Subject: RE: capos From: breezy Date: 31 Oct 04 - 07:33 PM The G 'klamp' was originally used by the carpenters in my youth and probably spawned the present day G7th concept. but I miss the screwing part. Works on all thicknesses of necks, which shubbs cant always do. |
Subject: RE: capos From: Don Firth Date: 31 Oct 04 - 01:38 PM Well . . . whatever works (in a pinch). Don Firth |
Subject: RE: capos From: Clinton Hammond Date: 31 Oct 04 - 10:28 AM Dumb... |
Subject: RE: capos From: G7th Date: 31 Oct 04 - 07:36 AM David Hughes has a great "Capo offer".. Check it out! http://www.recognised.org.uk/capo.htm |
Subject: RE: capos From: chris nightbird childs Date: 30 Oct 04 - 02:02 PM Shubb is the sexiest capo I've ever used... |
Subject: RE: capos From: breezy Date: 30 Oct 04 - 01:57 PM As I havent tried a Kyser I cant say but I am willing to see if modifications can be achieved first with what is still a very new concept and its in its early days. |
Subject: RE: capos From: Clinton Hammond Date: 30 Oct 04 - 01:42 PM I have tried a G7... for the money, they are a rip off... I'll stick with Kyser... Best capo in the world for my money |
Subject: RE: capos From: breezy Date: 30 Oct 04 - 01:39 PM Thanks Nick, will do as I believe you have a potential winner,will try your web site. John 'the User' |
Subject: RE: capos From: GUEST,G7th Date: 30 Oct 04 - 01:25 PM Message for Breezy If you've had a problem with your G7th capo please get in touch and we'll sort it for you! Nick the inventor |
Subject: RE: capos From: Big Al Whittle Date: 18 Oct 04 - 07:18 AM my god johnny that g7 sounds like a sexy bitch. can hardly wait to have a fiddle..... Answer for the superior jazz guitarist: we folk guitarists - we need that finger free, to order the guinness - its a well known advanced technique perfected in Dublin Other random facts: Tessio and Clemenza were the capos, Don Corleone was the Godfather (G1) |
Subject: RE: capos From: Don Firth Date: 17 Oct 04 - 12:31 PM Okay, the verdict is in. I'll stick with the Shubb. It works fine and I'm happy with it, so why change? Don Firth |
Subject: RE: capos From: breezy Date: 16 Oct 04 - 05:31 PM G7th Conclusion Not so durable May - August broke down after 3-4 months use An aid to arthritis but still a great concept |
Subject: RE: capos From: John Hardly Date: 16 Oct 04 - 05:23 PM Not to brag or anything My Elliott is enroute to me even as we speak. I won't forget the little people. |
Subject: RE: capos From: breezy Date: 16 Oct 04 - 04:30 PM for a minute I thought time was going backwards |
Subject: RE: capos From: breezy Date: 16 Oct 04 - 02:21 PM Conclusion G7th needs modification to surpass the shubb |
Subject: RE: capos From: breezy Date: 16 Oct 04 - 02:20 PM G7th The physical pressure required to apply the capo places too much pressure on the finger joints. Longer leverage as with keyser may correct this |
Subject: RE: capos From: breezy Date: 16 Oct 04 - 02:17 PM G7th They eventually fall apart and come to pieces |
Subject: RE: capos From: breezy Date: 16 Oct 04 - 02:16 PM G7th The plastic knob that releases the capo breaks to reveal a sharp edge |
Subject: RE: capos From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 16 Oct 04 - 01:34 PM G7th is excellent - but not quite as convenient as the Keyser when it comes to adjusting it with one hand. And it is more likely to fall inside the case if you put your guitar away still wearing it. |
Subject: RE: capos From: C-flat Date: 16 Oct 04 - 12:06 PM I'd forgotten about the G7 capo until I saw one this week in a music shop and thought I'd try it. I can confirm the hearty reccomendations it has already received earlier in this thread. Very simple to use, very unobtrusive and doesn't apply more pressure to the strings than is neccessary which is a help with tuning. My Jim Dunlop trigger is now consigned to the "spares" box! C-flat. |
Subject: RE: capos From: Don Firth Date: 17 May 04 - 12:09 PM Matai, a capo is not just a "cowboy's crutch" as some jazz and classic guitarists mistakenly assume. There is more than just one reason for using a capo, all of which are musically perfectly sound. The usual assumption is that anyone who uses a capo is not a very competent guitarist and can only play in a limited number of keys. But note that the difficulty in playing in certain keys is inherent in all musical instruments. A guitarist, including a virtuoso classic guitarist, is not going to be real happy playing compositions written in a key anywhere on the left side of the Circle of Fifths (from F around to Gb). Stringed instruments are easiest to play in sharp keys, whereas brasses and woodwinds tend to be easier to play in flat keys. If you lay a composition in, say, C# minor, on a flautist, he or she is going to be tempted to flog you about the head and shoulders with their instrument. Orchestral music is written in the full spectrum of keys, but it when it comes to assigning parts to the various instruments, the capabilities of those instruments must be taken into consideration. A good orchestrator does this. One of the things that makes a good orchestrator good is they never demand more from an instrument than it's capable of in the hands of a competent player. For example, Beethoven and Rimsky-Korsakov were excellent orchestrators. Tchaikovsky was absolutely brilliant. Mussorgsky was a good pianist, but a lousy orchestrator, which is why Rimsky-Korsakov and others did him the favor of re-orchestrating much of what he wrote. Those who compose for the classic guitar write in keys for which the guitar is well suited. This means a fair use of open strings, especially the basses. You will note that most classic guitar works are written in keys on the right side of the Circle of Fifths—from C (at 12 o'clock) on around through the sharp keys. One of the Fernando Sor studies (No. 19 in the folio of Sor Studies with fingering by Segovia) is in Bb—bar chords almost all the way—and it's considered one of the most difficult pieces in the guitar repertoire. It's a beautiful piece of music, but it doesn't get played much, even by guitarists such as Williams, Bream, Isbin, Romero, Boyd, or Fernandez. I've only heard one recording of it, and that was on a very old record by Vincente Gomez. Where the capo comes in is that a singer who accompanies himself or herself on the guitar has to work within the limitations of his or her own vocal range. Since I am most familiar with my own voice and its characteristics and limitations, I'll use it as an example. I'm a bass, and what I consider to be my best range (most comfortable and fullest sounding) is from a high of middle C (2nd string, 1st fret) down to the G on the 3rd fret, 6th string. I can vocalize up to F (1st string, 1st fret and down to the low D off the edge of the fingerboard, but my most reliable and best sounding range is where I have indicated. Take the ballad The Three Ravens. It has a range of an octave and a fourth. As far as the guitar is concerned, I could accompany that easily in the key of Am. But that would take me down to a low E (6th string, open). I can sing it with no difficulty, but that's getting pretty growly. I could also accompany it easily in Dm, but that takes me to the D above middle C, and I would rather not go there. So I sing it in Bm. Top note, B, a half step below middle C, bottom note, F# a half-step below my most comfortable bottom note of G, but since I hit in only briefly a couple of times in each verse, no problem. I could actually raise it to Cm, but it's more comfortable for me in Bm and I fell it actually sounds better there. I could do it without the capo, barring the Bm and the F#. But I chose to put my capo on the second fret and play the accompaniment as if it were in Am. This frees my fingers to play some lute-like counterpoint, which is stylistically appropriate for that particular ballad. I would not be able to do the same thing if I were inhibiting my left hand by having to bar the Bm and F# whenever they came along. The use of the capo enhances the accompaniment, which, in turn, enhances the performance of the song. I sing Bonnie Dundee in the key of C, which for that song, is the best key for my voice. I have no difficulty at all playing the guitar in C (who does!??). But if I put the capo on the third fret, I can accompany Bonnie Dundee using the A cycle of chords, where the voicings of the chords allows me to get a drone in fifths while I play a bit of the melody between verses, an effect that hints at bagpipes. This same effect is not possible if I use the C cycle of chords. The voicings aren't right. Once again, the use of the capo enhances the accompaniment and the performance of the song. Now, as far as my competence on the guitar is concerned, I studied classic guitar for several years, and when I'm practiced up and have a good tailwind, I can play a number of pieces from the standard concert repertoire, including such things as Fernando Sor's Minuet in C from Sonata No. 20 and Francisco Tarrega's Recuerdos de la Alhambra, which is full of bar chords all over the fingerboard, in addition to having to maintain a fast, smooth tremolo for several minutes. I also play several flamenco pieces (flamenco guitarists use the capo—the cejilla—all the time, not to change keys, but to alter the sound of the guitar), so I don't think my competence on the guitar can be questioned merely because I chose to use a capo from time to time. And I'm not the only one. There are a lot of folk guitarists out there who can play the bejesus out of a guitar in any reasonable key you care to name, but when it suits them, chose to use a capo to good effect. Consider the possibilities of two guitars being played together. One guitarist plays without a capo, the other uses a capo and plays up the fingerboard. Lots of possibilities for different chord voicings and textures of sound. Don Firth |
Subject: RE: capos From: Steve in Idaho Date: 17 May 04 - 11:43 AM Elliot capo - nocomputercharlie has one of those. An old one made of brass. We could never figure out who made it. Slow to work but looks very nice in the sound room - one of those conversation starters. Is there a link to the Dan Crary one? Or just a google? Steve |
Subject: RE: capos From: breezy Date: 16 May 04 - 06:51 PM G7th sets new standards so it does it better. Easier and more efficient. |
Subject: RE: capos From: GUEST,Dodgyfolk Date: 16 May 04 - 06:01 PM Saw MArtin Carthy use the G& a few weeks back. He seemed to find it ok and it produced a good sound. As to the Kysers - I have used one for a couple of years and dont have a problem with them. Why adjust when it will do it for you? |
Subject: RE: capos From: Strollin' Johnny Date: 16 May 04 - 04:39 PM Well Matai, I play the geetar to accompany myself singing. I do it for pleasure. I don't regard playing as an exercise in, or demonstration of, my enormous intellect or manual dexterity. I can't rub my belly and pat my head at the same time, and Christ knows I find it difficult enough to remember the chords and words and perform both simultaneously and with accuracy. Anything that makes it easier and more comfortable for me, and pleasing to my audience, is OK by me. Capo on! (G7th of course!) :0) |
Subject: RE: capos From: Don Firth Date: 16 May 04 - 12:35 PM Spot, read my post above (14 May 04 - 04:47 PM). Derivation of the word capotasto (capo for short). Not capo d'astra, which is one of a couple of mis-hearings or corruptions of the original Italian. That's not just my wild-assed idea or opinion, that's authoritative. Don Firth |
Subject: RE: capos From: s&r Date: 16 May 04 - 09:09 AM reasons for using a capo 1. To transpose when the music/chords are familiar in one key, but other instruments/voices need to be in another key. 2. To use tricks, runs, hammers etc. that are straightforward in one set of 'shapes' but not the key that's in use. 3. So two guitars can accompany the same piece with different timbres. 4. As with much flamenco, to use tone changes with shortened strings. 5. Shouldn't happen, but will lower the action if you're playing a lemon. 6. To use closer fret spacing and easier string bends mid-neck. 8. Because you want to stop the melodeons joining in. 9. For particular effects eg partial capos. 10 Because you can if you want to. Reasons to avoid capos Dunno, they seem harmless enough. BTW Chambers Dictionary gives both capotasto and (unusually) capodastro Stu |
Subject: RE: capos From: Spot Date: 16 May 04 - 06:20 AM Hello... still chuffed with my G7. No probs at all. I thought the original was "capo d'astra"...any comments? Regards to all....Spot |
Subject: RE: capos From: matai Date: 16 May 04 - 06:03 AM Well personally speaking i would never put a capo near my guitar when i was in an open tuning, although i might use a slide. Sometimes, yes, in ordinary tunings especially in jams. But most keys have a range of positions for each chord and the capo hinders that change. And what if you want to give over the chords and do a lead break? Matai |
Subject: RE: capos From: Strollin' Johnny Date: 16 May 04 - 01:30 AM Understood, Breezy (I think!). What was in that bottle? Musta bin good! Cheers mate, Johnny :0) |
Subject: RE: capos From: Cap't Bob Date: 15 May 04 - 10:39 PM The only capo I've ever used that did not require retuning was the Sabine. It does take a bit of adjusting but you save time by not having to retune. The capo rests right on top of the fret and requires very little pressure on the screw. Unfortunately the stopped making them durin the 80's according toe the capo museum (thanks Greg). I bought mine back in the late 70's and its about seen it's day. Sure wish someone would start making them again. Check it out at the capo museum under: Capos attached from the side With screw Cap't Bob |
Subject: RE: capos From: breezy Date: 15 May 04 - 06:53 PM who says theys that. Its only what you dont know or understand that makes them that understand it, look like they are the understanding and if you understand that, then they will wonder at your understanding. Do you understand? good so thats understood then. Boy that was a good bottle. |
Subject: RE: capos From: Strollin' Johnny Date: 15 May 04 - 04:55 PM Don't get too many experts in there Breezy, you'll scare me off! LOL |
Subject: RE: capos From: breezy Date: 15 May 04 - 04:45 PM Mine now lives on the guitar, gently squeezing on the top nut when resting.All I need is one hand to operate it, its becoming easier to use daily and does a fine job, so glad you agree. Chris Flegg never used to use a capo-kay if your from herts, cap if your northern,-that is until last week. Had him in the same mindset as MCP ,Strollin you'll love him , I hope he'll be here when you come down.You can do a search on him. |
Subject: RE: capos From: Strollin' Johnny Date: 15 May 04 - 04:35 PM The G7th looks like a chuffin' good piece of kit (and it works). |
Subject: RE: capos From: GUEST,John Hardly Date: 15 May 04 - 07:56 AM The Crary looks like hardware. The Elliot looks like jewelry. |
Subject: RE: capos From: Strollin' Johnny Date: 15 May 04 - 05:31 AM Yep, did it all the time when I was playing my Strat with my R&R Band - sounded fine, but folk's a different style and folk-guitarists like to use root chords and alternate tunings which need the 'ring' of open and sympathetic strings, which you just dont get if you're up and down the neck playing barres all over the place. Even luminaries such as Martin Simpson (who can play the arse off pretty much everyone) use a capo - there's no shame in it! Some people (notably MCP) do play without a capo, but using one makes things more straightforward, especially if you're singing as well (which means using more brain than just playing or singing alone IMO). No doubt someone (some one, some-one??) will tell me I'm talking shite, but who cares? Johnny :0) |
Subject: RE: capos From: matai Date: 15 May 04 - 03:45 AM This may sound like a red herring in this thread so far but has anyone tried just using their first finger? Or is that only for jazz guitarists? Matai |
Subject: RE: capos From: Strollin' Johnny Date: 15 May 04 - 03:21 AM And anyway, I tried my shiny new G7th Capo (short 'a') out in the Real World last neet and it was excellent. Very simple to use, no farting around turning little screws, no huge horny handles poking me eye out, no herculean World-War-Three-type springs knocking me 'E's out of tune. My only problem was keeping an eye on it to make sure no-one (noone, no one???) pinched it. And I had a problem staying sober, but that's another story. Nice one Breezy, I'm converted! Johnny :0) |
Subject: RE: capos From: Strollin' Johnny Date: 15 May 04 - 03:14 AM English pronunciation - surely the rule to be followed is (and I apologise ahead for my lack of skills as an educator, but here goes):- Cape - pronounced 'kayp', the 'a' lengthened, determined by the 'e'. Cap - Pronounced 'Kap', short 'a', no 'e' to lengthen the sound of the 'a' Capo - No 'e', therefore short 'a' = Kapo, not 'kaypo' QED? However, it's not an English word. Whether it's Spanish or Italian, natives of both countries would pronounce it with the short 'a'. I think. Johnny :0) |
Subject: RE: capos From: McGrath of Harlow Date: 14 May 04 - 07:57 PM Normal English spelling conventions would mean you'd expect to pronounce it with a long a, as in paper or capon. My impressioin is that people use both pronunciations fairly indifferently. |
Subject: RE: capos From: C-flat Date: 14 May 04 - 05:15 PM Don you're a mine of information! Thanks for putting me wise. C-flat. |
Subject: RE: capos From: Don Firth Date: 14 May 04 - 04:47 PM Correction (picky, picky, picky): Capotasto (no "r"), pronounced "KAH-poh-TAH-stoh" ("KAH-poh" for short). It's an Italian word. It means literally "head note," and at one time it referred to the nut of a lute, vihuela, guitar, or other similar instrument. Then along came the device that allowed the musician, in effect, to move the position of the nut. "Capotasto" then referred to the what might be considered the effective position of the nut. Later, it referred to the gizmo itself (as now). The extraneous "r" (as in "capodastro") comes from a corruption I've seen in a few guitar manuals, and it undoubtedly comes from a mis-hearing of the word, usually spelled "capo de astro" (a mixture of Italian and Latin) which means "head of star," which makes no sense at all. Cejilla, pronounced "say-HEE-yah." The Spanish word for Capo. "Ceja" means "eyebrow." The traditional wooden cejilla has a curved top, resembling an eyebrow, to accommodate the wooden tightening peg. I'm a bit of a word-freak. Etymology, which includes word origins, has been a long-time interest of mine. Your mileage may vary. Don Firth |
Subject: RE: capos From: C-flat Date: 14 May 04 - 04:41 AM I'm interested enough from the comments here to give the G7th a try. I have used the Schubb and the Kyser before and tend to favour the Kyser for it's speed and ease of use but I've always had to be careful of the tunings when gigging with them. The Schubb is an excellent capo but a bit fiddly when you're in a hurry. The G7th sounds just the thing! Curiously Cluin, I've never met anyone who calls them "CAY-pohs'". Surely it's "CAH-po" from capodestra? It could be worse, how many pronunciations of "Cejilla" (flamenco players'capo) would we have?! :-) C-flat. |
Subject: RE: capos From: breezy Date: 14 May 04 - 04:34 AM K po in hertfordshire 'that thing you stick on the neck of the guitar' if your from anywhere else |
Subject: RE: capos From: GUEST,spikeis Date: 14 May 04 - 04:30 AM should be pronounced with a short a, as its from the italian capotastro! |
Subject: RE: capos From: Cluin Date: 14 May 04 - 12:22 AM So how do you pronounce it? Most everybody I know says CAY-poh (long A), but I knew one guy, a former teacher, who called it a CAH-poh (short A). |
Subject: RE: capos From: Mooh Date: 13 May 04 - 11:58 PM There's a retired gentleman down the road who hand makes capos one by one in his garage and sells them in select shops around Canada. Charlie Johnson capos come in brass, aluminum, and in a couple of configurations. For a look-see, they are in the capo museum mentioned earlier in the thread. Once in a while I'll use one he made special for me out of brass and aluminum which I swear sounds better than his other models on one of my guitars especially. Not as quick as my favoured Shubb, but for friendly support and solidarity with a good guy, there's nothing like using his capo! When we discovered each other in a music store, we couldn't help but be friends! Peace, Mooh. |
Subject: RE: capos From: Cllr Date: 13 May 04 - 02:10 PM I knew an artist who lost his just before a gig, it was terrible. He was completely in-capo-ble the entire evening. cllr |
Subject: RE: capos From: dick greenhaus Date: 13 May 04 - 01:56 PM Just to toss a new hat into the ring, I like the Wilkerson capo. The late Jonathan Eberhard introduced me to it a dozen years or so ago, and I've liked it evers since. Lightweight (aluminum construction), narrow, one-hand operation, easily replaceable contact surface. And you can still get one for under nine bucks. For banjo and narrow(not classical) necked guitars. |
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