guitar capo

Subject: which guitar capo?
From: Kaleea
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 12:33 PM

I rarely have used guitar capos in all the years I've played, & I need some advice! I have arthritis, & carpal tunnel in both wrists, but I need to use a capo for a particular song in order to sing it with others in the middle of a set. I tried a quick change squeeze capo a friend had, & it was quite painful & near impossible for me to squeeze the darn thing! I saw in a catalog a glider capo, too, & I was wondering if it is really all that easy to use, & if it will go down the neck 4-5 frets or so? Is there a geezer-friendly capo out there for a geezer such as myself?
    It has become slowly but increasingly more painful in the past few years to play & since the carpal tunnel, the bar chords which I used to do all the time are especially painful. Being only 5 feet tall with very short fingers, I can't do the thumb version like so many do. My old '64 J-45 (Gibson) which has a smaller than the now standard Gibson neck is getting harder for me to play these days. I do know that soon I will have to look for a good acoustic guitar (gotta be acoustic for my kind of music!, but I should have a pickup in it) with an electric sized neck & smaller body. The only acoustic guitar I've ever played like that was a Fender Wildwood(I think?)which I borrowed way back in the '70's from a boyfriend for a couple of years--but they are near impossible to find & nobody wants to let go of the ones they have! Any suggestions on a good capo as well as skinny-necked small-body guitar for a geezerly gal with a very limited budget? I was hoping to not have to sell or trade my old J-45 so that I could pass it on for posterity to my dear nephew--who has no trouble at all with the bar chords. However, I also know that within a couple more years (maybe sooner!)I may not have a choice.
      Thanks!      Kaleea

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: jeffp
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 12:36 PM

I use the Victor capo, which is really easy to use, but hard to find. It's made of brass and uses a thumbscrew-driven worm gear to tighten up. It's easy to adjust the tension to just the right amount so as not to push yourself out of tune and the metal is just soft enough to put a little curve in for curved fingerboards.

jeffp

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: GUEST,Whistle Stop
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 01:01 PM

The Shubb capo would also be a good choice. It is adustable to the depth of the neck profile (which changes as you go up the neck), and doesn't require any squeezing of springs or stretching of elastic to lock it onto the neck. It's also one of the most common capos out there these days, so you shouldn't have any difficulty finding one.

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 01:33 PM

The Sigma DM2 has a very narrow neck indeed - and by chance I am trying to sell one at the moment, but you are in the USA and I the UK so I am not much use to you, and also it is not in the same class as your Gibson, albeit good for a budget guitar.

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: Mark Clark
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 01:55 PM

I agree with Whistle Stop. The Shubb Deluxe S Series is fully ajustable for any neck position and doesn't require the player to apply any hand pressure to use it. The screw types require the player to apply the pressure and take up the slack with the screw, a painful task for someone with arthritis and or carpal tunnel syndrome.

The Shubb Original C Series will save you a little money but in your case, I think the extra smoothness of the S Series will be money well spent.

If used very close to the fret, these capos can often be set so they don't force your guitar out of tune as well. Always a useful feature.

      -Mark

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 03:15 PM

The Victor capo that jeffp mentions above should be easier to find now (or at least very soon). It was invented by a friend of mine, Fred Veenschoten (Victor's his middle name, hence the product name) and he was making them in his garage. He has sold the rights to produce the capo to Jim Dunlop, one of the big-boys in the musical accessories biz. It's been several months since the deal was made so Dunlop should have them in their line now.

It should be a very easy capo for arthritis sufferers as it is worm-gear operated (that's the patented part) and doesn't need to be screwed down real tight to work well.

By the way, Fred, who invented the capo doesn't really even play guitar - but he's an excellent English concertina player.

Bruce

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: Ebbie
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 04:52 PM

I don't have arthritis in my hands, Kaleea, but I too find the Kyser capo difficult to use with just one hand. 'Tis for the young and strong of arm, I guess.

When I saw the title of this thread, I thought it was going to finally explain what has been happening in my house the last couple of months: a population explosion of strange capos! I have music in my home every Friday night and from 12 to 15 people show up and it's great fun; we play and sing from about 7:30 to midnight. But one night a black Kyser was left behind by someone. The next week I asked various ones who had been there- no, nobody was missing one.

A couple of weeks later, another one was left. This one is a silver Kyser. And noooooo, no one is missing one...:)

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 06:04 PM

Bruce, if one is suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome in the left hand, the last thing one wants to do is to operate a screw of any description with thumb and forefinger.

This is not to decry the merits of the Victor, which I am sure is an excellent product ( I know that the malleable pressure arm is a big plus).

In Kalleea's circumstances, I think there is no doubt that the Shubb is the most suitable.

Murray

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: mooman
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 06:39 PM

The Shubb still requires thumbscrew adjustment to get a suitable pressure at different points in the neck. I agree that once set for a particular neck position, operation is simple.

I have used every make of capo imaginable. I have long since dispensed with the Kyser exactly because it has such a strong spring which tends to sharpen some strings. I luckily don't suffer from arthritis but would imagine it to be painful to use for a sufferer.

I use two capos regularly now. One is the excellent Victor mentioned above which actually requires very little force to turn the thumbscrew if properly lubricated. These used to be hard to get (Shoreline Music always had them and still has) but should be more available now that Dunlop has bought the original small company.

My main guitar (a Lakewood), however, has a custom wide neck (almost classical width) and the Victor cannot cope at higher fret positions. For this guitar I use another excellent capo, a Bird of Paradise "Blackbird" (I couldn't bring myself to buy the more brightly coloured but otherwise identical original version!). This is very easy to use (I can change it with my left hand alone quickly) and has excellent reach for higher positions or even classical guitars. Like the Victor, pressure is fully user adjustable via an eccentric thumb-operated cog. I live in Europe but I know that, in the USA, Elderly Instruments stock these.

Peace,

moo

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: Deckman
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 06:43 PM

I have been using a "Bird of Paradise" capo for the last eight years and I'm very pleased with it. Both "Bride Judy" and I have arthritis so I'm well aware and sensitive to your situation. I may have the only "Bird of Paradise" capo in captivity as I've never seen another. I'll try to describe it: it's large, made of composite black material and bright orage plastic. It's really quite handsome and actually resembles the "Bird of Paradise" flower from the tropics. It's a cam action and all the pieces are large, meaning easy to grasp and move. I would suggest you research this capo and try to get yourself in a room with one. I hope this helps! CHEERS, Bob(deckman)Nelson

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: mooman
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 06:47 PM

No... there are two Bob! Perhaps we should get them together to mate!

moo

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: Deckman
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 06:56 PM

Hey "Mooman." That sounds like a great idea. But, what what we call the offspring ... Birdses of Paradise ... Birds of Paradises ... Wrap around Twin Tweedely Birds? Oh, never mind! CHEERS, Bob

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: mooman
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 07:36 PM

Good point Bob.. "Little Peckers"?!!

Here's a link for the uninitiated:

The extraordinary and astonishingly good "Bird of Paradise" capo

Peace

moo

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 26 Aug 03 - 08:14 PM

Kaleea mentions the glider capo in the opening post. I have one which I use on my Guild 12-string and am quite pleased with it. It's the only capo I've ever found that's wide enough to go to the 9th fret on a 12-string. However, I doubt whether it's a solution for an arthritic player. It is spring operated and the amount of effort required to stretch the spring for initial installation is substantial. But it does roll up and down the neck with ease once you've got it on there. I suppose you could just get somebody else to put it on and not take it off until it's time to change strings. I have my doubts about the "store it over the nut" bit though. Seems like it could pinch the strings. I always just take mine off.

Bruce

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: GUEST,Mountain Tyme
Date: 27 Aug 03 - 12:06 AM

The Victor capo mentioned above has no equal. Very easy to adjust, as is also the picker's Pal, a good second choice as it has additional advantages. You must know if your fretboard is straight or curved when choosing one of these capos. Both are available from Musicians Friend for under $20 ea. These two capos are the only two anyone i've played with has found that do not cause some of the strings to go additionaly sharp on banjo or guitar as they are used on up the neck. Any of the other capos which use spring or over center tension are cute but nightmares to tune. I've noticed many times when pickers show up with spring loaded capos folks that take tuning seriously put their instruments down till the sour tuners stop playing. I also find the same is true when folks that use electronic tuners try to play. They are also reviled for their sourness. A combination of the two causes dehydration :)

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: Mark Clark
Date: 27 Aug 03 - 12:46 AM

Here are links to pictures.

• Dunlop Victor Capo
  
• Dunlop Pickers Pal Capo
  

      - Mark

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: frankenxtein
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 03:04 PM

I am pleased with the Dunlop Pickers Pal Capo
It doesn't knock the guitar out of tune due to inconsistent pressure on the strings.It takes two hands to set it, but most guitarists have two hands. Playing with a capo on one guitar and the other no capo intonation had been a problem until we got these.
It is well made and the price is right.
Its not a capo for idiots it requires more than a working knowledge of Clothespins.
Having used spring loaded, elastic, mechanical everyone has their favorite. I still have the others, but I like the Pickers Pal best.
This is my first post here so please bear with my choice of topics.

Subject: RE: guitar capo
From: catspaw49
Date: 22 Jan 08 - 03:24 PM

Listen, the choice of topics is so broad around here we're just happy that you've found one that fits! Anytime you don't feel free to start a new thread. It may get combined with another but we'll get the info.

Welcome to Mudcat

Spaw