Review: Alice Capos Chubb style

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: gillymor
Date: 06 Sep 21 - 11:12 AM

It's like an old home convention on my headstocks but at least I don't use them as cigarette holders any more. :)

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 06 Sep 21 - 10:41 AM

In exactly the same way that I remove my electronic tuner from the headstock when I’m not tuning, I remove my capo when I’m not using it in actual play. I hate ‘stuff’ cluttering up the headstock and adding unnecessary weight to the neck.

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: gillymor
Date: 06 Sep 21 - 10:38 AM

I have Paiges on my banjos which work well and slide conveniently behind the nut when you're not using them and keep one of those Planet Waves in my mandolin case for the few occasions I use one on mando. (Yep, I'm a jack of all trades and a master of none.)

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: PHJim
Date: 06 Sep 21 - 10:19 AM

I have Paige capos on my guitars. They never leave the guitars except for string changes. I don't find them too fiddly and slow for performing. They're always handy right above the nut and it takes no time to move them to wherever they're required.
On my banjos, I prefer the D'Addario capos that will fit past the 5th string peg, although I seldom capo the banjos past the second fret.
D'Addario (Planet Waves) banjo capo

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: GUEST,Ray
Date: 06 Sep 21 - 09:02 AM

I have a couple of Shubbs and I bought a spare rubber at about the same time as the first one. That must have been at least 30 years ago and the original rubbers are still on both of them.

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: MickyMan
Date: 06 Sep 21 - 08:42 AM

Thank you for the link, Backwoodsman.

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 05 Sep 21 - 07:20 PM

Yes a lot of faffing.

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 05 Sep 21 - 05:24 PM

Micyman is talking about a Paige yoke-style capo, like this…

Yoke-style capos are fine - I’ve had three, an Elliott, a G7th Heritage, and a Shubb Finetune - and they work very well for playing in the house, but I found them all way too fiddly and slow to use when playing out in front of an audience. So for gigs, I’ve stuck with my Shubbs and, by positioning them properly (I.e. right up to, and touching the ‘back edge’ of, the fret) and setting the tension ‘just right’ (I.e. just tight enough for the string to ring clean without any damping or buzzing), I get the exact same accuracy of tuning in far less time than it took with those yoke-style capos.

As ever, the usual disclaimers apply - IMHO, YMMV, IOSTBTBDO, etc.p

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 05 Sep 21 - 10:47 AM

Sorry Can't get the link to work.

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: MickyMan
Date: 05 Sep 21 - 09:56 AM

My intonation stickler friend maintains that there is no way that any side gripping capo can match the one he has that tightens evenly across the fingerboard from the back of the neck. He says that the Shubb and others can't help but tighten down on the strings unevenly.
I can't recall the actual one he uses, but it kind of looks like this ....https://www.sweetwater.com/store/detail/PO-6--paige-6-string-standard-capo-black?mrkgadid=3331288745&mrkgcl=28&mrkgen=gpla&mrkgbflag=0&mrkgcat=guitars&acctid=21700000001645388&dskeywordid=92700046938600946&lid=92700046938600946&ds_s_kwgid=58700005283398302&ds_s_inventory_feed_id=97700000007215323&dsproductgroupid=522112415470&product_id=PO-6&prodctry=US&prodlang=en&channel=online&storeid=&device=c&network=g&matchtype=&adpos=largenumber&locationid=9003398&creative=332063179836&targetid=aud-373947915057%3Apla-522112415470&campaignid=1708733954&awsearchcpc=1&gclid=Cj0KCQjw1dGJBhD4ARIsANb6Odk8YlQmUBE_xeHJqfQlyyuveu9G5sJ4fnTuw1sXm4qp2ii6GEhwfBEaAi-EEALw_wcB&gclsrc=aw.ds

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 05 Sep 21 - 09:21 AM

LOL!

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 05 Sep 21 - 06:56 AM

”Does it? Sort of depends if you smoke or not? “

Does it? I don’t smoke, I’ve never smoked, but I know how easy it is to find out how much they cost!

You have a point about price not always reflecting quality, but I’m still using two Shubbs that I’ve been using for thirty years, and they’ve only needed one rubber-sleeve change (£1-50 each at the time, IIRC). Tell you what, report back here in thirty years and tell me if your cheapo capos are still working perfectly, and I’ll tell you my Shubbs are still working perfectly at sixty years old! ;-)

Second thoughts, I’ll be over 100 years old myself by then, probably won’t care! :-)

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: gillymor
Date: 05 Sep 21 - 05:51 AM

I don't think Shubbs are overpriced, they seem to be very well made and as BW notes would probably last a lifetime with a few rubber changes but I've retired the ones I use on my guitars after a friend gave me a quick-change capo out of a 3 pack he bought on Amazon for about the price of a single Shubb. It works so well and is so easy to use I don't even know where my other guitar capos are right now. It seems to be going that way with musical instruments as well, earlier this year I purchased a made-in-China Eastman 335-type guitar at less than a 1/3 the price of the Gibson original. The materials and workmanship are surprisingly good and it is as much a guitar as I could want for playing electric blues.

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 04 Sep 21 - 05:57 PM

Does it? Sort of depends if you smoke or not? I'm a great believer in the school of thought that says price does not always indicate quality in the music world. I've played several over priced Taylor and Gibson guitars, and my vintage Yamaha beats them hands down, as does my Tanglewood. I think Shubb's are over priced. Just like ink in Epson printers. I've never bought a genuine Epson pack yet. Same difference.

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 04 Sep 21 - 10:20 AM

I’d rather pay for a Shubb and get a reliable, top quality capo that will work perfectly for the rest of my life or, if it doesn’t, reliable spares are easily obtained and they fit!

A Shubb C1 costs £19, a packet of cigarettes around £9. So a Shubb costs around as much as a couple of packets of coffin-nails - that puts everything into context for me.

The usual disclaimers apply......IMHO, YMMV etc.

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 04 Sep 21 - 08:57 AM

Nope! Rubber no good at all. Just bought a replacement Shubb rubber from Hobgoblin. £3-85 inc P+P. So total expenditure comes out at just under £9-00. Still half price on a new Shubb.

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 31 Aug 21 - 07:49 PM

Sorry Shubb. I was going back to my lock picking days with Chubb! It was a hobby of mine. I once managed to liberate a Wheatstone concertina from its locked and keyless box with the use of a hairpin. Never managed a Chubb though. I can do a padlock with a box of matches. That will keep you guessing! Seriously thanks for your interest, and let me know how you get on if you buy an 'Alice'.

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: gillymor
Date: 31 Aug 21 - 07:24 PM

Thanks, BW, I was just trying not to embarrass Nick Dow too much. :)

I get rubber replace sleeves for Shubbs from Stew Mac but I think most online string companies carry them,

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: Backwoodsman
Date: 31 Aug 21 - 04:41 PM

On a point of order, it’s neither ‘Chubb’ nor ‘Schubb’. It’s Shubb.

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: GUEST,JHW
Date: 31 Aug 21 - 03:10 PM

I did get a new rubber sleeve for my Schubb. Forget where.

Subject: RE: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: gillymor
Date: 31 Aug 21 - 10:00 AM

Here are some Alice capos on Amazon including a Shubb knockoff for $7 + shipping. Looks like they'd be worth a try, I have a quick change off-brand I've been using for years with no problems.

Subject: Review: Alice Capos Chubb style
From: GUEST,Nick Dow
Date: 31 Aug 21 - 08:42 AM

About £5-00 on Ebay, and nearly as good as a Chubb. The quality of the rubber (or what ever it is) is a bit lower, but at that price who cares. Worth a look.