Shubb is a company that specialises in producing capos for all kinds of stringed instruments. The company was formed in 1974 by

banjo The banjo is a stringed instrument with a thin membrane stretched over a frame or cavity to form a resonator. The membrane is typically circular, and usually made of plastic, or occasionally animal skin. Early forms of the instrument were fashi ...

ists

Rick Shubb Richard Shubb (born January 11, 1945 in Oakland, California) is best known as the inventor of the Shubb Capo, a very popular guitar and banjo accessory. His 1978 patent is cited by Sterner's Capo Museum as being one of the most significant improvem ...

and Dave Coontz. Shubb capos remain a top-selling capo forty years after their invention. Shubb wanted to create a capo that would not make his instrument go out of tune, which has resulted in ongoing efforts to refine his invention. Since 2016 at least 80% of Shubb's Capos are manufactured in China.

Capo design

The Shubb Capo utilises an ''over-centre'' locking action, which is lever operated. The design includes a screw for adjusting the clamp's tightness, and has been described as "a turning point in modern capo design." Shubb capos are available in variety of models to fit different types of guitars,

dobro Dobro is an American brand of resonator guitars, currently owned by Gibson and manufactured by its subsidiary Epiphone. The term "dobro" is also used as a generic term for any wood-bodied, single-cone resonator guitar. The Dobro was originally ...

s, and

ukulele The ukulele ( ; from haw, ukulele , approximately ), also called Uke, is a member of the lute family of instruments of Portuguese origin and popularized in Hawaii. It generally employs four nylon strings. The tone and volume of the instrumen ...

s. For example, there are ''Shubb Capos for Steel String Guitar'' which fit most acoustic and electric guitars; the ''Shubb Capos for Nylon String Guitar'' are designed for guitars with wide flat fretboards, etc. Furthermore, each model is available in different styles, namely Original (nickel-plated or plain, unplated brass), Capo Noir (black chrome) and Deluxe (stainless steel with improved roller design on the lever). The Shubb capo was introduced at the 1980

NAMM Show The NAMM Show is an annual event in the United States that is organized by the National Association of Music Merchants (NAMM), who describe it as "the industry’s largest stage, uniting the global music, sound and entertainment technology commun ...

, and became a favorite on the

Usenet Usenet () is a worldwide distributed discussion system available on computers. It was developed from the general-purpose Unix-to-Unix Copy (UUCP) dial-up network architecture. Tom Truscott and Jim Ellis conceived the idea in 1979, and it was ...

acoustic guitar newsgroup. An advantage with using this type of capo is that it does not change the intonation in a way that makes the instrument difficult to tune, as it "mimics the grip of a human hand." A disadvantage is that the rubber sleeve may wear, and may need to be replaced. The Shubb partial capos can be useful for playing

fingerstyle guitar Fingerstyle guitar is the technique of playing the guitar or bass guitar by plucking the strings directly with the fingertips, fingernails, or picks attached to fingers, as opposed to flatpicking (plucking individual notes with a single plectr ...

and for playing in

alternate tunings Guitar tunings are the assignment of pitch (music), pitches to the open string (music), open strings of guitars, including acoustic guitars, electric guitars, and classical guitars. Musical tuning, Tunings are described by the particular pitc ...

. The Shubb capo was featured in the 2007

Acoustic Guitar magazine ''Acoustic Guitar'' is a monthly magazine published in the United States since July/August 1990 by String Letter Publishing. The magazine offers information, inspiration, and instruction related to acoustic guitars for players of all levels from ...

's Player's Choice awards.

Notable Shubb capo users

Notable users of the Shub capo include: *

Brian Setzer Brian Robert Setzer (born April 10, 1959) is an American guitarist, singer, and songwriter. He found widespread success in the early 1980s with the 1950s-style rockabilly group Stray Cats, and returned to the music scene in the early 1990s with ...

Keith Richards Keith Richards (born 18 December 1943), often referred to during the 1960s and 1970s as "Keith Richard", is an English musician and songwriter who has achieved international fame as the co-founder, guitarist, secondary vocalist, and co-princi ...

Pete Seeger Peter Seeger (May 3, 1919 – January 27, 2014) was an American folk singer and social activist. A fixture on nationwide radio in the 1940s, Seeger also had a string of hit records during the early 1950s as a member of the Weavers, notably ...

Jerry Garcia Jerome John Garcia (August 1, 1942 – August 9, 1995) was an American musician best known for being the principal songwriter, lead guitarist, and a vocalist with the rock band Grateful Dead, which he co-founded and which came to prominence ...

Bruce Springsteen Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen (born September 23, 1949) is an American singer and songwriter. He has released 21 studio albums, most of which feature his backing band, the E Street Band. Originally from the Jersey Shore, he is an originat ...

Doc Watson Arthel Lane "Doc" Watson (March 3, 1923 – May 29, 2012) was an American guitarist, songwriter, and singer of bluegrass, folk, country, blues, and gospel music. Watson won seven Grammy awards as well as a Grammy Lifetime Achievement Award. W ...

References

{{Reflist

External links

A Careful Comparison of Shubb, Kyser Esus (3-string) Partial Capos
by Harvey Reid
Intonation, A capo's greatest challenge
Shubb Official Website
Official Shubb WebsiteRick Shubb Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2010)
Dave Coontz Interview
NAMM Oral History Library (2014) Companies based in Sonoma County, California Design companies established in 1974 Musical instrument manufacturing companies of the United States 1974 establishments in California Guitar parts and accessories Manufacturing companies established in 1974

Capo design

Notable Shubb capo users

See also

References

External links