Can I Use A Capo On An Electric Guitar?

The short answer is: yes, you can use a capo on an electric guitar. But there are certain types of capos that will work for electric guitar.

There are many different styles of capos out there. I took all of the capos and grouped them based on how they work: how does it achieve the pressing down of the strings? The 4 different types of capos are:

Electric guitars require a lot less pressure than acoustic guitars. If you have an electric guitar, I would go with capos that specifically say that they are made for electric guitars. The following is a little more about the different types. If you want to the full version of all the different types of capos, check out a post that I wrote about here.

SPRING/TRIGGER CAPOS

These capos use a spring or clip for squeezing the strings. Typically, the spring is for acoustic guitars and the clip for electric guitars. These are the most popular of all the capos because they are inexpensive and easy to use.

STRAP/TOGGLE CAPOS

A strap capo is a capo that holds on to the guitar by an elastic strap. There are holes in the strap where you can make adjustments to how tight you want it on the strings.

SCREW ON CAPOS

A screw capo uses a knob that you can use to tighten and loosen the amount the capo pushes on the string.

CLUTCH CAPOS

These are unique in that instead of constantly applying pressure like a spring, this locks in the amount of pressure you squeeze it to.

A sure way of getting a capo that works for an electric guitar, is to go with a capo where you can adjust the pressure.

This is most important feature when choosing a capo for an electric guitar. So how does the different types of capos match up being able to adjust the pressure?

SPRING/TRIGGER CAPOS

Amount of pressure it clamps down on the strings is unknown. The amount of pressure depends on how tight the manufacturer set the springs or clip.

STRAP/TOGGLE CAPOS

The amount of pressure the capo squeezes the strings varies. The amount depends on the “current” elasticity of the strap and which hole the strap is being stretched to.

SCREW ON CAPOS

The tensions is adjustable on the strings.

CLUTCH CAPOS

The tensions is adjustable on the strings.

From the previous section, you can see that the screw on capos and the clutch capos are the best type of capo to use on electric guitar. But, more specifically, what is the best capo to use?

SCREW ON CAPOS:

Schubb This is a unique version of the screw capo. You can adjust the amount with the screw, but then you have a lever that releases it. The amount of pressure is saved because of the release lever. A plus is that it does not have any handles that stick out while on the guitar. Check out the Amazon link for the current price.

Shubb S1 Stainless Steel Guitar Capo: https://amzn.to/32HczGs

CLUTCH CAPOS:

G7th Capo This is a unique capo where you squeeze the capo on. But once you squeeze to a certain amount, it does not back in the direction of releasing at all. That is until you use the release lever of course. A plus is that it does not have any handles that stick out while on the guitar. Check out the Amazon link for the current price.

G7th Performance 3 Capo with ART: https://amzn.to/2IeEzrD

So we figured out that we can use a capo on an electric guitar. Something to consider is if you SHOULD use a capo at all. The following are a few things about why to use one and why not to use one.

Why To Use It

Let’s start with the more obvious reasons for why to use a capo.

Why Not To Use it

Here are the reasons why electric guitar players choose not to use a capo.

Music That Is Easier To Play: Electric guitar strings are lighter and easier to play than acoustic guitar strings. So playing harder chords does not take too much effort on electric.

Role In A Band: Playing the role of lead guitar in a band requires doing more solos. Being able to go anywhere on the guitar is important, so using a capo is not the first choice. Right when you put the capo on, you are instantly getting rid of the lower notes on the fretboard.

It’s Cheating: There is a perception that since an electric is easier to play (because of the lighter strings), that should not use a capo.

Here are a couple of things to be aware of when using a capo on an electric:

Tune First

First tune the guitar before you put the capo on. This will assure you that it will be in tune with it on. If you tune with the capo on, when you take it off, your guitar will most likely not be in tune. If your guitar still sounds out of tune with the capo on after doing this step, there maybe something else wrong with the guitar. I wrote a list of the different things to check for. Check out the post here.

How To Put It On

Hopefully you remember that a capo where you can adjust the tension is the best. When you put the capo on, slowly increase the tension until all the strings stop buzzing and make a nice sounding note. No extra pressure than this is needed. You will create more problems if you put it on too tightly.

Do Not Put On Too Tightly

There are a couple of reasons why not to put your capo on too tightly.

The harder you push down on a string, the note being played goes slightly higher in pitch. With that being said, if you had a capo that was put on too tightly, your guitar will be in tune with itself but be out of tune with everyone else.

If you clamp down too hard on the strings, this can cause bumps on the strings to appear where the string is pushed against the fret. These bumps do not go away and will cause overall intonation problems. Your guitar will be in tune but when you start using your fingers to play, it will be slightly out of tune. At that point, there would be nothing else to do but to change your strings.