Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Keni Lee Burgess on July 21, 2011 at 4:48am

Why would you say this?

Robert Johnson clearly did?

Albert Collins uses it all the time!

Good Luck winning this one. LOL

Enjoy, Keni Lee

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Permalink Reply by Keni Lee Burgess on July 21, 2011 at 4:56am

They use to call a capo a cheater because instead of having to arrange a song in another key (different chords) to match a vocalist voice, you could simply capo up and find the correct key.

Or you can tune the whole guitar down a half or full step too.

I believe Stevie Ray would tune his guitar down a half step from standard for his voice. He also used very heavy strings. The slightly lower tuning makes the strings softer to fret.

Thanks for sharing. Enjoy, Keni Lee

 

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Permalink Reply by Cigar Box Nation on July 21, 2011 at 5:14am

SRV tuned town, but that didn't make his guitar any easier to fret... Ted Nugent said Vaughan's guitars felt like they had telephone wires on 'em!  He would routinely use .013 on the high E string. When he'd practice, he'd have strings as thick as .018 on his high E!!!  Dude was just a monster!

Keni Lee Burgess said:

They use to call a capo a cheater because instead of having to arrange a song in another key (different chords) to match a vocalist voice, you could simply capo up and find the correct key.

Or you can tune the whole guitar down a half or full step too.

I believe Stevie Ray would tune his guitar down a half step from standard for his voice. He also used very heavy strings. The slightly lower tuning makes the strings softer to fret.

Thanks for sharing. Enjoy, Keni Lee

 

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Permalink Reply by Rand Moore on July 21, 2011 at 5:50am

Hi All,

I don't know enough about capos to really add much to the discussion here, but while browsing thru hundreds of YouTube videos the last few days (something I often do when vacationing in the States as YouTube is banned in China), I saw one video where the guy had made a pair of foot pedals to activate a pair of capos positioned above his fretboard. The two capos were mounted on a bar that parallels the neck and were oriented so they could capo the normal way. When he stepped on one pedal the first capo would be activated, and when he stepped on the other capo, the other capo would be activated. This way he could play is tune and switch between 3 keys (me thinks) without having to stop to mess with capos. I thought it was a good idea and he was using it with great effect. Unfortunately, I can't find the link even though I'm sure it's buried somewhere in my browser's history file. Seems I might have been researching "fanned frets" at the time. If I come across the video again, I'll post it here. Anyway, I thought I'd pass this bit of info to you hoping someone may find it a good idea and perhaps implement it. It was pretty cool.

-Rand.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Yates on July 21, 2011 at 6:12am

 

Sorry, this has nothing to do with cigar box guitars, but I like to use a Shubb on the top five strings at the 2nd fret and play with D shapes.  It's similar to drop D (but in E, of course) except you don't need to alter your fingering of other chords.

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Permalink Reply by Keni Lee Burgess on July 21, 2011 at 6:23am

Yes, heavier strings produce a much fatter tone. Lighter strings tend to sound thin and weak. Especially on acoustic instruments.

Typically, people playing guitar to make fretting easier use lighter guage strings.

Although this does work, the lower string tension creates less vibrational energy to produce a good tone inside the guitar.

This is also the case with resonator guitars. Using lighter strings has less energy to drive the cone.

Tuning and string guage needs to be matched correctly. Using lower than standard open tunings like Open D or G requires at least a medium gauge to ring the cone correctly. I like to use a .016 for the high string.

My point about SRV's tuning down and string guage was simply to point out that tuning down or using a capo is a direct method to make the guitar function to meet your own personal needs.

"Songs need to be in the correct key for the vocalist". Thinking that a song is only "correct" because it is played in the original recorded key is a misunderstanding.

Thank you for sharing Shane.

I saw SRV once in the mid 80's. Yes, the secret to his tone is definitely found in his fingers. RIP SRV.

Enjoy.     

 

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Permalink Reply by Rand Moore on July 21, 2011 at 6:41am

I found the link: Daniel Hecht playing his Somogyi guitar with a custom pedal capo. Now let me see if I can embed the video here...

 

Isn't that cool? I guess it takes some good coordination not to pinch your fingers ;-)

 

Seems he made it in the same way that bicycle hand brakes work.

-Rand.

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Permalink Reply by Jeff "Sweet T" Tinsley on July 21, 2011 at 11:05am

Definitely cool Rand. Did you find this while checking out Somogyi fanned frets, or is it just coincidence that two of the Nation's more interesting conversations lately are covered by Somogyi?

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Permalink Reply by Rand Moore on July 21, 2011 at 11:20am

Hi Jeff,

Yes, I did find it when I was checking out the Somogyi fanned fret guitars. The text accompanying the video says the capo system was developed by Daniel Hecht.

I guess this thread was really active 4 hours ago -- a couple of other posts came in between the two I sent regarding the Somogyi modified to have 2 foot pedal controlled capos. Well, I for one like to keep up with what's happening on CBN and if I have anything of interests, I'm not shy about sharing it.

By the way, Somogyi is located in Berkeley, CA not that far from where I'm summering.

-Rand.

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Permalink Reply by Rand Moore on July 21, 2011 at 11:39am

Hi Keni Lee,

Thanks for the tip regarding resonator cones and the need to use "heavier" strings (heavy or medium instead of light) to better transfer the energy to drive the resonator cone. I've read a lot about using resonators and the like, but this is the first time where this idea was presented, or at least made its mark on my mind. I should buy a few sets of medium and heavy strings before returning to China where they only sell light and ultra-light strings in their guitar stores.

-Rand.

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Permalink Reply by Keni Lee Burgess on July 21, 2011 at 12:15pm

My pleasure Rand,

Actually the set up (string height / action) is the same for slide as it is for regular playing. Even though you use a slide, you still want the ability to finger notes and play chords over the entire fingerboard.

By matching the tuning to the correct string guage, you will get the correct tension not only to drive the cone correctly but also for the correct string tension for the slide to ride on correctly without bottoming out and hitting the frets.

Of course be careful. Heavier strings are only good for lower tunings like Open D (DADf#ad) and Open G (DGDgbd).

Using a capo at the 2nd fret will give you open E and A. (Hey, I'm talking about a good use for a capo again.) 

If you want to set up for Open E and A, it might be better to use lighter strings, so not to crush the cone.

In general, if the strings are too loose or too tight the cone will not function correctly.

Enjoy, Keni Lee   

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Permalink Reply by Bad Finger (Eric) on July 21, 2011 at 1:55pm

That double cable capo is what I would imagine coming out of the guitar nerd lab at MIT!

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