stu wrote:
Shouldnt capos work on all guitars? Guitar necks arent that different from each other. And capos are ment to be flexable right?
Ive never had one but from what I have seen they look like they will even work on classical guitars.
Not all capos are optimal for all guitars - let's put it that way.
Classicals have flat fingerboards. Steel strings have a bit more curve to them. Probably at the far end of the flat -> curved continuum you have Fenders.
If you have a capo made for a classical guitar then how is it going to apply even pressure on any guitar that has some curvature on the fingerboard? I have a Shubb made for a steel string. Here the reverse applies - it is made for a curved fingerboard and won't exert equal pressure on all strings of a classical guitar - assuming it's wide enough, and I don't think it is.
What you CAN do of course, is put that Shubb on so tight that it will push all the strings of a classical against the frets, but there'll be so much pressure that it may force the 3rd and 4th (the middle strings, now getting the most pressure) out of tune. It may also start pressing too hard against the fingerboard and cause indentations.
Many of the older capo designs have this problem - the pressure is not easily regulated and so they apply too much pressure or too little. Too little = buzzing, too much can equal detuning. Remember too that you need different pressure at different points on the fingerboard.
There are good capos available these days. At home I've got a couple of shubbs and a G7. All very finely adjustable - the G7 more so than the Shubb. These are not the only game in town, there are other vendors selling good quality, precision made capos but there's no need to use the old fashioned elastic band approach.
