Tuning issue with Capos

happyman81

Hello,

I have a problem where my capos (both) seem to detune my guitars (both). I thought that it might be the intonation of my Strat (USA), but I worked on that and the tuning is fine. For example, if I place one such capo on the second fret, with the grips facing towards me, the strings will go increasingly out of tune as you move towards small E. Put it the other way around, and the reverse occurs. If I barre the same fret with my hand, there are no tuning issues. I went to the shop Perfect Pitch and he recommended a more simple design capo, where it has a little strap and teeth. That does work, but it takes ages to find the correct tension, as too much/little tension knocks it out of tune.

So, as simple as this problem may seem, I need a stageworthy capo. Please recommend one.

Thanks.

JonathanAnon

I used to have issues with my Kyser capo as well... I found it woud work fine on the acoustic but would detune the E on my electric (as it had a smaller neck and was effectively pulling the string tighter)... I went at it with a pliers and reduce the pressure it put on the strings, and it's been fine since.

Rented Mule

The Capo Crusader has a little advice to fix your issue. Hope it helps.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NbwzTjHlKdo

eoin5

These are expensive but very good: http://www.g7th.com/capos/performance

You put the tension on yourself by pressing down so your in full control.

artvandulet

JonathanAnon wrote: »

I used to have issues with my Kyser capo as well... I found it woud work fine on the acoustic but would detune the E on my electric (as it had a smaller neck and was effectively pulling the string tighter)... I went at it with a pliers and reduce the pressure it put on the strings, and it's been fine since.

Kyser do a Electric specific one. Maybe that would have worked better than the Acoustic one.

Op, I 2nd the G7th. Great capo!

wild turkey

You Probably have jumbo frets on the strat
I have a little strip of plastic i slip under the strings so the strings dont get pushed down too much
Cheap as chips & works

Dublin Guitar

The material on the Kyser capo is harder than the material on Shubb or G7th capos. Harder material pushes the string down, rather than pushing around the string like your finger would. This causes the intonation problems which you don't see with the Shubb or G7th brands.

Also, G7th make a capo called the Nashville which is only slightly more expensive than the Kyser.

mart1977

A Capo squeezes your strings down into the frets. Because the looser strings on your guitar (usually the bassy wound strings) are easier for the CAPO to press into the strings it will sharpen them more. This usually affects the bottom E string on most of my guitars. Some ideas:

After putting the Capo on pull each string a few times in order to reset the string position under the rubber. This will fix about 50% of the problem.

Tune the guitar with the Capo ON!!! Theres no point in tuning with the Capo off and then putting it on. The guitar will be immediately sharp in tuning.