capo ?

Hrm,

I don't think either would work. If you got them REALLY tight, you might be able to hold the strings against the fret, but I think the strings would still slide back and fourth when you strum/pick.

You could just tune your guitar up 1 whole step. That would be equivalent to a capo on the 2nd fret. Careful you don't break a string.

You should buy a capo. They're a handy and necessary tool for guitar.

If you want to play that song along with the CD, the capo will help a lot. Otherwise you'll need to know which chords sound (as opposed to which chords are played), and play the chords that sound. For example, if you capo at the second fret and play a D, an E sounds. You could play an E.

If you don't want to play with the CD, just play the chords on the music without the capo. You'll still be playing the song, but you'll be playing it in a different key.

Check out The Underappreciated Art of Using a Capo for a good introduction to the capo.

Hi,

You could make a home made capo, but they're not that expensive to buy.

The trick is to find something that's tough enough to hold the strings down but that's not going to damage the guitar. Your guitar fretboard is probably curved, so you need to find something that you can bend or flex to fit the curve.

For instance, just for fun, after reading your post I took a thick 3" long softwood match (the big ones for lighting stoves) and doubled up an elastic band and made a capo. The elastic band went behind the neck (not over it) and hooked onto either end of the match. It worked but it wasn't pretty and it took a bit of fiddling before it worked without buzzing. Amazingly the match didn't break and it bent enough to work. I wouldn't want to rely on it though. :wink:

Better to buy one, they're quite handy. :)

... just for fun, after reading your post I took a thick 3" long softwood match (the big ones for lighting stoves) and doubled up an elastic band and made a capo.

You need to get out more, Chris. Excellent solution, though.

A :-)

If you can afford it, a Dunlop trigger capo will make your life easier. I see one online price at 15 pounds. There are cheaper ones around 6 pound, but the Dunlop trigger is easy take on and off.

I agree, you can make do with something homemade but capos are not expensive and you will find you use it often so ir is well worth buying.
I have a Dunlop trigger capo $20 USD and a cheaper thumbscrew type about $5 USD. I actually use the thumbscrew one more often (because it is with the guitar I play most often)
The difference between the Trigger capo and thumbscrew, Trigger takes about 1 to 2 seconds to put on and take off the thumbscrew takes about 10 to 15 seconds. Both work the same.

No competition - get a Shubb.

A :-)

Actually, I'm going to buy a Shubb next myself, but I think it's a good idea to have at least one quick change about. :)

Yeah, I had to buy a capo, so I bought the cheapest one, an elastic with like a glass or plastic inside. It works okay, but it always causes buzzing on my low E. I have to fiddle with it a bit to get the low E to sound. When I can afford it, I'll probably a buy a shubb - I've also heard good things about Kayser. The capo I have now costs me 7 bucks, which is probably why it doesn't hold down ALL the strings. Le sigh.

You need to get out more, Chris.

A :-)

Yes, ain't that the truth!!

NEXT year - honestly! :D

Actually I enjoy that sort of challenge. I could have gone out to my workshop, shaped a piece of wood or metal, fitted some suitable padding and made a decent working capo, but I just fancied seeing if I could make one with something simple that was lying around the house. :wink:

Next week, the Cornflakes packet guitar (with built in shaker effect)......

Chris, do you prefer a set neck, or a bolt-on neck on your Corn Flakes guitar?

I find that the set neck provides much better sustain. I plan on upgrading my corn flakes model soon. I'm going to add rasins. I need something to soften that crunch.

:lol:

Chris and Snarfy, sorry guys but shouldn't that come under guitar maintenance and repair :?: The pair of you have lost it big time methinks lmao :D :D :D

My apologies....this was about capos, wasn't it?

Get one. They're really good string holder-downers. And, depsite Chris' excellent idea for a version made of a matchstick (I imagine he's not responding here because he dashed off to the patent office with that idea), I recommend getting a store-bought version.
:)

Just to add to the others, I would recommend purchasing a capo. I bought a Kayser trigger-style one. Cost about $A30.

Had a bit of a muck around with it last night, just playing songs I'd learnt without a capo ... actually sounds really cool and gives a bit of variety to songs you already know. :D