Good sounding capo for square neck reso?

Gerald Menke · Post by **Gerald Menke** » 6 Oct 2005 6:50 am

Hello,

One of the artists I play with likes to sing in A flat, which means I have to capo up on the dobro. I have been using a Beard capo, but it really does a number on the tone. What are you all using for capos these days?

Thanks so much for reading my post and for any recommendations you may have.

Gerald

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 6 Oct 2005 8:38 am

The hardcore dobro guys right now seem to prefer these two:

The Bradley capo-from Elmer Bradley. This one is very good-if you're interested I can dig up his phone number.

The newly redesigned, with more mass Scheerhorn capo from Tim Scheerhorn which can be seen here:
http://www.elderly.com/accessories/items/SRGC1.htm

I have a Beard. They are all tone killers to a certain degree, but somehow when I hear the great players like Jerry Douglas or Rob Ickes use them I don't seem to notice it hardly at all.

I guess it goes back to the old "it's all in the hands."

------------------
Mark

Post by **Brad Bechtel** » 6 Oct 2005 9:30 am

Does Rob Ickes use a capo? When I've seen him, he seems to just play out of the open G tuning in whatever key they're in.

I never use a capo myself, but I don't normally do a lot of that hammer on/pull off stuff that some Dobro® players do. That's just me, though.

------------------
Brad's Page of Steel
A web site devoted to acoustic & electric lap steel guitars

Grant Johnson · Post by **Grant Johnson** » 6 Oct 2005 9:42 am

I have a Beard and to me it is just about the same as the Scheerhorn which I tried recently. All the free floating capos suck tone to some degree to my ears. I love the old Shubb capo but it only works on the standard string heighth of the Dobro Brand Resos... If you have a Dobro brand model I have one available, and have sent you an email...
Please excuse the post hijack:
Hey Brad, we have a mutual friend in Big Jim Cox![This message was edited by Grant Johnson on 06 October 2005 at 10:44 AM.]

Gerald Menke · Post by **Gerald Menke** » 6 Oct 2005 10:01 am

Well hell, if they all affect tone I guess I better just get my act together in A flat, then. At least I can use the G string open in that key. Mark, if you wouldn't mind sending me Mr. Bradley's number I'd be most grateful, I am always willing to try new bars, picks, capos etc. I may try the Scheerhorn too, although that is a pretty penny to pay for a capo!

my e-mail address: tonfeld@aol.com

Thanks for your replies, any further suggestions or "feedback" would be greatly appreciated.

On that note, let me say that the combination of the Baggs Para-acoustic DI and Sabine Feedback Eliminator is a pretty potent combination on stage for resonator guitars.

Grant Johnson · Post by **Grant Johnson** » 6 Oct 2005 10:05 am

If you do end up getting a Bradley please post your opinion. I found that the Scheerhorn was not worth the extra dollars over the Beard...

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 6 Oct 2005 10:11 am

Brad-I've seen Rob use the capo.

You're right-he pretty much sticks with open G-unlike JerryD who will play a fair amount of songs in a dobro tuned to D, and very occasionally E or even F.

When I saw Rob last December with Joe Craven he capo'd on the second fret during a couple of fiddle tunes that Joe was playing.

Grant-was that the new Scheerhorn capo that I posted the link to? Or was it the old Scheerhorn/Flux capo co-designed with Jerry Douglas. This new one has a lot more mass-and mass is the key word here for decent tone.

The Bradley has a lot of mass.

Gerald-I'll find that number and e-mail you.

------------------
Mark

Grant Johnson · Post by **Grant Johnson** » 6 Oct 2005 10:39 am

Oops! It was the old Scheerhorn Capo that I have tried...
Thanks for the clarification...

Andy Sandoval · Post by **Andy Sandoval** » 6 Oct 2005 11:15 am

I like my Leno capo but any of the above mentioned capos are good too.

Here's a link to a page with more to look at. Capos

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 6 Oct 2005 11:57 am

I have heard good things about the Leno too.

All these reso capos seem to leave at least a bit to be desired, even the best ones.

6-string players are usually pretty happy with one or two capos which I guess is related to the fact that they are solidly "anchored" to the guitar neck and it just plain works better.

The whole dobro floating capo concept seems to have an inherent level of compromise to it, and dobroists seem to get on a search for the Holy Grail of capos, and usually end up with a collection of these things. I have a friend that calls it his "capo museum."

I'm still not very comfortable with one-until this year, I never had one, and I have been an off-and-on dobroist since the mid 70's.

------------------
Mark
[This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 06 October 2005 at 12:58 PM.]

Larry Robbins · Post by **Larry Robbins** » 6 Oct 2005 12:16 pm

I too have a "Leno" as well as a "Beard" capo and like them both. I have noticed that each one seems to sound better or worse depending on what reso I am useing them on. Dont know why for sure,..maybe something about the mass of the capo and the overall projection/volume of the inde
vidual inst? dont know but, I guess if we are gonna use em we got to compromise a little!

If your like most of us, you will like one for a while, then try another for a while and on,and on,....have a happy!

------------------
Sho~Buds,Fender Steelkings,Twins,Strats and Tele's, Tut Taylor
reso's

Stephen Gambrell · Post by **Stephen Gambrell** » 6 Oct 2005 12:55 pm

I like the Bradley. It's nice and heavy, which means good tone, and there's no sharp metal edge to crimp the wound strings. I used to hate that with the Leno.
Does ANYBODY like that Shubb thing???

Alan Kirk · Post by **Alan Kirk** » 6 Oct 2005 12:55 pm

I have a Bradley and I love it. All other capos I tried marred the fingerboard.

------------------

Grant Johnson · Post by **Grant Johnson** » 6 Oct 2005 2:52 pm

Stephen,
I really like the shubb tonally as it anchored to the string and the neck. It essentially made a new nut and to my ears did not rob the tone nearly as much a a newer free floater... the problem with them is that you can only use them with the Dobro brand string clearence which is lower to the neck...
I am considering trying to make a shim so my Shubb with work with a newer Reso...

William Steward · Post by **William Steward** » 6 Oct 2005 3:45 pm

I have a Shubb and it seems to work OK with my (new) Regal....although I don't use it a lot.

Mark van Allen · Post by **Mark van Allen** » 6 Oct 2005 5:21 pm

Rob Ickes has certainly pursued a knowledge/bag of playing well and very creativley in all keys capoless, as part of his overall mastery. Uses capos also but not usually in the manner of so many other players, to just move "open G" licks to another key.

I really enjoy the movement of other scales, like open D, with the capo, as in playing in Eb capoed at fret 1. The flow and phrasing is completely different than playing without a capo.

I'm one of the guys with a capo museum, and my favorite is the Deneve. More mass than just about any of them, no little screw to lose like the Beard, and the flip latch is on top out of the way unlike the Bradley (which has a nicer finish, though). It's also one of the cheapest around.

Dick Deneve 1333 Oneida River Rd.Pennellville, NY 13132 315-695-6342

------------------
Stop by the Steel Store at: www.markvanallen.com

Joseph Rush Wills · Post by **Joseph Rush Wills** » 7 Oct 2005 8:48 am

I certainly second Andy Sandoval on the Leno capo. I own two of them, wouldn't part with them. I don't think they affect tone at all; it's in the hands. The longer you play, the better you sound. Rob does use a capo as do Jerry, Mike, and Phil Leadbetter to name a few top guys.
Just remember, a capo limits the availalable usable space on the neck.

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 7 Oct 2005 8:59 am

There is a very old hillbilly engineering trick that works better than anything else. Go to a hardware store and buy a piece of L bracket, like you would use to hold a corner joint on a window screen. Hold it flat and put it right behind the fret you want to capo, then twist it upright so the strings rest on it, and the long part of the L hangs down the side of the neck out of the way. You can search for an L bracket of the right thickness, and can file it down for a custom fit. Other than finding the right fit, the only problem with these is if the string height increases up the neck. Then the capo will not be tall enough at some point. But for using within a few frets of the nut, typically the second fret for the key of A, an L bracket will work great and give good tone.

Grant Johnson · Post by **Grant Johnson** » 7 Oct 2005 9:09 am

Cool Dave!
I heard that Mike Auldridge used a big chuck of milled brass that he wedged under the strings...
Edited to correct spelling.[This message was edited by Grant Johnson on 07 October 2005 at 11:42 AM.]

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 7 Oct 2005 9:22 am

It's "Auldridge."

That L bracket thing sounds a little too hillbilly to me-maybe I'm not seeing it in my mind's eye correctly-but it strikes me that the thing could hack up your fretboard, and the side of the neck.

I paid too much for my first string reso to be hackin' up the fretboard!

With the improvement in capos these days, even though they're far from perfect-I can't see reinventing the wheel by going the hillbilly route!

------------------
Mark
[This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 07 October 2005 at 10:25 AM.][This message was edited by Mark Eaton on 07 October 2005 at 10:25 AM.]

D Schubert · Post by **D Schubert** » 7 Oct 2005 11:45 am

For some of my lap guitars, I have been using a cheap $9 Regal capo. It has an elastic strap lilke the folkie capos from the 60's and muting bar that goes over and behind the strings, and a round steel rod that sits between the frets and the strings, acting as a faux nut. There are three plastic shims that fit on the round rod to adjust for string heights, but I have been able to toss those in the drawer and use the naked metal rod -- which probably improves the tone. This rod is bevel-pointed on the end so it's easy to insert and extract at the desired position. Sounds no worse than capos costing much more. Maybe even better.

A large-diameter screwdriver or similar round shop tool also works well in a pinch, stuck under the strings at the right place.

I don't really like any of the Dobro capos I've tried -- they all tend to be muted and/or tinny-sounding -- which has probably been a blessing -- because it's forced me to learn to play in all keys -- and it's forced me to learn how inter-related that six-string G and E(or D) tunings are.

David Doggett · Post by **David Doggett** » 7 Oct 2005 2:22 pm

Mark, I never got any neck marks from my L brackets. I suppose if you are worried about that you could put tape on the inside edges. They are quicker and simpler to use than anything else, and sound better.

Billy Gilbert · Post by **Billy Gilbert** » 7 Oct 2005 4:04 pm

Just tune it up to open A and forget about the capo. Oz played in A tuning his whole career and Bev King uses open A. Some people like the sound better in A.

Billy

Mark Eaton · Post by **Mark Eaton** » 9 Oct 2005 10:12 pm

uh...OK...I guess?

Keith Cordell · Post by **Keith Cordell** » 10 Oct 2005 1:12 pm

Kelly Joe Phelps uses the best capo setup I have ever seen, it is on his instructional video for lap style acoustic guitar. He has a piece of wood with a channel in it that has a groove on the bottom for the fret. the channel is fitted for a rod that slides in, and provides the "nut" under the strings. Then he uses a cheapo rubber capo on that to reduce string slippage.