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Author Topic:  8 string lap steel capo suggestions?
Steve Cunningham


From:
Atlanta, GA
Post  Posted 30 Aug 2017 7:22 am    
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Any ideas? Needs to cover 2 3/4" string spacing.
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Mark Eaton


From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
Post  Posted 30 Aug 2017 7:40 am    
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You need a Charlie's Slide Pro Capo. Perhaps the best "floating" style capo on the market with a minimum of what I refer to as "tone death."

Charlie sells most of them to six string dobro players but he has been making longer versions for 8 strings plus dobro and lap steels along with 10 string pedal steel. He has even made one or more for 12 string MSA SuperSlide lap/non pedal steel.

The capo can be installed with one hand.

I have had my six string version for going on three years and I have been kicking around getting one for my 8 string Clinesmith lap steel, and it could potentially double on 10 string E9th pedal steel. Charlie is a good man and he'll make sure you're a happy customer. Tell him I sent you!


https://www.charliescapo.com/






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Michael Lester

 

From:
Illinois, USA
Post  Posted 30 Aug 2017 9:51 am     Charlie's Capo
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Absolutely. Very well made - clever design.
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Ed Pettersen


From:
Tennessee, USA
Post  Posted 30 Aug 2017 1:21 pm    
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Ditto. I have one. Brilliant though not cheap but worth it.
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Mark Eaton


From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
Post  Posted 30 Aug 2017 2:08 pm    
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No - not cheap.

"You only cry once when you pay for quality."
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Steve Cunningham


From:
Atlanta, GA
Post  Posted 30 Aug 2017 7:27 pm    
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It's unanimous...thanks guys!
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David Mason


From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
Post  Posted 30 Aug 2017 8:37 pm    
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Well, until the money tree sheds some fall leaves...

There is ALWAYS something you can cram under there. A couple of mine handle a simple 5/8" or 3/4" bar. The MSA Superslide has raised frets, so they require a grooved... thing. The Shubb-Pearce SP-1 bar has the length and a groove. But, it raises them a bit too high... keep eye peeled for "grooved thing" ->

FARBERWARE Professional SILiCONE SPATULA #5124788
https://www.walmart.com/ip/Farberware-Silicone-Spatula-Scraper/36052275
It's the part between the handle and the blade. I'm not sure if the lifetime warrantee applies after you saw off the top and bottom.... but this and a little delrin or brass or ultem rod, salvation! My backup is a section cut out of an aluminum three-sided architect's ruler... but li'l Farby's got THE TONE.
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Steve Cunningham


From:
Atlanta, GA
Post  Posted 30 Aug 2017 10:39 pm    
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li'l Farby...I love it!
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Bob Stone


From:
Gainesville, FL, USA
Post  Posted 31 Aug 2017 9:21 am    
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The Charlie's capo is terrific. He made one for my eight-string Sierra. Well worth the cost, in my opinion. Quick service, too.
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Bill Creller

 

From:
Saginaw, Michigan, USA (deceased)
Post  Posted 31 Aug 2017 11:51 am    
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I hate to sound so dumb here (!!) but what does a capo do for a steel guitar ?? Very Happy
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Stefan Robertson


From:
Hertfordshire, UK
Post  Posted 1 Sep 2017 10:55 am    
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Good question Bill

IMO Capo's are used to get a specific higher pitch voicing.

But most people who use them simply don't know they're instrument. Not you Steve just my issue with capos on guitars and steels.
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Brooks Montgomery


From:
Idaho, USA
Post  Posted 1 Sep 2017 11:46 am    
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Capos do a tremendous service if you're playing in keys within three or four frets of the nut, playing songs with open strings and hammer-ons and pull-offs. Usually on six-string steels and dobros (G & D tunings ).
Personally I'd have a hard time capoing with eight-string steels, as I don't do those machine-gun hammer-ons and such, only do so on my six-stringers. No doubt there are some out there that do.
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A banjo, like a pet monkey, seems like a good idea at first.


Last edited by Brooks Montgomery on 1 Sep 2017 12:01 pm; edited 1 time in total
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Brooks Montgomery


From:
Idaho, USA
Post  Posted 1 Sep 2017 11:57 am    
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Such as
https://youtu.be/zgrW_9fk8ck
[/url]
J.D. with T.T. Band

Threw this in because it's fun to spy behind the scenes at a Tedeschi-Trucks practice.
Best touring rock & blues band out there in my book.
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Stefan Robertson


From:
Hertfordshire, UK
Post  Posted 1 Sep 2017 12:19 pm    
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I get if you're playing style is based on hammer ons.

but couldn't he have just played his E major modes and C#m blues scale without it at speed?

granted hammer ons are quick but surely at the current tempo he could achieve the same without it in a closed position.
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Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com

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Brooks Montgomery


From:
Idaho, USA
Post  Posted 1 Sep 2017 12:23 pm    
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I'm in no position to second-guess Jerry Douglas Whoa!
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A banjo, like a pet monkey, seems like a good idea at first.
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Stefan Robertson


From:
Hertfordshire, UK
Post  Posted 1 Sep 2017 12:35 pm    
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I agree he is a shredder at what he does but I was simply stating it could be achieved without the need for a capo at all.

But its a players choice I guess.

To me Capo seems somewhat limiting and counter-productive to learning the instrument inside out. Unless of course you specifically want a hammer on choice at a specific octave.
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Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com

"Give it up for The Lap Steel Guitarist"
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Mark Eaton


From:
Sonoma County in The Great State Of Northern California
Post  Posted 1 Sep 2017 1:28 pm    
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I could spend a long time on this subject but I don't want folks eyes to glaze over - plus I'm working from home today and I still need to get some things accomplished before I quit for the day.

Quote:
But most people who use them simply don't know they're instrument... just my issue with capos on guitars and steels.


Stefan, I have a saying I like to use every so often: "beware of sweeping generalizations."

One of my favorite guitarists on the planet is Mark Knopfler. I have seen him on occasion use a capo on electric guitar. I'm pretty sure he "knows" the instrument quite well. He is just one example of high profile guitarists who might occasionally use a capo on an electric. I figure if it's okay for Mark Knopfler to use a capo on an electric guitar, then it's okay for me as well.

If you went to Nashville and starting giving some of the top bluegrass flatpickers a hard time about using a capo, they might run you out of town.

Let's not even discuss lap steel for now - think about pedal steel. Many E9th players - and some are very accomplished - rarely raise the bar off the strings, and therefore play very few open strings. They typically place their bar over a given fret, pluck strings and use their pedals and knee levers to play chords and phrases, then move up or down the neck to a different fret marker. Isn't that for all intents and purposes like using a capo?
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Stefan Robertson


From:
Hertfordshire, UK
Post  Posted 2 Sep 2017 4:40 am    
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Hey Mark

I agree with what you are saying that there are some fine players that use them but my sweeping statement is mores on the majority of other players especially the singer songwriter type on guitar and "Lap Slide" - Oooh I am not fond of that term.


Also I was merely stating that Playing an Major/Minor or whatever chord can be done or at least suggested in most tunings with a 6th interval in them. So why not just Slide/slant to the desired chord and play those intervals.

I do agree that hammer on style playing works well with a dobro and thus using a capo like this I get it.

but surely the inherent beauty is in connecting the slides every now and then making that distinguishable steel sound.

so thats why I said IMO a capo aint needed for most styles maybe only for artistic colours once in a while. same as guitar.
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Stefan
Bill Hatcher custom 12 string Lap Steel Guitar
E13#9/F secrets: https://thelapsteelguitarist.wordpress.com

"Give it up for The Lap Steel Guitarist"
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Chris Templeton


From:
The Green Mountain State
Post  Posted 3 Sep 2017 10:08 am    
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Look at Jerry's left shoulder. It hardly moves when he's playing.
When I took lessons with Jerry Byrd, he would sometimes give my left shoulder a little slap to remind me not to move my shoulder when I was playing.
John Ely developed rotator cuff problems as a result of too much movement of his left shoulder and was forced to change his playing style.
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Steve Branscom


From:
Pacific NW
Post  Posted 4 Sep 2017 11:57 am    
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Steve
As an aside, Charlie has sold over 1200 of these things so it's obviously been accepted. I'm trying to think of other dobro and steel guitar accoutrements (sp?) that have that much of a market reach.
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David Mason


From:
Cambridge, MD, USA
Post  Posted 6 Sep 2017 10:34 am    
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Anything you can play above the 2nd fret you should be able to transpose, but open strings are still cool. Besides the licks made with them, there's also the issue of the harmonic content generated when playing with some CRANK on the amp. It's not important for beautific, clean-toned stuff, Hawaiian and otherwise, but I love rock 'n' roll. Too. And Indian music. Too. And blues music. Too.

(It IS a great exercise for bar speed & muting to whip up some open-string to 2nd & 3rd fret hammer-ons and them try to play the same type of thing using frets 5, 7 and 8; and 7, 8 and 9 - it's also harder, the better you are at the open-string ones!)
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Greg Forsyth

 

From:
Colorado, USA
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2020 2:34 pm    
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Now that we are all capo'd up, anyone notice the beautiful archtop that DT is playing? Looks to be a vintage Gibson w/ a CC pickup.
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Glenn Wilde

 

From:
California, USA
Post  Posted 17 Jun 2020 6:25 pm    
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Mr. Green
Bill Creller wrote:
I hate to sound so dumb here (!!) but what does a capo do for a steel guitar ?? Very Happy
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