The Complete Handbook of Capos

I've been playing for twenty years and honestly thought a capo was just a clamp. This book broke down the mechanics so clearly - the string-angle geometry and clamping force stuff finally explains why my old screw capo always pulled the G string sharp. The chapter on how to actually install one without the tuning drift is worth the price alone. I've already recommended it to two other players in my band.

There's a lot of solid information here, and the maintenance chapter is genuinely useful. I just felt the middle sections dragged a bit - the chapter on types goes into a level of technical detail that felt like overkill for a player who just wants to switch between a few keys live. The business opportunities chapter also felt like it assumed the reader wanted to become a retailer. I learned some things, but it wasn't as focused as I'd hoped.

This is the reference I wish I had when I opened my repair shop. The section on matching capo width and curvature to specific neck profiles has already saved me from recommending the wrong product to two customers. It's written like an engineering manual for players, not a glossy brochure. I now stock three different capo types and can explain to customers exactly why one costs more than the other. Essential reading for any serious luthier.

The book is thorough, I'll give it that. I bought it hoping to find a definitive answer on which capo is best for a gypsy jazz style, and it does give you the tools to figure that out, but you have to do the work yourself. Also, I thought the section on installation was a bit too prescriptive. I've been putting a capo on my guitar a certain way for years and it's fine. Three stars because it's a good resource, but not the end-all.

Really appreciated the objectivity. The brand chapter doesn't shy away from pointing out where premium products are just paying for a name, and where cheap products genuinely cut corners. The troubleshooting guide for tuning issues is very well done; I solved a recurring high-E sharpness problem on my acoustic that I'd been blaming on the nut. The only reason I'm not giving five stars is I would have liked more detailed photos of the different clamping mechanisms.

As a session musician, my capo lives on the headstock or the neck. This book gave me a systematic approach to selecting the right tool for the job, and I've standardized on two specific models now. The chapter on usage is gold - I never realized how much pressure difference there is between a capo at the second fret and one at the ninth. The business chapter is interesting too, even though I'm not planning to resell, because it explained why certain models are priced the way they are.

I'm a hobbyist who plays mostly at home, so some of the business and servicing content was beyond my needs, but the first half of the book is incredibly well-researched. The breakdown of elastic versus screw versus trigger capos and their respective clamping-force curves is exactly the kind of information I was looking for. I also appreciated the honest advice about which expensive capos are not worth the premium for a living-room player. A solid, reliable reference.