capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?

Subject: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: Wrinkles
Date: 26 Mar 05 - 06:38 AM

Any UK Caters out there can recomend (from experience) a good capo that can cope with the various string diamiters of a 12 string?

I play my 12 in open D, which is great for tunes, but way off my keys for singing to! Trouble is the capos I've tried out never hold down the octave strings properly - creating a gawd awful cacophony!

I'm on a fixed income so I can not afford to just buy-to-try, so if anyone knows of a capo out there that actually works well for what I need it to do I'd really appreciate a heads up on it (and maybe a url too?).

Thanks

Wrinkles

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: burntstump
Date: 26 Mar 05 - 06:41 AM

I have a Gibson B45 12 string and use a shubb 12 string capo, never had a problem with it, also use the same capo on my six string.

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: Wrinkles
Date: 26 Mar 05 - 06:53 AM

Thanks Burntstump,

Oops, I shoulda asked as well, "How much does it cost?"; I am looking for an inexpensive solution if that's possible - thoughts on that topic would be welcome too

wrinkles

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: GUEST,Mooh
Date: 26 Mar 05 - 08:14 AM

Shubb, my favourite for 12 string.

Do a Mudcat search on this subject and you'll find much wisdom. Rick Fielding's solution is particularly useful.

Peace, Mooh.

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: Big Mick
Date: 26 Mar 05 - 08:32 AM

The search feature is useful before starting a new thread. I put 12 string capo into the search engine and in about a minute flat came up with THIS. There is more, take a look.

All the best,

Mick

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: catspaw49
Date: 26 Mar 05 - 08:40 AM

What there is also is this wisdom from Rick Fielding. One of the many jewels he left us............

Subject: RE: Capo - what are the rules?
From: Rick Fielding - PM
Date: 16 Dec 00 - 10:46 PM

Just a bit of background on the "grooved capos" for anyone who might be interested.
I've always loved the 12 string guitar, and have owned at last count 18 of the suckers. Everything from Stellas through Martins, Epiphones, Guilds (several) to my current (and all time favourite) a Big 20 year old Takamine. Being a Leadbelly fanatic, I usually tuned them down to C or even Bb or B. I've always used quite heavy strings (for the last ten years I've used a custom set from Connecticut that has a 68(!) on the bass.)

Right from day one I found that normal capos just couldn't hold down the strings without distorting some, and since I'm a tuning fanatic, I started buying every capo I saw. I'm probably older than you Mooh, so you still have time to catch up to my 50 or so.(I know..there are stupider hobbies than capo collecting but try telling that to your wife!)

One day about twenty five years ago I cut a small "V" in the rubber of a Bill Russell and noticed an immediate difference. The big bass string simply wasn't being stretched as far as before, so I had one less string to retune when the capo was on. Needless to say I've butchered dozens of rubbers on various capos trying to get a perfect fit for whatever guitar I was using, but it was challenging and fun.

Today I use a Golden Gate capo with a piece of floor tile replacing the original rubber. I've cut four very small "v"s under the four "big" strings, and it works best on the second to fourth fret. Rarely do I have to retune, and it makes it soooo much easier to play with others and not be slightly sharp.

You can do the same thing on a Shubb. The rubber they use is just about right. Dunlop "C" clamps are good too...and cheap.

Rick

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: burntstump
Date: 26 Mar 05 - 09:56 AM

My Shubb 12 string capo was about £12, well worth every penny.

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: Amos
Date: 26 Mar 05 - 04:34 PM

My Shubb 12-string works a champ.

A

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: Justa Picker
Date: 26 Mar 05 - 04:54 PM

shubb

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: Bernard
Date: 26 Mar 05 - 07:22 PM

I use a cheap Jim Dunlop one - they are available for curved and flat necks, and work equally well on 6 and 12 strings.

It's a simple piece of bent metal with notches in, a nylon strap and a plastic lever. There's a piece of rubber between the metal and the strings. I've been using them for over thirty years on my Yamaha FG260... I have a Shubb, but find the Jim Dunlop far more convenient, and tuning is rarely a problem.

I always carry at least two of them in my pocket (someone always needs a borrow!!).

Hah! Here's the website!! They show both the simple one and the adjustable one - I prefer the simple one, as the adjustable one has a habit of readjusting itself when you're not looking!

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: Auggie
Date: 26 Mar 05 - 10:00 PM

Another vote for Shubb. I have 3 other 6 string capos, none of which work as well in my hands (including the over-hyped, over-priced G7th). Even without cutting on it as Rick had suggested, I don't have to retune with this one.

Saw a Shubb 12 string today for $19.95 (American).

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: open mike
Date: 27 Mar 05 - 02:29 AM

i find the shubb akward now that i have become accustomed to the Kyser.
The Kysers and other spring loaded ones can be easily applied and re-
moved with one hand. they come in various lengths, and that is usullay
my prob. with 12 str. or with my 6 str. which has an extra-wide neck.
i will sometimes go back to shubb in a pinch, but much prefer the kyser.

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: Amos
Date: 27 Mar 05 - 04:10 AM

I said Shubb when I MEANT Kyser, actually. They sell for $16.95 the 12-string model. Works a champ.

A

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: Amos
Date: 27 Mar 05 - 04:14 AM

The Kyser 12-string sells for about 15 pounds at

the iMusicshop.





A

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: Big Al Whittle
Date: 27 Mar 05 - 11:26 AM

if you're in England, buying your capo from Bob Passante on the net is a good idea. This new jersey boy is a lot cheaper than english shops and he does shubb and kyser. just trying to help your fixed income go further. he is very reasonable for strings also.

all the best

big al whittle

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: open mike
Date: 27 Mar 05 - 12:03 PM

http://www.kysermusical.com/
kyser web site
the dunlop trigger is comparable
http://www.jimdunlop.com/products/capos/trigger/index.html
it is sugg. 19.95 price-i see it goes for 14.95 from Target
http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/601-1780979-6524161?asin=B0002ZO6NU&AFID=Froogle&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001&ref=tgt_adv_XSG10001
has any one ever tried one of these? http://www.g7th.com/

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 27 Mar 05 - 02:41 PM

If you have an old 12-string with a big old neck you may find Kysers and Shubbs in the usual form, and the new parrot-beak things simply do not go big enough, either in length or gape. They are aso exensive.

The Shubb Pro-am is cheap to buy, and I have grooved the rubber on mine, as Fielding advised. The screw adjustment also allows the firmness of grip to be precisely adjusted. As a result I find I am usually less out of tune than most 12 strings. The fact that my Hagstrom BJ12E has a neck that would probably winch the Queen Mary out of the water may also help.

I tune to E flat, but may try to get it up to concert with some thinner strings.

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: Frankham
Date: 27 Mar 05 - 06:14 PM

I don't know the make but what I use is a black plastic capo that hooks on to the guitar and loosens when you push the lever toward you and tightens when you push the lever away from you. There is no name on the capo so I don't know what it is or when I got it. Maybe some of you might be familiar with it but it holds the strings down well and when I loosen it, I don't have to take it off of the guitar. I just slide it over the nut.

Frank

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: GUEST,Joe Martin
Date: 25 Mar 12 - 04:02 PM

I've been doing a lot of experimenting with 12 string capos lately. I have a Shubb.. 1 for the 6 string and the other for the 12 string. As much as I love Shubb capos, the 12 string version still gives me an issue on the bass E octave string (1979 Guild F512). So, I bought a Kyser 12 string capo, which has enough horsepower to retune the guitar up a half step! ...way too much.. it threw the guitar out of tune. I took it back to Guitar Center.
Now, I just got a Paige 12 string capo, and I think it is going to work well... very little pressure needed with the extra little rubber rings on it to make up the difference between the octave and the wound string thickness. It doesn't throw the wound strings out of pitch. I must say though, that I will probably try grooving the rubber on the Shubb to make it work, since I love those capos the best.

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: alex s
Date: 25 Mar 12 - 04:59 PM

Can't beat a grooved Shubb

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: GUEST,Ian Gill
Date: 25 Mar 12 - 05:20 PM

Kyser for me.

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: GUEST
Date: 26 Mar 12 - 04:33 AM

Both the Kyser and the G7 capo work fine with my archtop 12 string.
Cheers
Dave

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: Richard Bridge
Date: 26 Mar 12 - 05:58 AM

Grooved Shubb (or grooved metal Dunlop if you don't want to mess up your decent Shubb). Don't forget to get the fatter strings differently intoned at the saddle too. If you want to be really anal you could do a mini-Buzz-Feiten at the nut too but I haven't tried that yet.

And, of course - be VERY careful about putting the capo so that the front edge is really just ON the fret and don't over-tighten (which is where Kysers fail).

I did try a Bird for a bit and it was crap and soon broke.

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: PHJim
Date: 26 Mar 12 - 10:26 PM

I am surprised that so many recommend the spring loaded capos. My advise would be to avoid any spring loaded capo. They press the strings right down to the fingerboard and pull them sharp. You need something that is adjustable. Tighten it JUST enough to stop the buzzing and apply it as close to the bridge side fret as possible. I always tuned my 12-string down 2 frets and left the capo permanently on the 2nd fret.
I've never tried Rick Fielding's advice about notching the capo, but I've never gotten bad advice from him; in fact Rick was the one who told me about Mudcat Cafe.
Pete Seeger uses a Shubb on his 12-string.
Another nice thing about the Shubb is that you can't clamp it on the headstock of your guitar. I hate the looks of capos or tuners clamped to the headstock. The only thing worse is a capo AND a tuner clamped up there, especially on a banjo where the headstock is often the prettiest part of the instrument.

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: Sandy Mc Lean
Date: 26 Mar 12 - 10:59 PM

Kyser capos used to have a lifetime warrenty. However they are noted for the spring breaking after a couple of years so Kyser changed to a one year warrenty. Now if you can't return your old Kysers this is the solution that I have found. I drill a hole through the top bar and tap it to accept an adjustable setscrew that presses on the main body just above the rubber pressure bar. With a hacksaw I cut off any useless metal and with a bit of spray paint to cover the bare metal I have created the best pressure variable capo that I ever found.

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: Brian May
Date: 27 Mar 12 - 04:06 PM

MIne's a Martin D12-28 and I have a Kyser, Shubb and G7 for 12 string.

Of all, I find the best is the Shubb (mine's brass because I like the colour) for 12 string.

Yet the G7 (for 6 string) is the best by a country mile for my D-28 or 000-28.

FWIW.

Have fun

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: GUEST,Seanmc
Date: 26 May 12 - 12:54 AM

After reading this I just cut three notches, very carefully, into a regular capo. Works just fine and is the first time I didnt need to retune any strings at all

Subject: RE: capo's for 12 strings? Recomendations?
From: GUEST,dzsings
Date: 09 Jul 18 - 10:51 AM

I think the capo you are talking about may be a "pickers pal" I have used that on my Ibanez 12 string for decades. Old faithful.