I did it once at a pretty big show here in town, (tuner broke, was in Drop D needed to change to E in a hurry. and i can't do harmonics live!) it worked out really well for me, i just don't think many people do it too often. any thoughts?
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Capo on a bass.
- Thread starter Theabyssbass
- Start date
- Jul 8, 2009
- 1,612
- 11
- Disclosures
- A&R, Soulless Corporation Records
standard guitar capo, my tuner broke so i just kinda stole my guitar players(he capos a bunch). worked fine for a four, may have even worked on my five string.
1) Learn to tune live
2) Why bother? You're still playing out of position two frets up, so just finger the notes held by the capo--I'm sure most of us that use drop tunings for some songs have been caught-out by a sudden change in the set list and have to compensate. Sure, you can't do the open-string-thrum with one hand whilst flashing the devil horns to the crowd with the other, but it's better than looking like some acoustic guitar pussy.
2) Why bother? You're still playing out of position two frets up, so just finger the notes held by the capo--I'm sure most of us that use drop tunings for some songs have been caught-out by a sudden change in the set list and have to compensate. Sure, you can't do the open-string-thrum with one hand whilst flashing the devil horns to the crowd with the other, but it's better than looking like some acoustic guitar pussy.
I'm a rank novice, so apologies for the stupid question.
That "up tunes" ALL your strings by some amount, right; depending on what fret you have it attached to?
That "up tunes" ALL your strings by some amount, right; depending on what fret you have it attached to?
I never used one, but sounds OK to me if you're just starting to play. Otherwise, I'd rather learn how to tune fast, it's just a "complementary" thing to practice
Ive been playing for years and i know how to tune on stage. here's what happened, the rest of my band had started the song before i got a chance to tell them that my tuner was broken, and im not about to start doing harmonics in the middle of an intro. so i walked over and grabbed my guitar players capo off his headstock (he wasn't using it). the song never stopped, and i made do. i play an open E part that would have just sounded bad had i just fretted it. and seriously, devil horns? im into pussy loops!
Hi, I was looking for capo-related threads, and this came closest. I just wanted to recommend capos for tappers and one-man-band types. I rely on open strings a lot -- I bought a capo two days ago on a whim and it's been incredible. Not only does it completely change the tension on the instrument, but it lets me do a bunch of different scale voicings that I couldn't really get at before.
IMO totally useless for regular side-man duties (except in emergency situations), but it's very neat for this application.
Credit where it's do -- I saw the Books do this and it piqued my curiosity.
IMO totally useless for regular side-man duties (except in emergency situations), but it's very neat for this application.
Credit where it's do -- I saw the Books do this and it piqued my curiosity.
- Nov 9, 2009
- 360
- 100
- Disclosures
- Endorsing Artist: Reunion Blues, 64 Audio, Mesa Engineering, Ernie Ball.
I figure it could be practical, like it sounds like you guys are talking about, but I once knew a guy who used one because the chord charts he was sent were in 'weird keys' for the guitar so they used a capo. That was just silly.
Capos are useless unless, like Swimming Bird said, doing chords or tapping. But how often does that happen?
I used to do it when I just started out playing with the band at my church. I was just
a novice and my transposing/tuning skills were far from good. After more experience
and knowledge of theory, I dumped the capo (although I keep in my case still, but it's probably for my guitarist)
Now, I've figured out that a lot of church music is: only 4 CHORDS(1-6-4-5 Progession) LOL
a novice and my transposing/tuning skills were far from good. After more experience
and knowledge of theory, I dumped the capo (although I keep in my case still, but it's probably for my guitarist)
Now, I've figured out that a lot of church music is: only 4 CHORDS(1-6-4-5 Progession) LOL
