Capo Question For Buc

[Joe M]

Buc, seems like I asked this question before but sure can't remember your answer.....why do you tune your guitar(s) down a half step then capo on the first fret? You're right back where you started if you stayed in standard tuning without the capo, correct?

[Buc McMaster]

I get asked this a lot..........don't mind at all. I responded to the question in another thread earlier this week in this way:

Feel. That's most of it......I like the way the guitar feels tuned down and cranking on a capo does not change that feel. Certainly when played open the guitar is at a lower pitch but I rarely do the three tunes on my list that are done open(which would be in E flat). Being that I capo nearly everything it's not really about pitch........it's how the thing feels, both at the pick and on the fingerboard. I do move the capo around a lot and test different chord shapes when searching for a key that works for a particular tune. That's what a capo is for, to me at least. Like Tiny Dancer...... I started messing with that one capo-ed at the first (which would be at concert pitch) in the key of C. Well that didn't work out at all. Moved the capo up the neck to a few different spots and discovered that using a C shape as the opening chord could not be made to work well. Did the same thing with an E shape, capo at the 1st. Moving that around didn't do any good either. Ended up with the capo at the 4th using a D shape as the opening chord (making the key F, being down a half step).

 

Well, you say, if F turned out to be the right key, why not just capo at the second and use an E shape as the opening chord.......because the rest of the chords in the song did not flow as well nor were they as easy to get to as choking it off at the 4th and using the D shape. Using different chord shapes in different places via the capo gives me a lot of flexibility to find what works vocally and makes for the best flow of the chords. Sometimes a C shape is best, sometimes an E.......lots of possibilities using a capo.

 

The half step down thing is mostly for feel, not for vocal range. I hope I explained that well enough.......

 

And to add, in answer to your specific point about being right back where I started with a capo at the first......... Yes, the pitch is back to concert, standard tuning, but the better feel of being down a half step is still there. And that's true regardless of capo position.

[Joe M]

Thanks for that, Buc. As long as you're in the question answering mode, how bout this one.....before you got rid of your HB, did you try Retros on it? And, if you did, how did you like them? I know you really like them on your 45's. Wonder if you felt the same as the HB, if you did try them on that guitar.

[Buc McMaster]

Yes I did try monel Retros on the Hummingbird.......... . To my ears, the Hummingbird was quite mellow, quieter, without the treble response of the 45. I think much of that was in the adirondack top on the 45, and the monels made the Hummingbird sound even darker, dead even. So no, Retros were not cool on the Hummingbird. I do have them on the new J-45 12 fret and they sound very good on this one.

[drathbun]

Putting a capo at the first fret of a guitar tuned a step lower is effectively shortening the scale length of the guitar. That is why it feels better. Less tension to get to the same pitch.

 

So, starting with your J45 12 fret at 24.75" scale length and subtract roughly 1.5" for the first fret, you're down to 23.25" scale length. Must feel like butter.