tuning question and thoughts

    • Hi, I'm laying down some tracks and used a capo on F , I noticed a slight adjustment in the recording tuning once capo was off and trying some leads on these F chords.


    are these semitones fractions audible for you ? and if you use a capo , do you have to adjust leads afterwards , I feel I'm naturally composating by ear and don't really care.


    I try to set my capo close to the fret and not in the right middle of two frets.



    • I did try a 432 Hz tuning , did not feel like I was in tune with the earth and whole cosmos ;) ...I was not convinced as I lost most of the brightness of my takes / mix


    • What is your default tuning reference ? 440,5 like the default ?
  • My son (he is 11) had his first "show" at the place where he is taking guitar lessons, not that long ago.


    To get "in range" for the singer (student young lady who was incredible) they used a capo on a couple of songs.


    He had to re-tune between the capo songs and the normal ones. It appeared that not all the guitars needed the same amount. His semi-hollow PRS needed more tuning than the acoustic that one of the guitar teachers was using accompanying them. May have to do something with the scale length and the string tension I guess.


    But I can tell you that it was clearly audible when the capo-ed guitar was out of tune purely because of the capo. So I think what you are hearing is real. :)

  • I’ve never found that you can just put on or take off a capo and not have to retune.


    But I’ll also say I’ve found these (especially the Teflon version) with their radius matching inserts to be the best there is.


    thaliacapos.com

  • Would that be any different from just barring the first fret?

    Sorry for the late reply. IMO, yes. A bar chord - generally an F or Bb lasts for a measure, A capo is most often used, in the 1st position anyway, to avoid barring and strum open chords. As a result, every string will sound out of tune....this is on a hard-tail guitar. Add the trem to the mix, and it just compounds the issues.


    It has a lot to do with the break angle from the nut to the 1st fret.


    All of the above is IMO, YMMV :)

  • I understand the capo and the barre and their uses. My point was just that the pressure on the strings and its effect on string tension, should be so similar that there is no difference on the trem spring tension and therefore trem balance.


    While most people find that they need to retune a little when they add a capo, I don’t think trem balance has anything to do with it. IMO a fixed brindge and trem should behave the same way. The main factors affecting the tuning stability with a capo would be, nut height, action height, fret height and string gauge.

  • Hi,
    Im using a G7TH performance capo and its working very fine, comparable to playing bar chords.
    Thats just a clamp without spring to press on and holds exactly that force. Press only until no buzz or ringing occurs and set it near the fret.
    Very important is the rubber material to bring the force to the different string gauges and to damp buzzing and ringing.
    This is a very fine piece of gear which I can highly recommend
    Cheers

  • x2 for use of a G7th capo. I have a couple of them and use them both live and at home. As the OP noted, where the capo is positioned on the fret, as well as how much tension the capo is putting on the strings, all play a huge part as to whether the tuning will go sharp or not.

  • I’ve never found that you can just put on or take off a capo and not have to retune.


    But I’ll also say I’ve found these (especially the Teflon version) with their radius matching inserts to be the best there is.


    thaliacapos.com

    I agree CAPO = You must tune . This is why I prefer barre chord and I can play on any keys

  • I agree CAPO = You must tune . This is why I prefer barre chord and I can play on any keys

    thx for the insights


    I often use a capo for stoner stuff as I get bored of playing in E or dropped D ; lots of time just to get an F bass and some chord notes higher than the 8th fret, that would be impossible to play in a regular way .

  • There's a special set of tuning offsets that James Taylor uses to make his acoustics more in tune with a capo. I've used it and it sounds really nice.


    https://www.guitarworld.com/le…-tuning-our-guitars-wrong

    And he knows a thing or two about playing with a capo :thumbup:


    I've tried those in the past too but you need a good tuner with the ability to acurately measure the offsets. Cue Kemper tuner update request .......... ;)