I play an acoustic electric and use a capo for a lot of my songs. The problem is my guitar is bit out if tune with the capo on. I bought a "curved" capo which is better but still doesn't solve the problem. I read about Kyser capos which you screw on till there's just the right pressure but I can't find anyone in France who's got them. Any tips or contacts?
Thanks, William
There are 2 reasons why this happens pretty much with any capo you
use.
When you fret a string, it gets stretched in the fret area and
depending on how
tightly you push down, it will make the note slightly sharper than
maybe you
want it to be. If you use light or extra light strings, you
will notice
this more. I notice this more on my 12 strings where I have
to use really
light strings. On my old Martin 12 string where I have to use
D tuning I
even notice it more because the strings then aren't as stiff.
On my 6
string guitars where I use medium gauge strings and tune up to pitch
'E', it is
pretty much undetectable.
The other problem can be the fret board itself. If you
guitar's intonation
is not properly set up, using a capo will be a frustrating
experience.
You'll have to tune up each time you move the capo.
Even with the above things corrected (medium gauge strings, tuned up to
pitch,
& good intonation) things won't be perfect. You may
still have one
string that you'll have to tweak when you put on a capo especially on
higher
frets. In my case, usually the Bass E string. Like a certain
amount of
string buzz, it's just something you live with in the world of acoustic
guitar
playing.
Bob, Gman ( o )==#
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