Decent Dobro Capo that doesn't cost $85.00

[Russell Baker]

OK I Know I know I know....

It has been discussed a lot

Is there a decent Dobro Capo for my Gold Tone Paul Beard Dobro that doesn't cost $85.00?


Thanks

[Ken Pippus]

Nope.

[Brooks Montgomery]

Greg Booth likes the Shubb which is about half that price:

http://www.reso-nation.org/forums/whate ... apo?page=7

[Tom Wolverton]

If the Shubb fits your guitar's neck, it's great. My favorite.

[Erv Niehaus]

How about a broom stick under the strings?

[Jeff Porter]

+1 on the Shubb for square necks (if it fits).
Great for quick changes live because it slides over the frets. Don't have to fiddle around getting it in the right spot like the floating capos.
I have a Beard and it probably sounds a little better but always use end up using the Shubb.

[David Knutson]

Ya, string height is crucial for the Shubb so it doesn't bend the strings out of tune, but it is accurate and quick - again - if it fits.

[Allen Hutchison]

Fellow forum member Martin Gross makes his own & explains how on his web site. Go to the quick links "capo" if you want to make a free one!

http://www.martingross.com/

[Brad Davis]

Looks like they stopped selling the "classic" Beard capo. It was half-decent, and probably $30-40 new IIRC. You might post a WTB somewhere. Also the Sheerhorn capo may still be available. I really never bother with capo on my reso, but understand why some would.

[Ken Pippus]

I've never owned a reso that a Shubb would fit. Maybe it's me.

There are a bunch of reasonable options on Reso-Hangout in the classifieds for pretty good deals.

[Ken Pippus]

I thought the "classic" Beard was quite a bit less than classic. And I own one.

[Bob Watson]

Check out the Walworth Reso capo. I also have a Beard Wave and I like it a lot, but I find the Walworth a little quicker to put on so I wind up using it more often than the Beard. They both sound great. Elderly Instruments has them for $49,95, here's a link. https://www.elderly.com/walworth-reso-guitar-capo.htm
Here's a video with Rob Ickes using one.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OELy__7lYx0

[Tom Wolverton]

I have yet to find a capo that doesn't buzz a bit on the high D string. Drives me nuts.

[Chris Walke]

Scheerhorn

https://www.elderly.com/scheerhorn-reso-guitar-capo.htm

[Mark Eaton]

Looks like they stopped selling the "classic" Beard capo. It was half-decent, and probably $30-40 new IIRC. You might post a WTB somewhere. Also the Sheerhorn capo may still be available. I really never bother with capo on my reso, but understand why some would.

I would avoid the old Beard brass capo. I measure the perceived "success" of a dobro capo by how much it minimizes "tone death." To me the old Beard capo made me too conscious of tone death while playing. If you're using a capo a fair amount of the time and you have the same perception of the old Beard brass unit as I do - it just becomes annoying after awhile.The Beard Wave capo which came out about seven years ago does a much better job, but it's also $85, like the Charlie's Slide Pro capo which I use as well.

If you can't stand paying more than $50, then as far as the "floating" types go I would choose either the Scheerhorn or Walworth. Rob Ickes still sells both of those on his website store.

I've never really gotten the Shubb capo dialed in myself, it resides in my "capo museum" - and I keep telling myself I will give it another shot but I never seem to get around to it.

[Brooks Montgomery]

I've got quite the capo collection now too. One thing worth noting on the Walworth, it works good on lapsteels with low nut height. It works great on my old Slingerland, and it's one of the quickest to throw on fast in the middle of a pedal-to-the-metal jam.

[Paul Sutherland]

I know you said not costing $85, but my Charlie's Slide Pro Capo, that cost something like $85, works like a charm. The money was well spent. It's cheaper in the long run to buy what works the first time.

[Mark Eaton]

I know you said not costing $85, but my Charlie's Slide Pro Capo, that cost something like $85, works like a charm. The money was well spent. It's cheaper in the long run to buy what works the first time.

Of course Paul.

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

[David Mason]

The old black broomsticks were better.

[Chris Templeton]

The reason I like the broomstick idea is the the stings have more connection with the body.
I have sometimes used a steel bar under the strings of a lapsteel for a capo. I think it had a slightly smaller diameter than most bars. It was in an old case I had.
The sound of the open strings when using a "floating capo" (my term) is pretty wimpy.

[K Maul]

Try a bottle opener. Worked for Josh. I like Beard Wave and Charlie's. Worth the expense.

[Mark Eaton]

The sound of the open strings when using a "floating capo" (my term) is pretty wimpy.

Then you need to watch the video linked below of Jimmy Heffernan demonstrating the Charlie's Slide Pro capo. I've spoken on the phone a couple times with Charlie along with having a fair amount of online communication with him and he's a good guy. Charlie was a welder for decades in his day job so he knows his way around metal. He started playing dobro in the early '80s and many years ago came up with various ideas for a capo.

In the current iteration of the capo a couple years ago he lengthened it by as I recall 1/4" and it's pretty dialed in.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8LBNJCaLxMk

[Erv Niehaus]

I would recommend placing a deep socket between the fretboard and the strings. You have the choice of several different sized sockets so you can come up with just the right size.

[Dan Mahoney]

Here's what I've been using since 1974, albeit less crude now than the head bolt I used to use. This is 1/2" SS rod with a groove cut to align over the frets to perfectly register the capo. I use a reconfigured Jim Dunlop 70F elastic capo which I store behind the nut. Lift the strings slightly, slide in the capo, slide up the elastic capo and you're in business. Quick, always in tune, and no loss of tone. I have experimented with all kinds of designs over the years (one which was stolen by Liberty Banjo after I showed it to them at a festival), but for me nothing is better than this. And it is out of the way of your left hand. String height at the nut should be around 7/16" or so.

[Dave Thier]

IMHO life is too short to screw around with the cheap solutions (bolts, bottle openers, what have you). Charlie's Capo is easy to use, fits all squarenecks, and doesn't kill the tone. Most of us play decent instruments I suspect, why not use a decent capo?