Capo on bass?

[climber]

I saw Richard Bona do it. FWIW he was originally a guitarist...

 

[Gizmot]

I take it you don’t play guitar?

No Jimmy - - I've played guitar for 58 years. I started playing bass 54 years ago because it was a lot easier to get gigs as a bass player.

Even when I was playing folk music and Simon & Garfunkel stuff on guitar when I was in high school, I never used a capo

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

Don't currently but have it the past. Playing in a duo offers some fun opportunities for creative arranging and problem solving.

The Bar Band Bassman

 

[Bar Band Bassman]

I just realized my Kubicki has a built-in capo on the "E" (or is that "D") string!

The Bar Band Bassman

 

[BuddhaFingas]

I found it handy when first trying to cope with a 5-string bass, as a learning tool... enables playing "known" stuff on the low 4 strings while getting used to the spacing.

 

[40Hz]

I suppose there would be special circumstances to add a capo. But IMO a bass is supposed to have BASS notes.

Then how do we explain why so many famous bassists do the bulk of their playing in the third, fourth, and fifth neck position?

 

[MYLOWFREQ]

I use it when I do setups. It would be useful when tapping too. It's also useful when you have a long-scale bass, and want to know how a short-scale one feels.

 

[2thAche]

The capo makes the pickup think it's closer to the neck.
For example, by putting a capo on the second fret of a J bass, and retuning to E, you get a close to 30" scale that can approximate what a single coil P bass with a J pickup would sound like (but the SCPB is not short scale).
Doing that with a P would be close to a Mustang (whose pickup is closer to the neck and which is short scale) with that P pickup.

Only if you put the Capo on and tuned it back to EADG. Otherwise you're playing the same notes on the same scale, just without the ones before the capo.

 

[-Asdfgh-]

Useful for moving harmonics.

 

[Queue]

It's the same deal as on guitar, works fine. I'm also a fan of using my HX Stomp if I have to move it up to a couple of semitones up.

I'd like to try this. Can you point to a reference where I can see how this is done? Can you go down a 1/2 step to play all those songs recorded with Eb tuned guitars?

 

[Smooth_bass88]

in the course of my work I cannot imagine a scenario whereby I would need to put a capo on an electric bass

 

[dalahorse]

My fingers get lost on a 5 string bass. I know that would change if I had one and practiced frequently. But... I very rarely have a need for the G string anyway. So I tune BEAD on my 4 strings. It's great 90% of the time. But some songs really need open strings to be played without developing CTS on my fretting hand. So that's where the capo comes in. Need to change from Eb tuning to D for the next song? Move the capo one fret and carry on. Back to standard tuning? Take the capo off. Way faster and cheaper than retuning or reaching for a second bass every other song!

Bonus - My string tension and neck relief never need to change.
Second bonus - My scale length gets shorter every fret I capo. That makes for easier arm reach and less finger stretch.

 

[dbsfgyd1]

Anyone used a capo on electric bass?

Any thoughts? Suggestions?

Used? Yes. On a gig? No. Does it work? Yes, but intonation might be an issue when plucked hard and the capo is not tight enough.

 

[wiscoaster]

...
Any thoughts? Suggestions?

I think it's weird. But I'm not a pro.

 

[BD Jones]

Yes. It was the late 80s and I did a solo for the talentless show. It would have been impossible to play it otherwise. But, that is the only time.

 

[2F/2F]

Nothing wrong with it, but it does have a very limited application.

It's only useful for parts in which you MUST use an open string to play the part properly, that open string must be something other than a regular open note, and you are unable or unwilling to retune your bass or dedicate a bass to that tuning.

 

[Les Fret]

Nothing wrong with it, but it does have a very limited application.

The only limit is in your imagination!

 

[Michael Eisenman]

Here’s a pic of some random English guy who added a capo to his bass. He did it way back in ‘66 though.

View attachment 5279485

Are you certain that it’s not a spare cigarette?

 

[JimmyM]

No Jimmy - - I've played guitar for 58 years. I started playing bass 54 years ago because it was a lot easier to get gigs as a bass player.

Even when I was playing folk music and Simon & Garfunkel stuff on guitar when I was in high school, I never used a capo

Ok, play Here Comes The Sun in the original key of A without it

 

[GotGroove]

I generally don't use one. The only exception is when I'm asked to stand in for a bass player in a coverband on short notice, which does happen on occasion. It's not that I can't play without one, I can play any song I know in any position/key. It just requires more thought, it's less automatic. When you have time to practice the song in the right key in advance there's no problem. But when you're called in on short notice it's an easy alternative without losing confidence in your live playing. It requires less thinking, which will show in your on-stage presence.