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Versatility is a characteristic that all guitar players hope to exhibit. One way to instantly become a more adaptable guitarist (besides buying a whole new axe) is to invest in a great guitar capo.
Guitar capos are essentially a moveable nut or artificial barre chord finger press, clamping down over the whole neck of the guitar. This holds down the strings at any location, raising the pitch of the whole instrument — no lengthy tuning session required. They work with any type of guitar, including acoustic, electric, ukulele, banjo and mandolin.
These handy tools have a range of benefits for guitar players of all levels. With a capo, you can play in a different key without learning new chord fingerings. This is obviously great for beginners, but also convenient for band members performing a series of tunes with different keys. It’s also very helpful if you’re singing while playing, letting you focus less on barre chords and difficult fingerings.
On top of their usefulness, guitar capos are also compact and easy to use. The only difficult part is picking the right capo. To help out, we’ve rounded up some of our favorites and outlined how to choose one.
What to Know Before Buying a Guitar Capo
Although guitar capos are simple tools, they’re actually quite diverse when it comes to buying one. Below are some of the key features that can change from product to product.
Adjustability: You’ll want to check to see how quickly a capo can be clamped, shifted around the neck or removed. This is especially important if you’ll be rapidly changing keys between songs, say while performing.
Material: As with any product, you want your capo to last. They come in a variety of materials, but some are more durable than others. Plus, some capos just look better than others.
Weight: Guitar capos are mostly very lightweight, but still: the lighter the better. You’re probably used to the weight of your guitar’s neck, so weighing it down too drastically may interfere with how you play.
Design: The more streamlined a capo’s design, the more freely you can maneuver your axe and fly up and down the neck. We selected capos with low-key builds that won’t get in the way while you play.
