The twentieth century conjured up a variety of new and unique capos. (Similar capos, shown above, appeared in the Montgomery Ward catalog during the same period.) Running from $.20 to $.50, the capos were all clamps made of aluminum or brass that were “used to clamp on fingerboard to facilitate playing in flat keys.” Sears even manufactured and sold a guitar with a built-in capo around the turn of the nineteenth into the twentieth century. Five different versions of the capo (referred to as Capo D’Astro) appear in the 1896 Sears catalogue alongside some of their beautiful mail-order guitars. Gutman company-was available and by the late 1890s, the famous Sears catalogue got into the capo game themselves. In 1890, a version similar to Ashborn’s standalone capo-with a lever on top of the device and sold by the F.O. The Spanish Cejilla not only sounds good, but it’s relatively simple to construct one of your own, following this handy Instructables tutorial.Ī listing for guitar capos in an 1895 Montgomery Ward catalog. The Spanish Cejilla came along with its own unique design. The English Yoke capo resembled an egg yoke with a clamp around it to allow for moving it across the fretboard. Following this innovation came the English Yoke Capo and The Spanish Cejilla capo-both remarkable devices that allowed for new sonic potential in stringed instruments. Originally the capo was just a crude, C-shaped piece of brass that probably did more damage to the neck than one might expect from using a capo today. The quick change capo-the variant of the device with which most of us are familiar-is a staple of some types of playing, but this device captured the imagination of an array of inventors and multiple types of capos exist.

Ok, that’s enough adverbs.Īt its core, a capo is just a clamp with some sort of tightening system that lets you change the key of a song by moving the device from one fret to the other. The shortened form of the original word capotasto-defined by Merriam-Webster as “a bar or movable nut attached to the fingerboard of a guitar or other fretted instrument to uniformly raise the pitch of all the strings”-the capo is a surprisingly divisive, incredibly useful, shockingly innovative, and remarkably unique device. The capo has a surprising history of innovation and improvementsĬapos have been around in some form or another since the 1700s. Slightly curved rubber pad is suitable for straight and curved collars.The Kyser Quick Change Capo, a key innovation in guitar history. Quality silicone pad conforms to the fingerboard, and the frets can ensure good sound and prevent scratching. Robust and durable capo for acoustic, classical and electric guitars. Item color: black / gold / silver / blue / red What you get - Our package contains 2 guitar capos. Helps you play the guitar better - No fretting hum as it provides perfect balanced pressure for clean sound. Avoid Scratches - High quality black silicone pads greatly protect your beloved guitar from scratches or damage. This guitar capo can be quickly and easily released and repositioned by the stainless steel spring. Easy to Use - The capo is ideally suited for quick-change interval degrees for acoustic guitar, electric guitar, bass, violin, ukulele, mandolin, etc. The surface of the guitar capo is treated by electroplating, not easy to corrode and destroy. Premium Material - The durable capo is made of high quality aluminum alloy material which has a longer service life than the traditional wooden capo.

Guitar capo