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tight enough ... difficult question to answer written down .. definitely no fret buzz ..no dampening of notes ... can it be too tight ? i don't know
maybe depending on the fret ..mine is 2nd mainly and 4th sometimes..
i dont think i would bend strings that often in flamenco , but i do have a bulerias falseta that is kinda funny cos it has string bends in it ..
BUT.... it depends also on where you bend the string ... right next to the capo and it may stay up ...5 or 6 frets higherr and it probably wont ,,, again depending n how far it is bent
i its actually a bit of a none question if you think about it ....
my final answer .. tight enough to do the job (and no more ) .. speaking from a Dunlop capo point of view ...it has a bit of a snap to it ..on and off ....
Yeah I'd say just "snug", everything I play is pretty straight forward dance class stuff so I never need it to handle crazy bends or anything. I use the standard Dunlop capo.
tight as hell so you can bend a string w/out problems?
forever searching for the sweet spot so it's not so tight to mess up the guitar neck?
THe string should break before it damage the guitar in anyway. I find some keep it in the middle of the fret and when they do that and I play hard the open string buzzes. I keep mine very close to the fret wire....this always means adjustment of tuning is needed after I put it on, but it also means it doesn't have to be so tight to keep from buzzing. Hope that helps.
I use an NS capo. Always the high E for me as the clamp pushes down the bass side a bit more at first.
If it isn't flat the problem would be in the middle. It the problem is with the high E, just use it upside down. That's what I do with clamp style capos, I think it's the logic way to distribute force with a standard nylon set of strings. Anyways, the shape of the back of the neck can influence the pressure points at the front... just try and find what works best.
If you use capos that put the tension all around the the neck, (dunlop or trad cejilla) you will easily damage the finish and the wood if you tighten it a lot. If you use a capo that only puts the pressure one way, like Planet Waves - Schubs, then you can have a lot more downward pressure towards the strings.
If you like bending strings, my advice is to get a Planet waves. Not only do they put more pressure without damaging the guitar neck, but their rubber also holds the strings a lot better than Dunlop type capos. And its also light. Put it "the other way round" so that it doesnt get in your way.
nahhh Planet Waves capos are ugly ,, and really i think some marks on the back of the neck give character ... its been used ...
a friend of mine had a really old guitar .. from the twenties I think ,, and it had a lot of marking around the back of the neck from the capos ,, . mainly around the 5th I remember ..
and I thought how many fiestas and verbenas and bars and all kinds of things has this guitar been through?/ in Jaen , where i was then .. an old guitar with a lot of character ....
nahhh Planet Waves capos are ugly ,, and really i think some marks on the back of the neck give character ... its been used ...
a friend of mine had a really old guitar .. from the twenties I think ,, and it had a lot of marking around the back of the neck from the capos ,, . mainly around the 5th I remember ..
and I thought how many fiestas and verbenas and bars and all kinds of things has this guitar been through?/ in Jaen , where i was then .. an old guitar with a lot of character ....
+1...if you can't be a real man and use a trad cejilla, and need those shubs and spaceman planet capos to protect your guitar neck finish, might as well put an old sock on your right arm to protect the top and sides like a classical nerd. Might as well add one of those guitar body "sweaters" to protect the entire thing like people put on their poodles.
Might as well add one of those guitar body "sweaters" to protect the entire thing like people put on their poodles.
lmfao!
as for capos, there's 'normal tight', which works for me for almost everything. and then there's 'i may (or must) bend a string', which needs to be super tight.
as far as brand, i agree aesthetically that spaceman capo is no bueno pa'me. I like the dunlop. But technically, I need to be able to get around the capo from behind for certain chords, like the Bb9(#11)
yeas i use the Dunlop cos its a great design .. easy , light fast to put on and off ...
but if i have to play somewhere or go out and about , i probably will take a trad capo ...its a little bit of artwork in itself , and often gets a comment or question or 2 in itself ... yes, i forgot to mention I put mine just behind the fret itself , i think that helps , makes it stronger for less tightning ....kinda thing ...
trad capos look really nice but they are a pain. mine has begun to slip when placing it. i have to keep squeezing it. solution? (makes me wonder about pegs, never played a guitar with those)
i may have to buy one of those Dunlops for when i don't care how i look. lol
I bought a trad capo years ago and it was useless, the peg just didn't fit properly. I knew a violin maker/repairer and he drilled out the hole and fitted a violin peg. Perfect fit. I still don't use it much though 'cos Dunlop is quicker and more reliable to use for playing out. I have one of those clamp style capos sits on the table in practise room 'cos that is even quicker and easier to use, and the trad one I only use on the travel guitar that hangs on the wall in living room....
EDIT: the clamp capo I have is Shubb, actually sort of not too space ship weird looking or ugly. I guess it's counter-intuitive if the reality is that Dunlop is worse for the neck/finish than the Shubb, but I always felt that the little strap round the neck would be less bad than a metal mechanical clamp....
I feel like I see more videos of pros with dunlops than even traditional cejillas......
I made the same point on another forum not so long ago. Whilst a cejilla looks cool, the Dunlop has a very small footprint, is ultra light, nothing on the back of the neck to get in the way of awkward chords, ultra cheap too.
My duo partner uses a massive Star Trek phaser capo and another friend has an endorsement deal with the same manufacturer (G7?).
dunlop? ok ok...so long as it's the flat one it is acceptable as a sub for the traditional cejilla for only one of 2 reasons:
1. your REAL cejilla was either lost or stolen... 2. your REAL cejilla busted the string last gig and you are both angry at it, AND too lazy to change the string since then.
I will warn you guys though...I often have dunlop as my backup and keep in my stage clothes pocket. I got red flagged and searched in Kentucky airport at security before flying. They were nervous as hell cuz the guy reading the X ray was like "i see a serrated blade in there..." they searched and searched...the boss came out...their hands were shaking cuz I was staring at them ice cold like they were morons...finally the boss found the dunlop, saw that I was a guitar player, and gave the X ray guy the worst look ever. They appologized for the mess they made of my packed luggage and I had to run to catch my plane.
Depending on the fret, it would either be too tight or too loose, so it was crap. I like it just touching the fret, not digging into the wood or working as a snare drum.
Light clamps or traditional cejillas work best for me. I just use a very simple, small and thin cejilla, not those huge tall things that most people seem to use. It never came loose, not even once. I've sanded a bit of the tip of the peg, that's the only maintenance I've ever done to it besides changing the string to a stiff G.
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