Fret wear using capo's

Fret wear is normal -- with or without capos. I doubt that you're increasing the fret wear that much. I wouldn't worry about it.

I would thinkg more fret wear would come because the strings are under higher tension with a capo...but I imagine this would be minimal. There's no doubt that if you have your guitar long enough the frets will wear so just play it how you play it.

Yes, it is possible for a capo to increase wear on that fret directly behind which it is clamped. The reason is pretty simple: no capo holds the strings perfectly stationary. So as one frets and especially if one bends notes, the string will move slightly side-to-side on the fret. Even a little side-to-side motion repeated over and over wears on the fret. Placement and force of the capo makes a difference. Insufficient clamping force and placement too far back from the fret will both contribute to faster fret wear, as both conditions permit the strings to more easily slide back and forth over the capoed fret, especially during vigorous strumming and bending. Just remember: more motion = faster wear.

Guitars equipped with zero position frets (instead of only nuts) often show more wear on the zero fret than any other.

this is a stupid question but when i read the title it made me think that you were placing the capo actually on the fret itself :S

I'm sure thats not the case though :)

I think I'm the one who said capos can increase fret wear... but I was talking about a specific kind of capo: the kind with the elastic back strap, a rubber covered metal bar with notches on one side, and a plastic cam that locks into those notches.

The reason those puppies make your frets wear faster is that when you engage the cam, you reach a point where you have a lot more pressure on the capo than you'll eventually have - the point where the cam arm is sticking straight up in the air. You hit that point twice, once putting it on and again taking it off.

The extra pressure stretches the string, and actually makes it 'saw' across the fret slightly. Put it on and take it off a few hundred times, and you'll start to see fret grooves.

In my opinion, it's well worth the extra $5-10 to get a capo with a spring lever.

Thanks everyone for your replies.

Neutron:
this is a stupid question but when i read the title it made me think that you were placing the capo actually on the fret itself - no such thing as a stupid question in my book. I was putting the capo just behind the fret.

NoteBoat
and you'll start to see fret grooves.
Thanks for that explanation, thats exactly what Ive got. I do have one of those types of capo's, and this guitar for most of its life has been subject to it. I bought a shubb recently with a spring lever so Ill feel a lot happier using that one on my new guitar.

cheers
pbee

Here is a pretty good article from a luthier who performs refrets on guitars with good pictures.

Maple Fingerboard Refret

This is actually about the state the frets were on my '91 Strat. It was just from years of playing, I rarely use a capo. You tend to get the deepest grooves in the first 3 frets from chording regular open chords.

But if you like to bend strings a lot, you also get a lot of wear from this.

As you can see from the article, refretting a maple neck is a lot of work, and a little expensive. I was quoted a price of $350, ouch!! I ended up just buying a replacement neck for around $100. I am very happy with the replacement.