Alright, I admire blues master Allin Collins and his extraordinary playing style on the Telecaster, but I will be the first to tell you I am nowhere near his playing level. However, the first artist that I thought of that uses a capo was Albert Collins.

What is a Capo?

If you don't play guitar, you probably have no clue what a capo is. Even if you do, you may not use one. A capo is a simple device that attaches to the neck of your guitar and clamps down on whatever fret you place it on. This allows you to quickly and easily play higher notes on your guitar. It is not meant to be a substitute for using your fingers to form barre chords.

Why did I Buy a Capo?

I don't know what brand of capo Collins uses, but if you watch any of his concerts, you will see that he often plays high up on the fret board, and uses the capo. My purchase of a capo truly had nothing to do with Albert Collins. I was learning one of my favorite Jethro Tull tunes, Aqualung. This is one of the few famous tunes by that band that does NOT feature Ian Anderson's flute. You may be familiar with the melody behind Sitting on a park bench. However, a later part of the song features Anderson singing with an echo effect sun streaking cold, an old man wanders lonely taking time the only way he knows. Backing him on guitar is Martin Barre, strumming chords that are the easiest to play when you use a capo on the third fret. After I got a capo, I was pleased that I could play that whole bridge to the song, and sound just like the original album.

Why did I choose a Kyser Capo?

I shall be honest here, this is an inexpensive item, I didn't audition dozens of capos, I simply used the one that Crossroads carried which happened to be the Kyser. I did find that it is remarkably easy to use. It's like a big clamp. You squeeze the ends to open it, place it on the fret you want and gently release the clamp. Make sure that the padded side is on the guitar fret board. This is actually easy to figure out, the other clamp is a short rubber piece that wouldn't hold all the strings, so it is easy to know what part belongs where. It is just as easy to take off or move. Just grip the ends to open it and slide it to the desired fret or take it off. The design does not in any way interfere with my fretting hand. The capo is also small enough that you could store it clamped to the tip of your guitars head stock or keep it in the accessory section of your guitar case.

I would also note that although this is apparently designed for electric guitars, I have had no problems using it on my sons Fender Parlour Acoustic guitar.

Value

I don't remember exactly what I paid, it was between 10 and 20 dollars. It is too expensive to misplace, but a handy tool to have.

Summary

If you need a capo for songs you are playing on the guitar, I found that Kyser's capo was a good price, does what it is supposed to do, and is quite easy to use. The only possible bad thing I could say about it is that on occasion, I forget where I put it!

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