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while using a capo makes some stretches "easier" in lower positions, it actually makes some things really hard to play because you are forced into higher positions.
The opening falseta of PDL's "Tientos del Mentidero" requires half bars at the 10th fret and full bar at the 8th fret. With the capo on the 3rd fret that means you have to play bars the 13th fret and full bar at the 11th fret!
opening falsetas of Solea "Cuando Canta el Gallo" also requires bars at high positions. I think on the recording capo is on 1, but on Rito vid he plays some of those things with capo on 2.
and I think parts of Aires Choqueros also requires bars at high positions
and probably loads of other stuff I have forgotten or not studied yet.
I use the capo sparingly. Mainly for accompaniment, when the singer asks for one. My only rule is to never use one while doing exercises.
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Seems that almost all guitar masters use a capo,If only on the first fret. Paco de lucia , Paco Pena, Vicente, etc. Juan serrano usually plays solo without one. A capo certainly makes the guitar easier to play than the open position, thus helping stretch and speed,SO how many guitarists are addicted to using a capo( when not using it to accompany a singer) . Sensible answers, and not a specific number would be appreciated.
I dont' feel it helps much at all with playing easier. The main reason is because the flamenco players normally think of functioning falsetas in accompanying contexts. The secondary reason is simply the sound of the guitar, it brighten things up to move higher, lower position is darker. I have used capo position in live setting to avoid feedback issues with the full band (for instrumental tunes). The absolute last reason to use it would be ease of play. Probably you need to check your guitar's set up if you find capo 1 orders of magnitude better feeling than open. High nut, high bone, bent neck etc can all be culprits.
It brightens as Ricardo said but it also reduces the sustain, so the "open" chords sound more flamenco in a way. I dislike capos for practice and solo as it reduces the space, increases tension
"Anything you do can be fixed. What you cannot fix is the perfection of a blank page. What you cannot fix is that pristine, unsullied whiteness of a screen or a page with nothing on it—because there’s nothing there to fix."
i like to practice without a capo. mostly cuz im too lazy to pick one up. but i always perform with one on. it just makes everything sound more bright and audible, especially in places where the room is very bassy or there's a lot of bodies soaking up all the highs.
Just curious how often you have seen Juan Serrano play solo without a capo? I mean how many shows? Does he still play live shows, or have you seen him live in the past?
It seems use of a capo is traditional in flamenco. I prefer the sound without one and like somebody else I am too lazy to find it and put it on. If a specific song calls for one I will try to use it, mostly on the first or second fret.
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Ah well, there was a fantastic passion there, in my case anyway. I discovered flamenco very early on. It grips you in a way that you can't get away - Paco Pena
I totally forgot to add that the traditional style capo, IMO, is like jewelry for the guitar. So having it at least on the first fret just looks cool to me. If it's an ugly Dunlop or shub than who cares really? I can't imagine PDL playing that gorgeous Rondeña solo without one. By the way, Nuñez very often doesn't use the cejilla unless it's necessary, with the exception when he is playing por medio (a comparatively rare thing for him).
doesn't mean he doesn't or hasn't used a capo. When he was living in Spain and accompanying singers he will have used a capo. I don't think it's not that much of a big deal whether you use a capo or not, especially if you aren't accompanying a singer, it's just a personal choice.
Numerous Juan Serrano videos on youtube. Not a capo in sight. I have seen Paco Pena live ,a few times. He played almost entire concert with capo on first fret. I have only seen him playing solo,not with his group of singers and dancers where he takes more of a back seat.
Yep. And one guitar sounds bright and clean, the other like mud.
That's a Manuel Reyes. In my experience the flamenco guitars from Andalusia are more fit for such a playing as they generally have a pulsacion media or baja, with a very flexible top, able to offer you more modulation with a capo beyond the 5th fret. The Madrid kind of guitar have usually a thicker, less sharp note on the highest positions. IMHO if your guitar plays well with the capo on the 5th or 6th fret, it's already good for the most you have to do. If your singer often requests such a playing better to have a guitar fit for the purpose.
You're fine Staghound. To each his own. I don't know of any "rules" for using the capo if you're playing solo. I think it's just "functional". Ricardo summed it up nicely in his first post.
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so it's the cheap dunlop ones for me. RIP bling. 
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