Acoustic Guitar: On Using a Capo

Subject: TUNING
Date: Wed, 30 Jun 2004 18:11:31 -0600

What it is. My alvarez is sometimes very hard to keep in tune. I cant put a capo on it with out having to retune and when I take the capo off I have to retune. Any info would be appreciated. Thank you very much. TERRY BANKSTON bankstons27@msn.com

Greetings,

This is common when using capos...some capos do not adjust to the curvature of the neck as well as others. And, in this case, can cause your guitar to sound out of tune. Another problem you may be encountering is an intonation problem. Your neck may be out of alignment, due to warpage, or your saddle may not be properly compensated, making the guitar sound out of tune no matter where you place the capo up the neck. There are other possibilities too...such as the age of your strings, or the right gauge that best fits the intonation of your guitar. I have a Martin M-38 that requires a medium gauge string to sound in tune up the neck; the light gauge strings just seem to put it out of whack...and no matter what chord I play, or where I place the capo, I have to retune to the key I'm playing in...

If your Alvarez is staying in tune, without the capo, and you do not find yourself having to retune it periodically, it should be OK...you might experiment with other string gauges and other capo types...you might find a combination that will work as I had to do with my Martin...

Mickey

Subject: tuning
Date: Fri, 19 Mar 2004 21:12:20 -0500

Mickey,

Any thoughts on keeping an acoustic in perfect tune when placing a capo on? Mine sometimes falls out of tune just a bit when I put one on....

Any help would be appreciated.

thanks!!

Mike

It depends on the type of capo...some capos have tension screws that allow for loosening or further tightening...when adding too much tension, the capo will press down the strings so much so that the strings will go sharp...by loosening the tension, you may find the ideal tension where the strings remain in tune, and yet all strings still have a crystal clear tone...

Mickey

Date: Thu, 05 Feb 2004 20:03:01 -0500
Subject: having problems with my 12 string...question for mickey.

i just received a new johnson twelve string and i am having a hard time tuning it (as usual). i am tuning to dgcfad and trying to capo fret #2 and i cannot get a clean chord out of it. it should be the standard chord shapes with the capo on right? i have tried all other frets also and have had no luck. i am a little confused. any help would be much appreciated. i don't want to try to tune it up to standard and break it.

dan bright

Greetings Dan,

Yes, with the capo on, you should be able to repeat the very same chord shapes you would use without the capo...if the capo is on the 2nd fret, then you'll be exactly one whole step above...meaning the key of G would now be the key of A...in your case, and with your tuning, as you're obviously aware, you would be bringing the guitar up to standard tuning at standard pitch...which I agree, will take of unnecessary tension on your 12-string guitar neck...

If you have a hard time getting the notes to sound true, or if it's sounding muffled, my suggestions would be the following:

1. make sure there's proper tension on the capo itself...does it have a tension screw to allow you to tighten down further? If it doesn't, you might want to try a Shubb 12-String capo...

2. make sure the capo itself is placed directly behind the fret...

3. make sure when fretting the notes, you're pressing down directly behind each fret...

I'm not sure what else might be the problem...there could be a set-up problem with the guitar itself..however, I'd have to see it in person to assess this...

Mickey