onewilyfool Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 About 4 months ago I went to a "trunk" show put on my Martin Guitars at Gryphon's in Palo Alto. The Martin rep had a guy named Kenny Sultan with him to show off the new Martin guitars. Kenny also brought his old Gibson. He plays Raggy, Piedmont style blues. He puts a capo usually on the second fret, and I wondered why he did this cause he doesn't actually sing, just plays instrumentals. Well someone asked him why he capos on the second fret without needing to because he wasn't singing. He showed us how the same song sounded on open tuning and then capo'd. And for that type of blues playing, the guitars actually sounded a LOT better with the capo, and is why he seeks out that tone. Last night, I was playing a couple of my guitars, and pulled out the capo. I usually don't use one, but put it on for some blues songs, and man those guitars sounded GREAT. NOW I have to learn all those songs in different keys cause the capo on the second fret throws off my limited vocal skillz. lol. Anyway, the capo gives these songs a more percussive sound, a "plunky" sound which sounds sooooo good for the blues. Just for fun I tried a couple of Beatle's songs, like "I Saw the Light" which sounded really good strummed with the capo on. I mean, over the years of playing, I've never really liked using capos, cause it throws off the dots on the fretboard, lol, but it only takes a little time to adjust, and now I think I'm going to use the capo more and more.....especially useful when trying to find a key my voice works in......have fun.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 My capos are my best friends lol! I'm constantly playing with different tunings and capos to try and find something that sounds okay for the song but also fits my voice range, which is VERY limited. I've also noticed how the same song played with the same shapes sounds different when applying a capo at different points on the neck. I'm not just talking about that higher-pitched trebley sound.... I mean it changes the emotion in the song. For example, I just learned Jason Aldean's The Truth. In that song he slides from an open C up two frets. That technique sounds way different when the capo's at the second fret. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
august_reader Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 I saw Norman Blake in concert in Cincinnati. He pulled out a capo. He said, "Capos make guitar players out of a lot of us." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daylightrobbery Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 I love capoing ( I have a sneaking suspicion that isn't a verb, but anyway!). It effectively shortens the scale length and makes things (for me) feel "tighter". I play a J200- which, anyway sounds great, but when I do covers "Only Living Boy In New York" being an example, a capo on the 4th fret makes the guitar sing, I mean really sing like there's an orchestra behind me. I've also written a couple of instrumentals which just sound better capo'd than not capo'd. I guess someone here can give the explanation in proper physics!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 I saw Norman Blake in concert in Cincinnati. He pulled out a capo. He said' date=' "Capos make guitar players out of a lot of us."[/quote'] If it's good enough for Norman Blake, it's good enough for me hahahahaha! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
onewilyfool Posted February 13, 2010 Author Share Posted February 13, 2010 Yeah....I noticed that shorter scale feel AND the wider nut width moving down the neck.....Just Great.....they do tend to "sing" when you fret higher up......(Note: see the Acoustic Guitar Magazine article about David Rawlings and the sounds he gets from capo-ing up the neck) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gilliangirl Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 I love capoing ( I have a sneaking suspicion that isn't a verb' date=' but anyway!). It effectively shortens the scale length and makes things (for me) feel "tighter". I play a J200- which, anyway sounds great, but when I do covers "Only Living Boy In New York" being an example, a capo on the 4th fret makes the guitar sing, I mean really sing like there's an orchestra behind me. I've also written a couple of instrumentals which just sound better capo'd than not capo'd. I guess someone here can give the explanation in proper physics!! Speaking of proper physics, where is Thermionik? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daylightrobbery Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 I had the exact same thought as I was writing. Where is he with his book with "covers that are waaaaaaay too far apart"!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Oubaas Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 I have eight acoustic guitars. Some sound better capoed (usually at the second fret) and some sound better played with no capo. I guess it depends on the guitar. I'm a singer, so I use the capo a lot. I have also noticed, as I'm sure others have as well, that playing the same song in a different key can make a huge difference in how good it sounds. Certain keys, and therefore certain chord choices, sound better than other, technically correct keys and chords with many songs, which probably has some correlation with the capo thing. Or at least, that's my theory Cheers! Rick... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
larryp58 Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 A capo is a "must have" object playing bluegrass music. A lot of the guitar "runs" just sound better using a capo. But the main reason for me is that some of the "runs" are easier to play when using a capo. For example, a song played in open A. Place the capo at the 2nd fret, play a G chord and there's your A! Open D, capo at 2nd fret and play a C chord!Here's a handy site that explains the chord changes and positions: http://www.dearoldillinois.com/capo.html Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Buc McMaster Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 I propose it is the open strings of a capo-ed guitar ringing against a metal fret instead of a plastic/bone/whatever-organic-material nut that gives the guitar a new voice. The higher pitch is certainly a factor, but with all the clamor over the best materials for the nut, when it is removed from the equation we hear the tonal difference clearly. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChrisA83 Posted February 13, 2010 Share Posted February 13, 2010 I always find my guitars capo'ed sound better than not. But then I think I'm cheating on my guitar for some reason and take the capo off lol Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daylightrobbery Posted February 14, 2010 Share Posted February 14, 2010 LOL, I always feel like I'm somehow cheating on my guitar too!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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