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Old 11-21-2015, 03:28 PM
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Yrksman Yrksman is offline
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Default Elliot Capos are worth it?

Elliott Hybrid Capo - £155
Elliott Elite Capo - £170

That's $235 and $255 (US)

I'm delighted with the new Shubb and have ordered two more at well under half these prices. I cannot imagine paying this sort of money for a capo. Apart from anything else I'd be petrified I'd lose it.

Thoughts anybody?
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Last edited by Yrksman; 11-21-2015 at 03:28 PM. Reason: Spilling
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Old 11-21-2015, 03:38 PM
slimey slimey is offline
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While they're not cheap, they don't price in direct correlation to the pound.$135 to $160.
As a user of them, to me, yes they're worth every penny.
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Old 11-21-2015, 03:42 PM
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Originally Posted by slimey View Post
While they're not cheap, they don't price in direct correlation to the pound.$135 to $160.
As a user of them, to me, yes they're worth every penny.
What are the advantages over "normal" alternatives?
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Guitars by:

Bown Wingert Kinscherff Sobell Circa Olson Ryan Fay Kopp McNally Santa Cruz McAlister Beneteau Fairbanks Franklin Collings Tippin Martin Lowden Northworthy Pre-War GC Taylor Fender Höfner

44 in total (no wife)

Around 30 other instruments

Anyone know a good psychiatrist?

www.chrisstern.com
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Old 11-21-2015, 03:50 PM
posternutbag posternutbag is offline
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I think so. I have had Elliott capos for all of my guitars. What makes them superior, well, I guess that is in the eye of the beholder. The craftsmanship is impeccable, and they work flawlessly. To be more specific, the gate mechanism is nearly perfect. It remains smooth after years of wear. The screw tightening system is likewise smooth and very robust. It doesn't seem to pull the guitar out of tune. I don't normally have to re-tune when I put it on and when I take it off (or when I move it up and down the fretboard).
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Old 11-21-2015, 04:00 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yrksman View Post
What are the advantages over "normal" alternatives?
Hi Yrksman

I do a lot of aggressive bending of strings, and the only capo which allows me to bend without the string sliding sidewise under the upper armature is my McKinney/Elliott.

All others allow strings to slip, and it's really hard to get the string back into position once it's slipped (without stopping and moving it by hand).



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Old 11-21-2015, 04:24 PM
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Hi Yrksman

I do a lot of aggressive bending of strings, and the only capo which allows me to bend without the string sliding sidewise under the upper armature is my McKinney/Elliott.

All others allow strings to slip, and it's really hard to get the string back into position once it's slipped (without stopping and moving it by hand).



Have you tried the new Shubb?
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Guitars by:

Bown Wingert Kinscherff Sobell Circa Olson Ryan Fay Kopp McNally Santa Cruz McAlister Beneteau Fairbanks Franklin Collings Tippin Martin Lowden Northworthy Pre-War GC Taylor Fender Höfner

44 in total (no wife)

Around 30 other instruments

Anyone know a good psychiatrist?

www.chrisstern.com
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  #7  
Old 11-21-2015, 04:37 PM
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Just like the Blue Chip picks. those that have them, love them.

To each his own... I'm sticking with Shubb.
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Old 11-21-2015, 04:39 PM
jaymarsch jaymarsch is offline
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I also have the Elliott-McKinney capo and it works great for the reasons Larry has already spoken to. I have not tried the new Shubb and probably won't since I am happy with my Elliott. But, I look forward to hearing the reviews. It sounds like the Shubb is working for you which is great.

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Old 11-21-2015, 04:48 PM
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yrksman View Post
Have you tried the new Shubb?
Hi Yrksman…
I've had my Elliott for a decade. What incentive do I have to try the Shubb?

The old Shubb clip design upper bumper was not wide enough for my main guitar (a 1992-3 Olson) which has a wider than normal fingerboard. I'm not likely to try it as I suspect the yoke on the new Shubb will not span the fingerboard either.

The slightly wider than normal fingerboard meant the old Shubb allowed the outside string to pop out from under the end, and the 12 string version was so long that it tipped over and muted strings.

That is why I began searching for a capo that would fit, and Phil Elliott was the only person with a capo company who would accommodate my customized need. He actually stretched the yoke to accommodate the extra fingerboard width, and took specific measurements over the phone to be sure it was wide enough (I measured them while he wrote them down) to do the customization.

The Shubb site doesn't even address wider fingerboards or discuss measurements on their site for the F1. The Paige 1¾" version doesn't fit it, so I suspect the Shubb won't either.



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Old 11-21-2015, 05:21 PM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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Hi Chris,
you wrote :

"I cannot imagine paying this sort of money for a capo. Apart from anything else I'd be petrified I'd lose it".

This is a similar response seen here often in discussions about Blue Chip Picks and I also resisted Blue Chips for a long time but now all my flat-tops have them in their pick boxes .... along with my ancient Shubb capos.

IMHO, those scared of losing picks are self conditioned to assume that picks are valueless, but I am far too anal to think this way so losing my BC picks is most unlikely.

Do you often lose picks... or capos ?

I don't dismiss the Elliot McKinney capos, but for the life of me I can't quite work out how they would do better than an old Shubb.

I had to sample a BC pick to discover the value, maybe it's the same with the Elliott.

I'd be most interested to hear from those who have changed to them.

One concern that I do have with them is the securing mechanism which appears to me similar to a Paige capo I once bought which I found difficult to use.
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  #11  
Old 11-21-2015, 06:04 PM
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The Elliott is the only capo I own that doesn't require retuning. That makes it pretty priceless to me.

If the new Shubb will do that (and it looks like it might,) then that would make it great as well.

Is the Elliott worth it?

How important is it for you to be in tune?
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Old 11-21-2015, 06:37 PM
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Andy,

The McKinney latch is similar to the Paige in concept, but in execution the McKinney latch is far easier to manipulate due to better fit and construction. If that's still a concern, the Elliott push button is very easy to use and I've never heard of one failing.

Some very good pickers own Elliott capos, but still primarily use Shubbs. I have both, but use Elliotts most of the time. Generally speaking, these two brands do everything I need. While I prefer the Elliotts, I could live happily with only Shubbs 99% of the time.

Larry's point about slipping strings is one place the Elliott excels for me. A hard bend on the high E string pushes up closer the B string and sticks. Then it's out of tune and out of place for the rest of the song. This isn't a huge factor for me, but it pretty annoying when it does happen. I don't bend that hard on every song, so I could usually get by with a Shubb.

The other point about Elliotts is that you can find a used one, buy it, and resell it at very little loss if you don't like it. If something holds it's value well and I have the money to spend, I don't consider that money gone. It's not like buying a $200 pair of sneakers that will be near worthless tomorrow.
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  #13  
Old 11-21-2015, 06:46 PM
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SalFromChatham SalFromChatham is offline
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I think the Elliot's are great. There are a lot of great capos:KatEyez, Elliott, Shubb F1, Shubb traditional... You can spend $1,000 for a watch, and you can spend $75. I don't think that means that any watch over $75 isn't worth it.

Regarding resale, I sold an Elliott on UMGF within 15 minutes of my listing it. That was pretty cool.
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Old 11-21-2015, 07:00 PM
kydave kydave is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Yrksman View Post
Elliott Hybrid Capo - £155
Elliott Elite Capo - £170 ... That's $235 and $255 (US)
... I'm delighted with the new Shubb and have ordered two more at well under half these prices. I cannot imagine paying this sort of money for a capo. Apart from anything else I'd be petrified I'd lose it.
Thoughts anybody?
I can imagine it.

I can't imagine losing capos.

I don't have much problem keep track of my Blue Chip picks either.



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  #15  
Old 11-21-2015, 07:06 PM
John K John K is offline
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Kydave: Careful with that top!
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