Show your Extensions!

[Robert Anzellotti]

Originally Posted by Ken Smith

If only I had a hammer..

The thing that concerns me the most with those capos and this is speaking from personal experience playing basses with them, is when you run the knife edge of your hand back quickly, the sharp edges of the capos hurt or cut your fingers. With solid ebony fingers, there is more surface to round over and if properly adjusted, it's painless. Also, the extensions I have had from both Arnold and Jeff have a much finer tension adjustability than those threaded adjustments.

Imagine you are playing a piece and then it comes up, a low C .. .. oops.. forgot to leave the Ext. open.. Hey, no problemo.. I left 'ridge hand' it with a backwards upwards motion and open the low C in a split second.. Also, when playing the chromatic patterns like in Beeth 3rd, how fast can you close the stops? No looking, one handed, one index finger hooking the 'larger' smoothed out fine tension adjusted ebony fingers.. Much easier that the right angle cut rubber over flush cut brass.. You think?

Ken,

Are you sure you are talking about my Capos? For one thing I have never used rubber for the fingers. I tightly wrap leather over the brass (with generous amounts of CA glue to make it permanent), and sand and polish the end, which is not a sharp right angle, but has enough roundover to be comfortable.

The rotational friction is adjustable, but since I carefully set it before shipping, further adjustment is almost never desired.

As for speed, I can pop open the Eb with my index finger while in the act of going for a low D or C# without adding any time at all to the equation. While Arnold and Jeff both make excellent ebony closers, I really don't think they are faster than mine. My Capos are carefully machined with CNC technology, and the angles carefully chosen so that pressure against the string provides all the holding power necessary. Therefore, they need only minimal rotational friction to prevent rattling and to resist gravity.

My first version of Capos had a set screw to adjust tension (friction, actually). Perhaps that is the example you remember, and it was set way to tight. That would also explain the hurt fingers you describe.

I urge you to try Bass Capos again. I think you will change your mind. While many prefer ebony closers for aesthetic reasons, no one else has ever been less than entirely positive about operation.