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I have a spring-action grip style capo that is designed for changing the position easily. It used to be great, however now I am finding that quite often it will not fret some of the strings properly, which results in buzzing or in some cases muting the strings completely, especially when using it at the lower frets.

I have had the capo for about a year. I am guessing that this is probably expected with this type of capo, but I thought it was worth asking before I went out to buy a new one.

Within the context of this question, it might be useful if anyone had any tips or hints for helping to prevent this with the next capo I get.

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I think this is more a question of the quality of the capo you have, I used a Dunlop Trigger Capo for a couple of years without any issues; I gave that away years ago and haven't bought another, but as far as I know, its still in use by the guy I gave it to.

I would be interested to see an example of the type of capo you have.

One thing that might shorten its life is leaving it clamped on the guitar neck for long periods (when the guitar is not in use and such). This constant tension on the spring/mechanism may cause it to loosen over time.

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  • That makes some sense. The capo does tend to get left on from time to time, either when I forget to take it off, or if my friend uses it. I think I have a Kyser Capo, although I'll need to check when I get home.
    – Anonymous
    Feb 23, 2011 at 15:53
  • I'll second DRL's comment. I've had the same Dunlop Trigger capo for a few years now, and it still works great. I just make sure to remove it whenever I'm not using it, and don't leave it clamped onto anything.
    – Josh Buhler
    Feb 23, 2011 at 17:44
  • +1, leaving them on the neck can possibly causes unnecessary strain. I don't actually use this type of capo, so I cannot comment on whether this is to be expected or not.
    – Ali
    Feb 23, 2011 at 17:56
  • I've been ensuring that the capo has been left off the neck, and I have noticed an improvement. However, I think it's time to invest in a new one now and make sure that I look after it properly.
    – Anonymous
    Apr 13, 2011 at 15:42
  • I didn't realise that this was marked as unanswered. I guess that happened when the questions were migrated from guitars.
    – bcpettifer
    Jul 28, 2011 at 12:30

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