Yeah, PoppaGator, Carter-style is an excellent way to go, esp. in C and G, and especially for a singer with a low-ish voice.

Thanks for the tip, Nick -- I've been using x20400 and it doesn't sound balanced -- too much third in the chord for my taste, but x24400 might be an improvement. I'll play around with that a bit.

I spent some time this evening experimenting with standard tuning and capo on strings 1-5 only (second fret) as someone suggested above. It works pretty well. The only thing I didn't like about it is that I can't finger a low E with the capo in the way... it's G, F#, F, then nothing until low D (relative to the capo, I mean).

I also learned that the partial capo I was thinking of is called the Third Hand in the US, and that it's possible to make one out of the standard clothespin style capo by cutting up a replacement rubber, so I may give that a spin soon.

-HM