Capos for bass

trust24 · #1 02-27-2009, 04:37 AM

Do bassists use them or is it just a guitarists

JustDavid · #2 02-27-2009, 04:50 AM

Pretty much just guitarists. I've experienced 2 reasons:
1/ don't know many chords
2/ an 'open chord' sounds different (= is made of different note arrangements) than a 'closed chord' ( - no open strings) & a song wants the sound of the 'open chord'.

Though a capo is handy when setting up your bass.

pedrodelawasp · #3 02-27-2009, 04:57 AM

So long as it's a fairly strong capo, and wide enough for your neck, there's no real reason why you shouldn't use one. It sounds pretty different from tuning your bass up, but it's a heck of a lot easier mid-gig if you're only able to take one bass with you. I find it really useful if I'm playing a high end melody with a B pedal, for example.

What I'd really like is a capo that can cover three strings and leave my E open. I do this on my guitar, with the capo at the 7th fret, quite often. If i try this on bass, though, the capo only hold for a few notes then pops off.

Any suggestions anyone?

bkeating · #4 02-27-2009, 05:03 AM

a cool capo trick on bass is to down tune nice and low (C,F,Bb, Eb) then capo at the fourth fret to give you an open E and standard tuning. this shortens the scale of your bass and gives you super thumpy bass tones gallore. fun to play around with and a great move in the studio should a track call for that sound.

Darkstrike · #5 02-27-2009, 05:27 AM

I have one for my super long scale bass in BEAD, handy to capo it to a shortscale DGCF.

troy mcclure · #6 02-27-2009, 05:33 AM

I have used a capo on a gig. We decide to change the key, I have capoed to save myself the stress of transposing on the fly. Back in High School, I was in pit band for all the school plays, and theywould constantly change keys during rehearsals to find where every one was comfortable vocally. The capo came in very handy, as I was sight reading.

heavyfunkmachin · #7 02-27-2009, 07:57 AM

i use it when i have songs with lots of natural harmonics and whe need to transpose it a bit...

cowsgomoo · #8 02-27-2009, 08:45 AM

I saw a picture of McCartney with one on his bass once.... no idea what that was all about

you might find one useful if you have a line where you have to bounce off lots of open strings, or have certain natural harmonics to play...

using it to transpose would be a pain, unless you had a magical instrument that moved the fret markers in relation to the capo.. that'd be cool

Darkstrike · #9 02-27-2009, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowsgomoo

using it to transpose would be a pain, unless you had a magical instrument that moved the fret markers in relation to the capo.. that'd be cool

Play an unmarked board, would be easier in this instance.

EADG mx · #10 02-28-2009, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowsgomoo

using it to transpose would be a pain, unless you had a magical instrument that moved the fret markers in relation to the capo.. that'd be cool

How is it any different from using it on a guitar or banjo with markers?

I have used a capo on my bass, although I don't ever find it a necessity. It can be a convenience, but just remember it won't help your transposing.

cowsgomoo · #11 02-28-2009, 05:05 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EADG mx

How is it any different from using it on a guitar or banjo with markers?

I have used a capo on my bass, although I don't ever find it a necessity. It can be a convenience, but just remember it won't help your transposing.

no different.. I'd find that a pain in the ass too

EADG mx · #12 02-28-2009, 10:50 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowsgomoo

no different.. I'd find that a pain in the ass too

Have you ever tried it?

cowsgomoo · #13 03-01-2009, 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by EADG mx

Have you ever tried it?

have you ever tried playing darts with the board tilted 15 degrees to the left?

phektus · #14 03-01-2009, 08:14 AM

It makes you lazy with your fretboard knowledge imho. Even with the guitar.

warnergt · #15 03-01-2009, 08:58 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowsgomoo

...using it to transpose would be a pain, unless you had a magical instrument that moved the fret markers in relation to the capo..

...or unless you put the capo at the 12th fret.

adamrobertt · #16 03-01-2009, 09:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by phektus

It makes you lazy with your fretboard knowledge imho. Even with the guitar.

This is just dumb.

EADG mx · #17 03-01-2009, 10:05 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cowsgomoo

have you ever tried playing darts with the board tilted 15 degrees to the left?

No, but I have tried playing with a capo on several fretted instruments with inlays, and it was not difficult to adjust.

winterburn69 · #18 04-29-2009, 07:33 PM

Okay, I'm pretty confused. So if I capo at the 2nd fret in standard, what will the note on the 3rd fret be? and what will the open note be?

The reason I ask is because I play several Mötley Crüe songs, and only have one bass, some are EADG, some are DADG, and some are DGCF, I don't want to detune everytime I want to play a specfic song (don't worry, I have the hipshot for the drop D). So where can I put a capo and get DGCF in standard tuning, or where could I put a capo and get EADG in DGCF tuning?

NoobOnRoad · #19 04-29-2009, 07:37 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by winterburn69

Okay, I'm pretty confused. So if I capo at the 2nd fret in standard, what will the note on the 3rd fret be? and what will the open note be?

The reason I ask is because I play several Mötley Crüe songs, and only have one bass, some are EADG, some are DADG, and some are DGCF, I don't want to detune everytime I want to play a specfic song (don't worry, I have the hipshot for the drop D). So where can I put a capo and get DGCF in standard tuning, or where could I put a capo and get EADG in DGCF tuning?

yup

winterburn69 · #20 04-29-2009, 07:46 PM

yup? yup what?