Capo Tip

[Jabberwocky]

At every gig for years now I have dreaded the songs where I need to use a capo to hit the right key for the singer but keep the right chord inversions for the song. Every darn time I hooked on my Shubb capo, no matter how carefully, the tuning went that tiny bit out, not so an audience would really notice, but I certainly did and it drove me crazy.
Recently I decided I had had enough so I did some research and came across the 'G7th' brand of Capos. Price was a little steep but I have to say that little piece of innovative engineering has totally solved the problem.
Now whether playing acoustic or electric, tuning is spot on with capo.

Thought I would share that in case any of you guys are being similarly driven insane.......G7th....definitely worth the money!

[msmith4432]

Thanks, I have the same problem.

[ScottyDanger]

I'm a HUGE fan of the G7th Capo. I lost mine once (clipped it onto the rim of a kick drum, it was in plain sight for weeks but it managed to blend in so well I thought it was gone!) and it was the most horrible time having to use my backup kyser. The tuning isn't always totally perfect, but it's night and day compared to a dunlop or kyser.

[fiveightandten]

How do the G7th capos negate the strings going up in pitch?

I have 2 Shubb capos, and the tension is adjustable. Though, as with any capo, you have to clamp it down tight enough so the strings ring true. This, by default, will raise the pitch slightly.

We use capos on a handful of songs and plan our set so songs with the same capo positions are played back to back. We put the capos on, and retune. When they come off, we retune again. We swap guitars a few times too, so if you're smart about it, things are pretty seamless.

Can you explain what makes the G7th immune to this? I've used them before and didn't notice them being any different from any other capo. I actually found the mechanism to allow for a little less accuracy in the adjustment of how much tension you can put on the strings. Though they are very easy to use.

-Nick

[Wendigo]

I like the trigger from dunlop because it's variable based on sting tension and the thickness of the neck.

[irish_admiral]

Jabberwocky

Suspect you've got the tension wrong on your Shubb or not enough safe tension on the G7... just based on the laws of physics - and irrespective of the clamping mechanism - you will have some tuning fun because of the basic job the capo does. No getting around it. Would be interested to do some tests...

Someone else I heard likes the G7 - I prefer the Shubb. Simple design, nothing to go wrong. Never had a problem with it.

[indianDYsummer]

You guys don't intonate your guitar between songs live?

[OrangePaul]

I find with my Shubb you have to set it up extra tight to get the string at the open end of the capo to ring true. Maybe the G7th gets round this somehow?

[a.hun]

You guys don't intonate your guitar between songs live?

You mean 'retune' or 'intonate'? Mostly intonation is part of a setup.

So probably not, no. Who takes their guitar tech on stage?


Capo Tip?

I hang my headphones from my Kyser. Ooh er, missus!


Andy.

[Y0UNGBL00D]

he meant intonate, as a joke haha.

i liked the G7, iirc it can do partials to, though ive never had a desire for partials.

one day ill get one, but i never use capos these days. i always keep a shubb around just in case though.

[Jabberwocky]

Guess we are all going to have our preferences around any piece of kit. I was just mentioning that I had found what I thought to be a solution to that annoying slight sharpening of the tuning, expecially on the lower strings, and thought some of you might appreciate the tip.

Just to clarify Joe, I have used Shubb for many years, and it is a great Capo, however, I generally will play three guitars at every gig: my Strat, either my Paul or my Gordon Smith, and my Faith jumbo, and on each I am likely to use a capo for at least one song. It is pretty much impossible to adjust the Shubb to fit all three guitars perfectly, and mid gig, the thirty seconds it would take to set it up right seems like a lifetime to an audience.

I could buy another two Shubbs, set them up and mark them I guess, but now I have a G7th I dont need to.
The G7th is tensioned by finger pressure, so one squeeze and it fits any guitar. With a few minutes practice, you can set the tension so the strings are ringing true, but not over tensioned so they go sharp. Its not perfection but its the best I have found to date, and allows me to Capo any of my three instruments in about three seconds flat, and go straight into the next number with a bit of confidence that my low E and A strings are not going to be slightly sharpened at whatever note they are capo'd at...

[bclaire]

G7 is fine if you don't play a vintage radius Fender 7.25". Then it won't fret the high and low E strings enough...

Shubb is the only company to make a vintage radius capo as far as I know... the best capo I ever used that did the minimum of affecting tuning was the Sabine, sadly no longer made. It worked by clamping the string directly on top of the fret - pushed the capo itself forward which took some getting used to, but negligible tuning change.

If I'm using a capo, I usually check tuning right after clamping it on or have a second guitar tuned up with capo on and switch.

[irish_admiral]

Hey jabberwocky

That might be it then.

Personally, I wouldn't trust my fingers to get the tension right each time by squeezing, so the screw mech on the Shubb takes the guesswork out of it.

As it happens, I have one capo for each guitar that lives in the case with it. That's more to make sure I don't forget a capo when I need it though...!

[indianDYsummer]

he meant intonate, as a joke haha.

[a.hun]

he meant intonate, as a joke haha.

Oops, irony missed. Sorry about that! Ironic really...


Andy.