppily cut. It looked as if somebody had cut them off a bit of tube with a craft knife.   
d.        They were too wide – making it very hard indeed to avoid interfering with the thicker strings on each course.   



Suggestions.

1.         Make the frame deeper so that large-neck 12s could be catered for. I deal below with catering for slimmer necks without making a further design.
2.        Use a flat bar, not a round bar (again, like the Hamilton Quick-Action) with a slot for the bar in the rubber (like the cheap and nasty Chinese Shubb copies that have not really worked out how the Shubb over-centre lever works)         
3.         The rubber can then be eccentric, with more rubber on one side than the other (just like the worst Shubb copies) and a rounded profile to face the frets. If the rubber were slid off and returned with the thicker side towards the frets this would reduce the need to screw the screw tight in (which might lead to poor stability) for slimmer necks.
4.         Make the slide-on pieces to hold the thin strings narrower with a groove round the circumference. This would ease centring those pieces on the slimmer strings.
5.         Have another wide thin slide on piece for the B and to E courses so that the bar sits flat to the neck.