Fret size and capos

[Philip Donovan]

Hello,

I'd be really interested to hear any feedback on fret size and capos and the impact they may have on each other.

The reason I ask is that my recent build is that of a baritone guitar that will likely have a capo placed on the neck 90% of the time or greater. The other caveat is that this electric baritone is very application specific with only acoustic guitar type fingerstyle material performed on it. I've optimized the pickups for this and even building a stereo tube amp for this application. (Think Celtic style playing as in Wake, Hedges, McManus, etc...).

Where I can't claim any huge experience with capos and fret size, I'd like to hear if you think there are any notable interactions, assets or detractors to types of capos and frets that work well together, or don't.

thank you!
Best,
PJD3

[Bob Gramann]

If you don’t mind retuning when you put on the capo, then the frets can be any size you want. Otherwise, the shorter the fret, the less the capo will pull the string sharp. For my personal guitar, I put up with the inconvenience of retuning for a capo in return for ease of playing I get with the taller frets.