The Capo and Its Uses

The idea behind that capo is so simple , and so unassuming that all-most all beginners should have one. The usefullness of this small bit of accessory can save Experienced guitarists during a gig just as easily as saving a newbie time in learning a song that is proving difficult to get the right "sound" for. In case You have never seen a capo before or seen one but not know what it was and what it is for, I'll first show you a typical capo and give you a basic run-down on how to use one.
The typical capo will look like this, though there are variations on the standard theme.

Basically what a capo is , is a clamp that you can attach to the neck of your guitar. It can be un-clamped and moved up and down the fretboard, changing the key of all your open strings. This means if you need to change the key of the song you are playing you can do so without having to tune down or up, your instrument. Say for example you are playing for a singer who suddenly decides to change key in the middle of a performance. You can use a capo to stay in the key he/she might require, without having to change the chords you are used to. Also if you are trying to figure out a particular song and the key just doesn't seem to be matching up, slap on a capo at different positions on the neck until you get in range of the song. The capo also allows you to play a range of keys with only knowing a few chords. Say a bunch of musicians you are jamming with play in A minor and you only know first position chords? The capo to the rescue!

As you saw in the image above, a capo is nothing more than some plastic, a pad of rubber, and a metal spring for tension. There are however many different styles of capo out there. Some use thumbscrews, some are made from metal or another alloy. If you yourself find a capo useful-I know I do! Its probably best to spend a little for a good one, these are usually easier to remove and put back on and usually do the job better and last longer.

OK, once you get your hands on a capo it's probably best you figure out how to use it right? On most guitars a capo will work and have the instrument sound good when the long bar that lays over the strings is right up close to the fret on the headstock side of the fret. You never , ever want to put a capo right on top of the fret! This way (snug against the fret) keeps the string in place. If you move the capo too far in-between frets it can produce fret-buzz on the open strings.
If you were in tune before placing the capo, you most likely still will be but its best to check until you get better at using a capo. Typically though you should be able to slap one on and just go.

The normal capo can be used to do a few tricks too, say you want to be able to play an easy E major chord higher up on the neck, but want to leave that deep bass of the sixth string "E", take a capo and at the seventh fret clamp down on strings A thru high-E, now bar chord the D,G and B strings for an easy E major chord still with that low bass!
The capo once you understand it can be messed around with for lots of different chord positions and key tunings, move yours around and just play with it and I'm sure you will start to discover the possibilities!

Below are some examples of different style capo's

then there was this, that someone randomly had posted on the internet but still, if you're in a jam and REALLY need a capo....

For the Special surprise new style of capo out on the market youl'll have to visit http://www.guitar-stuff-4-you.com and look under the articles links for this same article! You won't be disappointed!

GEAR TATS INTERVIEW

Guitarstuff4U:  So mr. Gear Tats, what made you decide to start the Gear Tats business?


Gear Tats: Well I grew up playing guitar in the eighties when Hair Bands were the rage and they had these amazing guitar players. All of those guitarists had great custom graphic guitars that I would drool over and dream about owning. I remember CC Deville had a bunch of cool guitars in one of Poison's videos, as well as Queensrych, Anthrax, Warrent, Paul Gilbert, Steve Vai, Vernon Reid,John Petrucci. The list is endless. They all had these amazing looking axes. A few times I attempted to do some customizing on my own but the results were always pretty bad. I've wrecked a few guitars in my day I'm sorry to say. Years and years later my friend bought a vinyl cutter was showing me some decals that he had made which got my gears spinning. This could be a way to make custom guitar graphics that would look great and were affordable to the average guitarist. 

Guitarstuff4U:  Where did you get all those cool designs? Did you come up with them or do you have a partner that does that?


Gear Tats:  I design all of the decals myself. I've been a graphic artist since high school, and even when I went to college for music I still kept up with all the graphic programs on the computer and studied art on my own. I've also done a few custom decals for clients who had a design in their mind that they really wanted which was fun.

Guitarstuff4U:   Any other designs slated to come out in the near future?


Gear Tats:  Oh yeah! It's really limitless as far as design possibilities. Not only will we be moving into multi-colored designs in the future but also designs inspired by customer feedback through facebook and twitter. We're really interested in finding out what people would like to see on their guitars and then giving them the best versions of that.

Guitarstuff4U:   Are specific designs meant for certain styles of guitar or can any design be put on any guitar?


Gear Tats:  We do have a few decals that are designed for specific body shapes like tribals, or a new line of pin-stripping we are about to launch. Others are designed to fit on most guitars but come in two sizes, electric and acoustic.  We are also looking at creating a few killer designs for Flying V's. We can't ignore those guys.

 Guitarstuff4U:  No you most certainly shouldn't, especially since it seems EVERYONE these days is playing a flying-V or some other non-traditional body style guitar.

Guitarstuff4U:  On the technical side of the spectrum, you say that Gear Tats are permanent yet can also be removed if you wish it, how does that work? I would imagine some kind of solvent would be involved, as you couldn’t just use water, instruments rarely get wet but I'm sure it does happen.

Gear Tats:  These decals are made from high quality sign vinyl which does have an adhesive on the back of it. It is designed to stand up to moderate use on indoor signs without fading of falling off. When it is removed from a surface it doesn't leave any residue behind that I have found. The only side effect I have noticed when removing a decal that had been on one of my guitars for a few years was that the surface was much cleaner where the decal had been.

Guitarstuff4U:   Were there any design you had that didn’t "make the cut" so to speak? and might we see those designs if things take - off for Gear Tats?


Gear Tats:  Yeah there were a few that didn't "make the cut" :). Mostly because of the learning curve involved with the decal creation process. The way that these decals are made involves removing the parts of the design where the guitar body shows through. Some of my earlier designs were very intricate and the time it took to remove all of those little bits of vinyl would have sent the price of them through the roof. Maybe down the road we'll introduce a Premier Line of GearTats that will include these amazing  designs for customers that want something a little more intense looking.

Guitarstuff4U: ok thats all we have for now Bassers and Guitar'ers, if you want to see more about Gear Tats you can view whats on stock at GEARTATS

Marz Nova (The Worshyp) interview!

hey listen up all you guitar freaks and geeks, strummers, pickers and finger pickers!
Guitar-stuff-4-you.com has lucked into a short lil interview with singer/guitarist from one of the best new metal bands of 2011. His name is Marz Nova and I was lucky enough to chat with him the other night about his set-up and the debut album(Kingdom Earth) that's available RIGHT NOW!! at iTunes, Amazon.com (both physical & digital) Napster, Zune market as well as their web store  http://www.theworshyp.com So here we go, enjoy! Firstly a little info on the band (lifted directly from their facebook page http://www.facebook.com/theworshyp (god bless copy and paste! heh)

The Worshyp are a Heavy Metal band based out of Toronto, Canada. The bands founder Marz Nova named the band The Worshyp as a salute to how heavy metal fans love, and almost worship, their music as if it were a religion. The name has no ties to any real organized religion. In the spring of 2010 Marz recruited Danish guitarist Thor Rune as well as bassist Mig Diablo & KK Devina both from Peru and former band members of Ex Iron Maiden Vocalist Paul Di'Anno. The band's chemistry is based on strong vocal melodies sang over driving guitar riffs set to today's lower tunings.

In asking Marz for any helpful input he might provide (him being a practicing musician) for the website www.guitar-stuff-4-you.com, Marz had replied,

"I have taught guitar for years. The biggest mistake that I see is that people do not understand how to practice. For me playing what you know how to do is just rehearsing. Practice is learning something new. You should always practice with a click to make sure your meter is perfect. Also practice very slowly. Don't speed anything up until you can do it perfectly. I only practice about 90 minutes per day but I use that time very wisely. I practice what I cannot do. I see improvement with every session. Hope this helps"

I found this to be so helpful that I went on and asked a few more questions.
as our conversation went on, I mentioned the fact that I use GuitarPro to help figure out and learn new songs

Guitarstuff4U: Being a teacher is there any kind of lesson out there that fans might use to learn to play?

Marz Nova: "Personally some of the most helpful lessons that I could recommend are Doug Marks' Metal Method lessons. Especially the theory lessons. There's also tons of stuff on YouTube that is really helpful. I highly recommend learning by ear and checking it with tab, however there is a pile of incorrect tab out there."

Guitarstuff4U: Yah I've run afoul of incorrect tabs too , though i think some of those reports are generated by people who don't know the song is recorded tuned down, so when it doesn't match they think the tab is bad. have you ever used Guitar pro? or seen it?

Marz Nova: "Yes, I love Guitar pro. It's the best bang for your buck out there in my opinion."

guitarstuff4U: Yah, GP is the stuff all right, I've learned a lot of songs with it.
Any way I play a Gibson Epiphone Les Paul cherry sunburst (Jimmy Page) and have like 4 amps but really only use the Marshal MG15 whats your current set up?

Marz Nova:I am currently switching gear. On Kingdom Earth I used a Marshall JCM 900, Gibson SG Supreme and a Jackson Kelly. I have 2 Jackson Kelly's for live and I am thinking about picking up a couple of King Vs. I use a Traynor 100 Watt head and 4x12 Tranor Cab for live. I used a POD XT LIVE but am switching to a Roctron Prophecy II soon. On The new album (Evil Abounds) I used both a Krank and a 5150 head, and a Marshal 12x4 cab. I used a couple of Jacksons and a 1980 Les Paul Standard for axes.

Guitarstuff4U:  I had a friend that let me play his Charvel, the one with the Strat style body , had the tremolo system and all. Ever tried  a Charvel?

Marz Nova:  I had an 80s Charvel and Thor still splays one. Nice guitars.

Guitarstuff4U:  sounds like a damn sweet set up man, this has been so interesting to me having heard your new stuff, and now knowing what went into the songs...(this was where Marz informed me that what i heard was actually off the Kingdom Earth cd!  my bad Marz heh)

Marz Nova:  That is our debut album, that was released back in January. Kingdom Earth. No one's heard anything off of Evil Abounds yet.

Guitarstuff4U:  Marz I want to thank you for taking the time to talk to me and for accepting and answering my messages at Facebook!

Marz Nova:   No problem at all. Evil Abounds won't be released until first quarter 2012. I think you'll really dig it. Peace

  Every one who wants a copy of The Worshyp's new CD can get one in January at iTunes, Amazon.com (both physical & digital) Napster, Zune market as well as their web store  http://www.theworshyp.com
  I have to say I really dig their new T-Shirt, the design reminds me of concert T's from back in the late 80's.
If you havent ever heard The Worshyp, you can check out this video from their YouTube channel

You can also view this interview and more at Guitar-stuff-4-you.com just click on the link for Interviews-Reviews-Media in the "Music" section, see ya in the funny pages!

Goal for the day accomplished!

2 new pages up at the site, I got the second effects page up with pics and info on the BR-80 and the Morpheus Drop Tune pedal, along with some tuners (tried to keep those on the common side). The other page is a short how-to guide for the changing of strings with example pics.also posted on this blog earlier If Im not mistaken. I also managed to get the allmost-mebbe done logo for the page up on the home page slider image menue bar. any comments ? feel free, I would love to hear good and bad.

new update for guitarstuff4you.com

OK anyone who has kindly looked at my page and anyone else that might be interested. I’ve gotten the next pages up dealing with strings and cases. The next page will deal with other accessories such as straps and tuners and capos , things like that. any one with an idea feel free to post up here, on facebook, or send a tweet on twitter I’m on all 3

Gibson Les Paul classic

so how many other people out there just love the Les Paul classic guitar? Man, ever since i saw Jimmy Page playing one in "the Song Remains the Same" Led Zeppelins movie, Ive wanted one. about 8 years ago I purchased the Epiphone version. It may not be the Exact same thing as the Gibson true version (its still a Gibson Les Paul, just their lower priced version) The main thing is the sound, I have to say that this guitar is the best one I've ever owned. If I'm playing Zeppelin songs the thing sounds just like the CD's. The only thing I'm missing is some of the pedals and effects Jimmy may have used, but i can still get the sound out of the amp I have. Overall this a great guitar and i would definitely buy one again!