How to use a capo? Noob question

Fassa Albrecht · #1 08-03-2007, 03:28 PM

Does anyone know how I go about using a capo on a bass? What effect does it have on the overall sound of a bass?

PS I am such an amateur.................I apologise!

JustOpenYourMind · #2 08-03-2007, 03:32 PM

Well a capo is something you put across a fret to press the strings all at once on that said fret and hold them there. I t does not change the sound. On guitar it is used to make chords that are imposible to do otherwise. On bass it is pretty useless, unless you are into heavy chording.

Asa Samuel · #3 08-03-2007, 03:32 PM

it has no effect on the sound at all.

what a capo does is press down the strings to the frets so your sort of (in a roundabout way) tuning your bass up a fret.

it has no effect tonally on the sound.

ThatGermanDude · #4 08-03-2007, 03:34 PM

make sure you get one that's adjustable,and then just put it on and rock out.

it doesn't really sound any different than a fretted note.
i use one on my five string to play universal mind by LTE which has an E-b (low to high) tuning, so i just detune the g-string a half step and put a capo on the fifth fret. works fine

Infernal Affair · #5 08-03-2007, 03:40 PM

First of all forgive my use of basic language as I don't know all the fancy music terms. Basically a capo "cuts down" the size of the neck so that the open strings are plucked in higher steps. For example, if you want all open strings to go a half step up (your E string to be F for example) then you put a capo on the first fret. A capo is very helpful to guitarists since it allows them to strum chords more efficiently. Rather than playing something open and using a difficult chord shape, they can just put on a capo and play an easier shape that emits the same sound. It also has other uses.

For bass I hardly see it used since a lot of bass players don't need to play chords like a guitarist. A lot of times when you see the chord sheet and they say "capo on 2" then you just think in your head "I play two half steps higher than what's written" or rewrite the chord sheet to reflect that. However, it's sometimes easier to just slap on a capo and play it that way. For bass it works the same way as guitar. I've used it a couple times for this occasion and I've never had problems with it.

As for whether it affects overall tone that's negligible. I think of a capo as a hand just permanently fretting that area of the board.

MikeRS · #6 08-03-2007, 05:27 PM

I actually use a capo on the bass, usually when I'm playing a song for a tenor bass (tuned ADGC) on a standard 4 string. It makes playing the open strings easier and using chords in the upper neck a lot easier since you can incorporate open strings without getting too muddy. Just place it over the fret you want to become your open strings, but be careful since I found it's very hard to get it off the 12th fret (my capo is a little small, and my neck is a little wider at the 12th fret since I have a reinforced neck).

FenderBinder · #7 08-04-2007, 02:13 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Infernal Affair

First of all forgive my use of basic language as I don't know all the fancy music terms. Basically a capo "cuts down" the size of the neck so that the open strings are plucked in higher steps. For example, if you want all open strings to go a half step up (your E string to be F for example) then you put a capo on the first fret. A capo is very helpful to guitarists since it allows them to strum chords more efficiently. Rather than playing something open and using a difficult chord shape, they can just put on a capo and play an easier shape that emits the same sound. It also has other uses.

For bass I hardly see it used since a lot of bass players don't need to play chords like a guitarist. A lot of times when you see the chord sheet and they say "capo on 2" then you just think in your head "I play two half steps higher than what's written" or rewrite the chord sheet to reflect that. However, it's sometimes easier to just slap on a capo and play it that way. For bass it works the same way as guitar. I've used it a couple times for this occasion and I've never had problems with it.

As for whether it affects overall tone that's negligible. I think of a capo as a hand just permanently fretting that area of the board.

i was just about to make a post asking about this.... Thanks for the help you were unaware you would create.

Depth_Charge · #8 08-04-2007, 02:50 AM

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capo

dlloyd · #9 08-04-2007, 04:45 AM

A capo can be useful on a bass, particularly if you want to play high up on the neck with pedal tones that aren't available from open strings.

Place it fairly close behind the fret and retune once you've clamped it in place.

The choice of capo is fairly important. I find those elastic capos to be a pain... try a Shubb.

morf · #10 08-04-2007, 07:40 AM

Since you're beginning bass, I wouldnt get into the capo thing right away, unless you already know your standard fretboard by heart it will IMHO only mess with your head and mix things up.

Tinybasschick · #11 08-06-2007, 06:59 PM

In the absence of enough funds to buy a me-sized bass, I use a capo to turn my 34-inch (is that right?) Precision into a 30-inch. I spend a lot of time getting the strings in tune, though. I tuned them all down a whole step, so the second fret is my new "open" EADG. But it makes 'em a little bit flat, so I have to tinker with it.

Infernal Affair · #12 08-07-2007, 11:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by FenderBinder

i was just about to make a post asking about this.... Thanks for the help you were unaware you would create.

No problem. I'm usually unaware of lots of things.

Thanks guys for mentioning using a capo for pedal tones as well as for cutting down the neck size. Those are useful techniques that I never even thought of. As for cutting down the neck to make it a shorter scale, wouldn't that provide some intonation problems due to fret length on the nearer parts of the board being different than the first few frets?