How to Use a Guitar Capo and Which is Best for Me

Since the dawn of guitar playing , big bearded folkies have been using a capo to fit the song they are playing to their voices. This shouldn’t be held against the guitar capo, however. Guitar Capo s have also been used in pretty much every other style of playing under the sun. 

They work by (deep breath) shortening the strings, the shorter the string the higher the pitch. It is essentially the same as barring across a fret, which allows you to play open voiced chords, which any bearded folkie will tell you are much easier than barring. They also alter the timbre of the guitar slightly.
A guitar with a capo on the fifth fret will sound softer than without a capo, strange to describe but it does alter the sounds.



Here are some pictures of different types of capos:                                        




Standard Shubb style capo                      




G7th Guitar Capo (THE HOLY GRAIL!!!! Of  capos)






 Stagg Elastic Guitar Capo


Capodastro Quick Release Guitar Capo

The guitar capo is an almost magical item that will inspire you to create wonderful songs. Seriously though, the different sounds that you will get if you use a guitar capo might give you new ideas and bring a new sound to old ideas.
They are very interesting things to mess around with, so try one soon.


Try out a few different types of capos before you buy. The G7th types of capos are definitely the easiest and best sounding capos, but this is reflected in the price. The G7th capo (which, if you can’t tell are very much loved by me) are easiest, they just clamp round the neck and are squeezed until they are tight.

The Shubb Guitar Capos are also easy to use, but also expensive. The shubb type capos, work by being clamped on the neck and tightened.

The cheaper capos, called capodastro, that are sold in the shop are very good for the price, solid capo that doesn’t buzz. A Capodastro guitar capo, for flat or curved fingerboards, just fit round the neck and close.

Finally, the elastic guitar capo s are held on the fingerboard and stretched until they clip. Easy as that, elastic capos aren’t particularly difficult to figure out. There are also capos with elastic parts which are decent enough.

Test a bunch out and see which one you prefer, the lovely staff will not mind.


Incidentally the word capo comes from the Italian, capo, which means head, not sure why but it’s an interesting fact. Arrivederci!

Humbucker and Single Coil Pickups

Pickups are one of a few things that define how an electric guitar sounds .A pickup is essentially a magnet, and your guitar strings are made of metals that are easily picked up by magnets. Somehow, in a very round-about confusing manner, the combination of the two leads to a sound. There are basically two types of pickups, called single coil and humbuckers. Both of these make different sounds.

Single coil pickups were the first type of pickup invented. Unfortunately, as well as picking up the sound from the strings, single coil pickups have to nasty habit of finding stray radio frequencies. Single coils have a very trebly sound in comparison with humbuckers, a lot more twangy (which isn’t a real word). Humbuckers were designed to eliminate this annoying hum sound, to “buck” the “hum” (whatever that means). This description isn’t that simple, however. Humbucker pickups don’t just sound like single coils without buzz, because of the larger amount of wire and the larger magnets that are used, there is more output from the pickups. If you set an amp up for single coil pickups then use a humbucker guitar, it will sound louder and more bassy (which also isn’t a real word).

Single Coil Pick-Up

Humbucker Pickup

Take the type of pickup into account when you buy a guitar, it will affect the sound that you get from the amp. This sound will stimulate the learning, if it is a bad sound; you are less likely to play the guitar more. If the sound is good, it will prompt you to pick the guitar up more and become better. But, as with most aspects of guitar, the type of pickup that you use is a matter of personal preference.

For more information see http://www.musiccorner.co.uk/Guitar-Shop-Electric-Guitar-Shop-Electric-Guitar-Pick-ups/c4941_5085_5440/index.html

Guitar Strings - Why are they all different.

There are three different kinds of strings for guitars. Each ones make a different sound and are suited to one type of guitar. For example, nylon strings on an electric guitar will make no sound, and 13. Gauge strings on a classical guitar will result in catastrophe when the neck explodes. So before you go into a guitar shop and grab the first packet of strings that you see, have a think about which ones you should use.



Electric guitars use steel strings. These make a thin sound when unamplified and are very tinny, which makes them no good for using on acoustic guitars. This is because electric guitar strings are designed to be used with the pickups of the guitar, they are nickel wound, which makes them sound brighter and clearer through an amplifier. Using acoustic guitar strings on an electric guitar will sound awful, basically. Using electric guitar strings on an acoustic guitar will sound equally rubbish. If your guitar is a classical style guitar then you need to be even more careful. If you put steel electric or acoustic strings on a classical guitar and tune them up to concert pitch then it is very likely that, unless you are very lucky, you will snap the neck on the guitar. Not only will this have a chance of hurting you (which is bad) you will have to fork out another chunk of money for a new guitar (which in this economic climate is probably worse). So when you get to the music shop, take a second and make sure that you have the right strings for the job. If in doubt then ask the salesperson. Basically, if you have an electric guitar then buy electric guitar strings, if you have an acoustic then buy acoustic guitar strings, if you have a classical guitar then buy classical (nylon) guitar strings. Simples.



Something else that should be considered when you have been playing for some time is the gauge of strings that you use. If you use strings that are too thick when you are learning, they will be uncomfortable. This will put you off picking the guitar up to practice. For a more advanced player however, string gauge is an important part of how they play their instrument (and dare I say it… tone). For a rough example on string gauges though, the thinner the strings, the easier the guitar will be to play. Gauge 9 strings are easier to bend and easier to move around on, as it takes less pressure to press the strings down and make a noise. Unfortunately, the fact that they are thinner makes the tone of the string less powerful and thinner. Thin gauge strings are also easier to snap which costs you more in the long run. Thicker gauge strings are much more difficult to bend and play quickly on, but they have a much thicker tone, and sound stronger (and better?).



So remember, there is more than meets the eye when it comes to guitar strings. Using the right strings will have a positive impact on the way you play the guitar. And I didn’t even go into different makes of string…

For more information see my sebsite at http://www.musiccorner.co.uk/a915/Guitar-Strings-Which-Ones-Should-I-Get/article_info.html