Questions Regarding Capos

You can use them for either acoustic or electric... as long as the curvature of the fretboard is similar to the capo. There are different styles in terms of how they're applied to the neck, etc... and more money will get you something better. But, you can get something that would be just fine to start with for under $20.

I'm aware of at least four different kinds in general use.

The cheapest capos are an elastic band with grommets and a peg - you wrap it around the neck and put the peg through the appropriate grommet. They have the advantage of being really inexpensive - I've seen them for as little as $3 or so. Here's an example of that style: Dunlop elastic capo

The next cheapest are cam type capos. The back of the bar has slots; you insert the end of a lever into the appropriate slot and then move it across to lock it in place. They're also cheap ($7-10 or so), but I don't recommend this kind - because the lever will apply more pressure than needed, wearing into your frets. Here's what they look like: Dunlop pro capo

The third kind is a "trigger" capo. These have a spring that clamps the capo on. The big advantage here is speed - it's on in a second or less. You can also put it on your headstock when it's not in use, and it will actually give you a bit more sustain. This is the kind I typically use, and it looks like this: Dunlop trigger capo They run about $15-25.

Then you've got screw type capos. These are the most expensive ($25-50 range typically, but they can run much more). The bar typically locks into a frame, and the pressure is adjusted with a thumbscrew. The disadvantage is that they take some futzing to get into place. The advantage is they're the only kind where you have fine control over the pressure. If I needed to put a capo on a $10,000 guitar, this is what I'd use. They look like this: BMF High Precision capo (This is an example of one that runs much more, at an asking price of $145)

There is some cross-over between styles - I've seen trigger capos with adjustment screws, etc. - but those are the basic choices.

As EastCoast mentioned, you also need to worry about the fretboard radius. Some guitars have a flat fretboard, but most are radiused - and not all fretboard radii are the same. Most manufacturers sell two styles, flat and curved - but if your curve doesn't match the capos, you'll get more wear on the frets in spots.

So, I should be buying about a 20 buck trigger capo, and just hope it matches my guitar decently? Seems to be the best course of action to me at least.

Excellent reply from NoteBoat, I agree with everything he said.

I actually did a product review on the Dunlop Trigger 83CB - see link below. I hope this is of some help:

http://guitaringenuity.com/the-dunlop-trigger-83cb-guitar-capo-review.html

do a search on line for what a capo does to chord voicings and shapes. I had a chart somewhere but cannot find it.

You may even find this article (complete with convenient chart) in one of your searches:

https://www.guitarnoise.com/lessons/the-underappreciated-art-of-using-a-capo/

Hope this helps.

Peace

thanks , that's the chart.

Along with the great advice in that article, I think it is a good idea to start practicing on-the-fly transposing if you're going to make extensive use of your capo.

Say you learn the chords for a song in A. You go to play the song with someone who wants to sing and play it in Ab. There's really no good way to get to that key without using a capo and transposing from your A-key chords to chords for another key (G, for example - capo 1st fret). More delicate pieces of the song might require some transposing time, but the basic stuff should be on the fly.