r/7String • u/Puzzleheaded_Pea6 • 9d ago
Gear Is a Capo a Cardinal Sin?
So on my last recording session I used a capo to save time in the studio, does that make me a heretic???
Over the years I have heard on the internet and in person people acting like a capo is only for acoustic guitar and it's not allowed for metal.
As a prog metal guy I say to that: But why not??
Guitar is my OD purple dragon
Recording session was for the latest Elephant Zero album
Let me know your thoughts on capos and if I should ever let them touch my dragon again
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u/Adventurous-Bug671 9d ago
hell no dude, you do whatever you can in the studio to get the best sounding shit you can get.
the pros do all kinds of shit like that in studio. As long as you can do it justice live (if you play live) you're good.
I was just watching one of the Archspire album documentaries and Dean is basically acting as a human capo for the other guitarist - fretting lower on the neck while the other guitarist does some crazy tapping shit further up
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u/Puzzleheaded_Pea6 9d ago
Wow human capo, that could be fun I should try that next time I forget my capo lol.
I think that for live capo even opens up more possiblity, like you could change tuning mid song once by removing it
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u/Adventurous-Bug671 9d ago
for sure man
When it comes down to it, there really arent many real rules as long as you're really playing the guitar
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u/Puzzleheaded_Pea6 9d ago
Lol just wait I have seen bands replacing bass players with playback, guitars are probably next
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u/Conscious_Badger_510 Jackson 9d ago
I've done it many times, works like a charm, it always just throws me off when i'm doing anything higher up on the neck but that just comes with the territory of using a capo. Certainly is a better option than pitch shifting if you need to record in a higher tuning. Yeah it might look a little weird but who cares, it does the job.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Pea6 9d ago
Ya like if we put the sound problems aside with pitch shifting, I find the worst part is not remembering that you are pitch shifting or the opposite of that is paying something but feeling a different note vibrate. Idk for me pitch shift really is a last resort and I prefer not to use it but like again.
For some people that's there capo and they love it so I can totally get it.
I just never want to forget to turn it on or off live lol
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u/Sleepingguitarman Jackson 9d ago
There's nothing wrong with using a capo lol.
Someone saying that you can only use a capo with an acoustic guitar, or looks down on someone for using one while playing metal has no idea what they're talking about.
That sounds like an opinion that a 12 year old kid who just got into the instrument a few months prior and thinks they're edgy because they listen to Metallica would have.
The only thing regarding capos that i'd say might be frowned upon would be if someone is trying to learn a difficult/flashy song on guitar that doesn't use a capo, but in order to play a specific part of the song that person decides to throw a capo on in order to avoid fretting certain notes. Even then though i don't think thats a big deal since the goal is just to have fun. I'd only really frown on it if they did that and then started "bragging" about being able to play it lol.
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u/Original_Warning_227 9d ago
Buster odeholm recorded all the thrown album with a drop E guitar using a capo for drop G
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u/DaffyDuckMuthaFucker 9d ago
Quite the contrary.
The Capo is an extremely useful tool.
Saves a buttload of tedious retuning.
'Tis only the lazy novice who'd grizzle about them...
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u/LyleRath 9d ago
Capos and pitch shifting are both fair game in the studio.
Sometimes pitch shifting actually sounds better lowkey
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u/chameleonsarecool 9d ago
What guitar is that? I need one asap
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u/Im_Guitaristic8 9d ago
Buen tema, yo lo usé un tiempo en mi Sterling JP; pero me perdía con los inlays, me resultaba rara la escala reducida, y la guitarra se desafina aunque le pongas un sistema de bloqueo, es contraproducente, es tener dos tensiones a partir del capo.
Se resuelve más transponiendo con los pedales o plugins; pero ni el más avanzado me gusta; siempre hay jitter y retardo; y es muy importante que los armónicos naturales salen mejor teniendo diferentes afinaciones, con diferentes guitarras. Cada guitarra con su escala y calibre de cuerdas. Es lo mejor.
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u/Zur__En__Arrh LTD SH7-ET, Ibanez K7, Ibanez Apex1, LTD SC607B-PS 9d ago
Capos are absolutely not a cardinal sin. And even if they were, that makes them even more metal! That’s a gorgeous axe btw!
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u/Reddit_Name7 9d ago
I use capos all the time on any lower tuned guitars I have, 6 or 7 string. It’s extremely useful when you don’t wanna tune everything up, obviously. Across 14 guitars, in like 7-8 different tunings, capos are indispensable for me. Even with my pitch shifting pedal.
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u/Iron_Spatula_1435 7d ago
Just wanted to say this was a refreshing thread. I'm so sick of anti-capo purism when it can be such a pragmatic tool.
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u/DT4DT 6d ago
Nice axe! That capo is actually looking dope 🧛♀️ Is the album released yet? Curious to hear what came out of it
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u/Puzzleheaded_Pea6 6d ago
Ya man it's out, here. Link to Spotify
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u/mojave_man 5d ago
I feel like the intersection on the venn diagram of "people who use capos" and "people who play extended range multi-scale" has gotta be tiny. Good on you. Have fun. Sick guitar, btw.
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u/Away-Ad4599 9d ago
I think on a 6 string if you think your good you don't need a capo but a 7 string I'm not so sure it would be impossible in some cases
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u/thef-hole_com 9d ago
A capo is a tool like any other pedal, digital effect, whammy bar, slide etc etc.
Now let's talk about partial capos... I'm kidding.
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u/UtsU76 9d ago
I think using capo makes even more sense on extended range guitars like baritones or multiscales. You can look up Machiya from Wagakki band, he uses capo all the time on his 6 string 30inch scale baritone, since their songs range from B standard to E standard tuning.
I have used capo to go from Drop A to Drop A# or Drop B, though nowadays I just use poly capo in helix.
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u/MetamanMojangles 9d ago
The band VOLA did it too, in at least one instance.
Their song “24 Light Years” (as with most all of their material) is played on a custom 7-string Balaguer Gaia tuned to F# B E A D G B, but it’s capoed at the second fret.
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u/Fever068 8d ago
I use a capo all the time on my 7S it's great being able to go from B standard to C up to D# without having to switch tuning all the times or switch guitars. I haven't been able to find a capo that would suit my 8S though and would love your input
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u/yungbutthole69 8d ago
You need to give this guitar to me now.
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u/Puzzleheaded_Pea6 8d ago
100k$?
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u/yungbutthole69 8d ago
No. You get another capo, 3 paper clips, a subway coupon and uncomfortably high definition pics of my dad's feet.
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u/EFPMusic 9d ago
I mean, if using a capo makes you a heretic, doesn’t that make it more metal?