Topic: Capos, clamps, false nuts, cheaters

[Johnm]

Mr. O'Muck,
As long as we're indulging in a little thread creep, I bought the Nathan Milstein set of the Sonatas and Partitas that you speak of when it came out and agree, that it is for me, the finest recording of classical violin made--for that matter, I like Nathan Milstein's tone the best of any classical violinist, particularly on the G string. 
I was playing the the 3rd Partita on my folks' stereo in the summer, at their place in Pennsylvania, with the windows wide open, and a bird flew up and perched on the window sill, motionless, for the length of the piece.  I've always considered this a testimonial to Milstein's playing and tone, and Bach's composition.
Incidentally, it sounds like you lucked out in the neighbor department--it could have been the greatest hits of Air Supply!
All best,
Johnm

[Mr.OMuck]

Believe me when I tell you that I've EARNED my current neighbors by having survived several incarnations of the neighbors from HELL ! What's that song "I want to hold you till I die, till we both break down & cry..etc, etc? Hour after hour day after day at top volume , 'till i was praying for deafness!

[Mr.OMuck]

BTW great bird story John. Just goes to show...everybody's (or everything's) a critic!

[Rivers]

Anyone having any success capoing a 12 string with the classic neck width/depth? This would really help at jam sessions.

I see Kyser make a 12 string capo, I use their 6 string capo and it almost works on the 12 except for the 6th string octave treble gets away or buzzes, and it's generally not quite clamped properly.

I'll retitle this thread to be about capos in general.

[Pan]

I have myself used a Kyser for years, because it's simplicity in live situations.

However, with my new guitar I had to rethink the whole process, because A) the new fretboard was flat, not radiused as was the capo, and B) because my old Kyser wasn't wide enough to clear the neck above the 4th fret.

I had noticed that the Kyser left "bite" marks on the neck of my old guitar, and many people feel that they are too strong.

After some investigating, I purchased a reasonably cheap Shubb classical capo, and it works fine on my new guitar. I like the fact that you can adjust the tension to be just right; I find that this way the guitar stays much better in tune.
The capo itself is quite lightweight, so you can easily pocket it when not needed.

Here's their capo chart, I hope this helps: http://www.shubb.com/capomodels.html

Cheers Pan

p.s. spring capos can be entertaining; I must have had a pretty funny look on my face on a recent gig, when the Kyser managed to escape from my grip and went flying into the audience, since everybody, including myself, burst into laughter...

[uncle bud]

I use a Shubb classical capo on the 12-string like Pan and it works.

[waxwing]

Hey Riv, I use a Shubb classical, too. One little mod I did might work for you. When I have the capo tensioned just right, so that I get no change in pitch due to any depressing of the strings (with capo as close to the fret as possible), I found that the octave string on the 6th pair would slide over into the dent made by the .064. Imitating another 12 string capo (maybe an Elliot, but I can't really remember) that only comes curved for a radiused fretboard, I cut a small notch in the rubber of the Shubb. When I put the capo on I slide it sideways 'til the string pops into the notch, then I let it settle so all the strings are straight before clamping. Totally solved the problem for me. Was only ever a problem with the 6th pair so only one notch was needed.

All for now.
John C.

[Rivers]

I picked up a Kyser classical capo today, mainly for the length of the bar, the shallow radius and because I like Kysers. Got home, put it on, and Wax, that's exactly what's happening, the treble one on the 6th is still not clamping.

Are you saying cut the notch in the rubber for the skinny string or the wound one? Sorry to be dense, I was thinking of doing it for the fat string so the face of the rubber came down closer to the fret on the outside string.

[waxwing]

I was thinking of doing it for the fat string so the face of the rubber came down closer to the fret on the outside string.

Exactly! Definitely remove less rubber than you think you'll need, as cutting too much out would be irreversible. I just made a small V notch with either a razor knife or a serrated blade. You can then shave just a bit more off one side of the V if need be. I don't know about the Kyser, but you can get a new rubber for the Shubb if you screw up.

All for now.
John C.