Reviews
Acoustic Guitar UK
"The Reviews Are In... and the Transpo Capo
is the #1 Best Selling Patented Cut Capo/Partial
Capo/Short Cut Capo On the Market!"
Acoustic Guitar UK, June 2007
(Click on the picture to see the full review)
“We have all struggled to play a particularly difficult chord or piece…when the task seems impossible, many of us have wished for an extra hand. The Transpo Capo could be the answer to that prayer.”
“…The Transpo Capo opens up a world of open tuning possibilities without requiring you to relearn your fretboard or your chord library.”
“We have all struggled to play a particularly difficult chord or piece at some point, and when the task seems impossible, many of us must have wished for an extra hand. The Transpo-Capo could be the answer to that prayer.
It’s actually two capos in one, in a spring clip that’s reminiscent of a stationary hole punch. The rear part is a full width capo that covers all six strings and the front section is shortened to cover just three: the A, D, and G strings. So the result is a suspended 4th chord when the strings are played open. In other words we are dealing with the same intervals that we’d find in good old DADGAD.
The manufacturer recommends the Transpo-Capo for beginners because playing in DADGAD can be very simple. For instance, with the rear section of the Transpo-Capo bridging the third fret you only need to fret the G string two frets beyond the front capo to play a G major.
Similarly, fretting the D and G strings in the same position gives you a D major, and fretting the A string two frets beyond the front capo with the low E three frets beyond gives you a C major. That will certainly get you playing in a day.
Of course all the usual DADGAD tricks can be thrown in if you’re more familiar with this tuning, but you’re not restricted to the DADGAD intervals in the same way that you are with dropped tuning. As soon as open strings aren’t involved, it’s just like playing in normal tuning and all your regular chords and scales will be unchanged. So you can enjoy that ethereal chime of open tuned chords then take a lead break without suffering brain meltdown as you try to figure out where all the notes have gone. Shifting between an open tuned sound and regular chords is also a superb way to dramatically alter the mood between choruses and verses in a song.
Even better, many of your regular open chord fingerings will still work. Where the B and two E strings aren’t played open they’ll even sound the same, but other fingerings, like the regular D, C, and G major shapes plus A minor will all produce new but harmonius voicings.
Verdict: We’ve probably only scratched the surface of the Transpo-Capo’s potential. In our experience it works best on guitars with a fairly flat fingerboard radius, and the sixth fret is more or less the limit for the rear capo section. Although you can turn it upside down and use it as a regular capo beyond the third fret. A certain amount of fannying about might be required to get the thing in place without strings buzzing or sounding muted. But it’s certainly worth the trouble because the Transpo-Capo opens up a world of open tuning possibilities without requiring you to relearn your fretboard or your chord library.”
Alternative Press Magazine, July 2007
“Featuring both a full and a cut capo in one, it’ll instantly open up exotic chord structures and alternate tuning possibilities…”
“Velcro. Those little book lights….This double capo from Transpo ranks up there with the greatest, sort-of-most-obvious ideas ever. Featuring both a full and a cut capo in one, it’ll instantly open up exotic chord structures and alternate tuning possibilities you’ve only heard happen at Opeth concerts. Can’t play a barre chord yet? Meet your new best friend, junior.”
Pick Up Magazine, August 2007
“…the potential for what you can actually achieve with this baby is huge.”
“From open-chord tuning to a dropped 'standard' configuration and back again, we had a hell of a lot of fun finding new voicings and sprucing up old ones. ”
“This is pretty damn cool, if we do say so ourselves. The Transpo Capo has been designed to allow you “a new way to play”. It looks like a bit of a monster, but out of the box it’s a sleek piece of equipment, and it’s not at all hard to hook it straight up to your guitar (although flatter fingerboards’took’ its application a little easier).
But what exactly is it? Well you have a standard capo on one end, and a short cut one on the other. This might not mean a lot to you if you’re a beginner, but those who have already dabbled with tunings will be jumping around all exciteable-like, we don’t doubt.
Effectively, this gives you the option of a hell of a lot of new tunings, which can even be switched mid song if necessary. It’s quick and easy to chop and change, and slides smoothly without any damage to your guitar – the potential for what you can actually achieve with this baby is huge.
From open-chord tuning to a dropped ‘standard’ configuration and back again, we had a hell of a lot of fun finding new voicings and sprucing up old ones. Good old DADGAD was revitalized with the addition of the short cut capo, and further experimentation involving only roots and fifths led to things that would be literally impossible to do in any other way.
Sure, you could buy two capos and use half of one, but it’s fiddly. It seldom stays intonated and it’s a bit pointless now that this capo has come along!
So, if you’re into your groovy tunings or you’re just starting to put your feelers out into the world of alternate voicings, this is the capo for you: no more G, C, D ever again! James Blunt can even sound good!”
Worship Leader Magazine, September 2007
“…the Transpo is compact and a pleasure to operate…There is something new under the sun and it [Transpo] belongs on your guitar.”
“Initially, capos were tied onto guitar necks to ease chord access. Companies then developed simpler means of attachment with nylon straps and pin locks. Finally, firms like Kyser created spring-loaded “one hand” capos with instant usability. The capo matured into a constant companion. After experimental guitarists sawed off the end of their capos in a quest for unique voicings, manufacturers took the concept and turned their homemade contraptions into factory smooth offerings.
Now, in the continuing evolution of tone, Transpo has combined a full and cut capo into a single unit. With the full-width capo downstream from the shortened version, new sonic vistas are open to exploration. The cut section covers the third, fourth and fifth strings, making for a nice suspended fourth chord in an open strum.
If you have used drop tuning to DADGAD (standard tuning is EBGDAE), the Transpo will be familiar but it doesn’t add the limitations associated with alternate tunings. The full-width capo can be used inverted for normal transposition as well.
While a lesser design would have been a cumbersome chore to use and adjust, the Transpo is compact and a pleasure to operate and still fits in most guitar cases. There is something new under the sun and it belongs on your guitar.”
VoxOnline.com, March 16, 2008
This is one of the products that stopped us dead in our tracks at NAMM 2008. We were immediately drawn in by its unique appearance, as the HYPERLINK "http://transpocapo.com/" TRANSPO™ Capo is truly amazing in its design. It is essentially two capos in one. The company’s demonstrators NAMM made its use look extremely simple. It combines the benefits of using a cut capo and a regular standard capo simultaneously, because it contains both. Its “Patented Double Capo System” combines a short cut capo and a regular capo into one convenient system, which according to the manufacturer, has several benefits. For example, it provides alternate tuning and new chord structures, it allows players to play complex chords with just one or two fingers, it provides a more open and full chord sound as compared to standard tuning, it can also be used as a regular standard capo, and its revolutionary redlined rubber™ molds to guitar strings preventing unwanted de-tuning. After trying the capo out for myself, I amazingly found all of these claims to be true – and then some.