To Capo or Not

[EDW]

Great capo_

http://accessories.musiciansfriend....XGB&ZYXSEM=0&gclid=CKPo3t37s6ICFZdL5QodNQ_h4w

Good price, light, easy to use, small, works very well.

 

[PoisonDart]

Usually I try and learn all the chords and just transpose, but also, sometimes a capo is nice if the arrangement was meant for particular chord shapes, the melody is highlighted in the highest note...

If you just transpose, you can lose this, but if you capo, you can keep it, and it's easy to fingerpick and stuff still.

 

[UncleElvis]

So, I was in the workshop tonight, messing around with bits of wood and scraps of things around the bench and I think I may have invented a cool little capo for ukuleles.
I'm sure there's probably a bunch of different variations out there and probably the exact same thing, but... *grin*

Basically, it's a chunk of wood, sanded smooth with a hole in one end and a wedge cut out of the other. A piece of elastic is knotted through... heck.. too hard to explain. I'll do piccies.

It's still in prototype stage and needs work. I'm going to thin it out and taper it a little more so it doesn't get in the way. I was playing with it on earlier and it's more than a little intrusive, but I think I can fix. I also need to add some padding. The wood is really smooth, so I'm not worried about the strings, but I was thinking some rubber or leather or even some faux suede might soften the sound a little. It's REALLY bright and tinny at the moment. I'm gonna play with different material.

No idea why I'm posting this, other than a) it's almost 2am and I get giddy and b) I think it's kinda cool! *grin*

 

[farmerboy]

Unkle Elvis - looks great. Very similar to http://www.quickdrawcapo.com/ for those who don't have the skills to make one...

Absolutely one of the best capos around and you never need to take it off as it sits happily behind the nut when you don't need it.

 

[nikolo727]

I have tried several capos and they all seem to get in the way.
There are some folks who are purists and think using a capo is silly, not me.
For example: You have work really hard to learn a great lead/chord melody in lets say "G". You go to jam and some one says lets play this in "A".
All you need to do is slap the capo on and you can look like a wizard.
You are playing a higher key, but all your finguring is the same.
Two problems, if they go to high you will run out of frets and worse they say lets play in "F"
There are no reverse capos.
Personally for one step up, I will just do a quick re-tune. For big jams I carry a second tenor uke tuned "DGBE".
Between the two ukes, some re-tuning and my trusty capo I pretty much covered.

At the beginning of this post I was a skeptic on using a capo for a Uke. Now i think I'll go try it. Haha

 

[UncleElvis]

See! I knew it was already out there! Great minds think alike! *lol*

I've had a few ideas in my sleep that I'm going to work on tonight.

 

[southcoastukes]

My favorite Capo

Capos are especially nice on long scale instruments like ours. You can tune down to the lowest key your instrument sounds good in, and move up quickly while staying in a range that still gives resonant tone.

Our favorite is the Quick Draw. It's on our links page:

http://www.southcoastukes.com/index_files/links.htm

The lowest profile of any, and you never have to take it off!

(Oops - Didn't see your post, farmerboy!)