Guitar Gear

Conceivably, all capos operate pretty much the same way: Place the capo at a fret position and go. I’ve played with many capos over the years, starting out with the traditional folk guitar, elastic strap capo, then moving to Shubb then most recently, Kyser capos, of which I have several.

But recently, and especially since I got my Simon and Patrick acoustic, I’ve been less than enthusiastic with the Kyser, especially when using the capo above the 5th fret. I’d have to spend some time positioning it so it wouldn’t put my strings out of tune and, more importantly, wouldn’t buzz if I hit the strings too hard.

So I went on a quest to find a new one. I could go back to Shubb, but I didn’t really like the lever action, and though adjustable, I’d get frustrated when moving the capo up and down the neck and having to readjust the tension. There are other spring-loaded types, but having tried those, and especially the ones with the levers on the back of the neck, meh, they got in the way. So I wanted a low-profile design that wouldn’t get in the way of my fretting hand.

The two that I considered were the Thalia and the G7th. They both seemed to operate similarly, though I was really leaning towards the ratchet design of the G7th. As for the Thalia, while it seemed to have the characteristics that I liked, the extra “form” with the inlays – which are totally cool, by the way – kind of red-flagged it as a fashion statement for me, though no doubt based on the reviews I read it was probably more than functional.

But in the end, I decided to go with the G7th. This is a great capo! Squeezing it on was a little unsettling at first because I didn’t know whether or not it would work. But it works great! I’ve thus far put it on all my electric guitars and my acoustic and it works pretty much flawlessly with no string buzz or bending my strings out of tune on all of them.

For my acoustic, I had to find just the right place to get the best performance, but I was expecting that because the action on my acoustic is just a tad high. But once I found the spot, it has worked great.

Now the question is: Do I have buyer’s remorse for spending $50 on it? And for those who are considering getting one of these, a good question would be: Do I think it’s worth it?

That’s complicated. No, I don’t have buyer’s remorse because it just works incredibly well and it’s obvious a lot of time and effort has gone into designing this capo. But on the other hand, it is rather expensive for such a utilitarian, pedestrian accessory. At least for me, it solved the string buzz issue I was having with my Kysers, so from that perspective, yes, for me, it was a good purchase. But for those considering getting one, the question you have to ask yourself is are you getting this because it’s cool, or does it really solve a problem?

“Cool” is certainly a reason to go get something like this. For us gear sluts, that’s a given. But I also have a very practical side so I tend to ignore the cool factor and try to focus on function. As I mentioned above, this capo has solved a real problem for me, so I’m happy with the purchase. And yes, I’d recommend getting it. The design is great and really unobtrusive.

But I will say this: If you’re happy with what you’re using now and it works for you, this isn’t something I’d rush to the store to get. It’s certainly a nice-to-have, that’s for sure.