A genuine capo innovation from G7th....

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LewyLewy Frets: 4126
edited October 2016 in Acoustics
First off, this capo costs 130 quid which means that unless you capo nearly all the time (some of us do) it's a ludicrous concept but I imagine that this ART technology is going to start showing up on their other capos too...


http://www.g7th.com/getmetafile/c9abe673-c8d9-4f2f-bd68-d7736f3ea651/Heritage_Guitar_S_Style1_539.aspx
http://www.g7th.com/heritage-capos.aspx

I don't subscribe to the idea that capos that don't exactly match the guitars radius need to necessarily pull things out of tune....just place it right next to the fret and that doesn't happen, but I have experienced that the mismatch can be a total fret killer because applying enough pressure across all the strings means a couple of them are really getting mashed down hard. I've put divots in frets within a few months of play due to this. So balancing the cost of fret dresses across a few different guitars, this starts to not look so ludicrous if it actually works....especially if you are a fan of this style of capo.

Still, for the same price you could put a Shubb in every case and probably every room in the house....but f*ck I want one....
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Comments

  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    I'd rather fill my house with Shubbs than spend that much on a single capo.
    I can't see there's much advantage over the Shubb apart from it being all nice and shiny.
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  • LewyLewy Frets: 4126
    Sassafras said:
    I'd rather fill my house with Shubbs than spend that much on a single capo.
    I can't see there's much advantage over the Shubb apart from it being all nice and shiny.
    You can get shiny Shubbs :)

    However I think the fact that It moulds to match the radius of the fret counts as a genuine functional thing beyond aesthetics. Although Shubbs kind of do that by virtue of their thick soft rubber.

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  • crunchmancrunchman Frets: 11413
    I got rid of my Shubbs.  Tuning/intonation is much better with a G7th.

    Even if you have one for every guitar, Shubbs are still a pain as the neck gets deeper as it goes up.  if you adjust so it's right for the first fret then it will pull the tuning slightly sharp on the 4th.  Worse than that it seems to affect different strings differently.  If the whole guitar was slightly sharp but in tune with itself it wouldn't be so bad.  I find the tuning is much better with the G7th.

    I'm not sure I like the look of that new one though.
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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7350
    I think as you say Lewy if you're a prodigious capo-er it makes the case for itself. I saw Stuart Ryan post a review video of it recently - no doubt it is a pro pickers dream capo.

    I can't help wondering if putting a squidgy layer on (sorry, 'ART technology...' ) a Capo isn't something that might soon show up on more modestly priced items though... 
    Red ones are better. 
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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7350
    Also there is the other consideration:

    I own 2 Shubbs, one G7th Nashville, and one elastic cheapo Capo - I can never find any of them 
    Red ones are better. 
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  • LewyLewy Frets: 4126
    TimmyO said:
    I can't help wondering if putting a squidgy layer on (sorry, 'ART technology...' ) a Capo isn't something that might soon show up on more modestly priced items though... 
    That certainly seems to be the implication. It'll probably show up in the next gen of Performances.

    People who like this yoke style of capo won't balk at the price because they'll have seen Elliots and the like (same kind of price). Even Shubb's own version will run to about £90 with shipping and VAT etc and that doesn't offer anything new. Paiges are cheap but they feel it in use too and again, still give you the problem of radius.

    Anyway, fuck it I've ordered one. They had me at "shiny" :)


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  • TimmyOTimmyO Frets: 7350
    Is this like an acoustic player's version of a new booteek overdrive?

    "The Klon of capos" (r) 
    Red ones are better. 
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  • LewyLewy Frets: 4126
    TimmyO said:
    Is this like an acoustic player's version of a new booteek overdrive?

    "The Klon of capos" (r) 
    I'd put it more akin to something like a set of Waverly tuners - about the same price, cheaper things would be perfectly adequate, but they are a nice appointment that enhances the user experience and pleasure of ownership.
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  • ICBMICBM Frets: 71960
    For that price I could literally buy a Kyser for all of my guitars and carefully bend the grip to match the fingerboard radius if for some reason it doesn't quite match (only found that once), and I would *still* be able to use them smoothly with only one hand and clamp them on the headstock when I'm not using them.

    The Kyser still is - and will probably always remain because it's impossible to make it any simpler - the easiest to use and most hassle-free capo there is.

    "Take these three items, some WD-40, a vise grip, and a roll of duct tape. Any man worth his salt can fix almost any problem with this stuff alone." - Walt Kowalski

    "Just because I don't care, doesn't mean I don't understand." - Homer Simpson

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  • SassafrasSassafras Frets: 30273
    Just seems like a triumph of marketing speak.
    Adaptive Radius Technology when they mean a piece of rubber. Genius.
    Pretty much every capo I've used has had a piece of ART on it. I just didn't know it was that technically complex.
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  • LewyLewy Frets: 4126
    Sassafras said:
    Just seems like a triumph of marketing speak.
    Adaptive Radius Technology when they mean a piece of rubber. Genius.
    Pretty much every capo I've used has had a piece of ART on it. I just didn't know it was that technically complex.
    More like a failure of marketing speak because you haven't caught that it's not the rubber they're talking about.
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  • richardhomerrichardhomer Frets: 24793
    At that price I'd rather hire someone to barre behind what I'm playing.... At least I'd have some company....
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  • LewyLewy Frets: 4126
    At that price I'd rather hire someone to barre behind what I'm playing.... At least I'd have some company....
    But would that money buy you someone you wanted to be in that close a proximity to?
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  • richardhomerrichardhomer Frets: 24793
    Lewy said:
    At that price I'd rather hire someone to barre behind what I'm playing.... At least I'd have some company....
    But would that money buy you someone you wanted to be in that close a proximity to?
    I'm really not fussy....
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  • SporkySporky Frets: 27585
    Lewy said:

    More like a failure of marketing speak because you haven't caught that it's not the rubber they're talking about.
    I don't understand what it is either.

    I have an original G7 and it works perfectly (as far as I can tell). I just can't tell what ART is.
    "[Sporky] brings a certain vibe and dignity to the forum."
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  • LewyLewy Frets: 4126
    edited October 2016
    Sporky said:
    Lewy said:

    More like a failure of marketing speak because you haven't caught that it's not the rubber they're talking about.
    I don't understand what it is either.

    I have an original G7 and it works perfectly (as far as I can tell). I just can't tell what ART is.
    Behind the rubber is a silicon gel insert which enables the rubber to contour more accurately to the radius of the fret. 

    There's an "A.R.T. explained" video on their FB page:

    https://www.facebook.com/G7thTheCapoCompany/?hc_ref=SEARCH&fref=nf

    For people who never experience this radius mismatch issue, and don't like yoke capos because one-handed operation is a thing for them, there is very little to appeal about this.

    Personally, I only play un-capo'd about 20% of the time and both of my main acoustics have a compound radius, and I love the yoke design so it ticks a lot of boxes for me. Very expensive....unless you compare it to a TS808, or some NOS Tung Sols or etc etc etc
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  • axisusaxisus Frets: 28280
    130 squid, they're having a laff
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  • thermionicthermionic Frets: 9499
    This is from the US patent:

    "The invention involves building a flowable material/medium (e.g. a fluid, gel, paste or equivalent type of substance with embedded solid particles), preferably contained within a chamber, into the clamping arm behind a hard layer made from a firmer, but still adaptable, material (e.g. rubber) that may be in close contact with the strings. The harder material must provide a solid surface that isolates the strings from the flowable medium behind it. If the flowable medium were enclosed only by a soft material wall that, in turn, was in contact with the strings then a dampening of tone would result."

    So basically, instead of having soft rubber pressing down on the strings (and adapting to any radius), they have harder rubber with a layer of gel behind it, the gel allows the hard rubber to bend into a radius but the rubber itself is rigid enough to press down on the strings with a more even pressure. Like all good patents, the essence of the invention is very simple.

    https://www.google.co.uk/patents/US20160247490
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  • richardhomerrichardhomer Frets: 24793
    All of this is making me worry if my fingers are too hard, or too soft....

    I wonder if I've been out of tune all my playing life?
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  • LewyLewy Frets: 4126
    edited October 2016
    All of this is making me worry if my fingers are too hard, or too soft....

    I wonder if I've been out of tune all my playing life?
    Nope, they're perfect because they're infinitely adaptable.... :)
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