why does my guitar sound out of tune with a capo?

Why Does My Guitar Go Out of Tune With a Capo On?

It goes without saying that having your guitar constantly going out of tune can be quite annoying. And it becomes even more frustrating when you know for a fact that you just tuned your guitar.

There are certain factors that make your guitar more susceptible to going out of tune such as string type and age and using a capo, among other things. 

In this article, we’re going to focus on why using a capo might be making your guitar go out of tune. 

This could be caused by a few things such as intonation, quality of capo, location of capo, and the strings themselves.

When you put a capo on your guitar, what you are essentially doing is pressing down on all the strings at once for a prolonged amount of time. That’s what a capo is designed to do. 

And then when you have the capo on, what are you doing? Well, usually you are strumming. This causes the strings to stretch a little bit, which is normal. 

So not only are all the strings being pressed down at once, some of them are also being slightly stretched as you strum them.

How Do I Stop My Guitar From Going Out of Tune?

So how do you prevent this from happening, you might wonder. Well, the first thing you are going to need to do is check the intonation of your guitar. 

You do this by first tuning your guitar. Make sure you use an accurate tuner. I have a few articles written about tuners if you need help in picking out a tuner that is highly accurate.

For info on clip-on tuners, check out this article here. For info on pedal tuners, that go on your pedalboard, check out this article. 

In short, you’ll need to play an open string, and then play that same exact string at the 12th fret while lightly touching it. For an in-depth tutorial on checking intonation, here’s a great video that explains it all.

If your intonation is fine, then the next step is to determine whether or not the tuning issue has to do with the capo itself.

If you’re not putting the capo in the proper spot on your guitar, that may cause issues. Also, if you’re using a cheap capo, then that might be the problem as well because all capos are not equal to one another.

Cheaper capos have a tendency to apply too much pressure on your strings or they may even bend the strings in an awkward, almost lateral, direction.

So, what type of capo should you get to avoid these issues? I recommend getting a capo with a tension adjuster.

These awesome capos allow you to adjust the tension that is placed on the neck and strings of your guitar. This makes sure that an even amount of pressure is being applied to all strings.

You will also find you are not going to have to re-tune your guitar strings as much while using one of these handy accessories.

We recommend the D’Addario NS Tri-action Capo. It’s one of the highest quality capos available on the market today. Your future self will thank you.

Another reason your guitar may keep going out of tune is because of the strings themselves. If the strings have been on your guitar for too long, it might be time to change them. 

When you change your guitar strings, be sure that the strings are tightly wound around the little pegs on the headstock. This will also help with buzzing noises.

Should You Tune a Guitar With a Capo On?

The most common way to tune a guitar is by first tuning the strings and then putting on the capo afterward. But this isn’t the only way to tune your guitar when it comes to using a capo. 

You can also tune your guitar first, then put on your capo, and then the last thing would be to fine-tune everything. This way of tuning with a capo works best for beginners trying to tune with a capo on first. 

There is also another method in which you put the capo on first and then tune everything.

But this method is really only for people that have the notes on the fretboard memorized because you’re going to need to know exactly what notes each of the strings should be at.

Can a Capo Damage Your Guitar?

For the most part, a capo will usually not harm the guitar itself. Guitars are built out of hardwoods that don’t dent easily and can usually handle any prolonged use of a capo.

However, a capo could wear out your strings a lot quicker if you tend to leave it clamped on top of your strings for long periods of time without adjusting.

But the capo won’t do anything to your actual fretboard, just the strings. If you see dents on your fretboard, it’s most likely caused by playing your guitar, so this is normal.

Where Do You Put a Capo When Not In Use?

When you’re not using your capo, you can pretty much store it anywhere. It really depends on personal preference, and how much you actually use it. 

One of the most convenient places for me is to just clip it on my music stand because the stand itself is pretty slim so it won’t wear out the springs in the capo. Some people will also lay their capo on their guitar amp or their case. 

I would avoid storing your capo on the headstock of your guitar because it might wear out the springs inside the capo.

Also, if your capo is on the headstock when you’re playing your guitar, you could bump it into the wall and break it, especially if it’s cheaply made.

Final Thoughts

Hopefully this article cleared the air a little bit about why your guitar may be going out of tune with a capo on. Most of the time, this is an easy fix, especially if the problem stems from the capo or strings. Luckily, capos are usually cheap and so are strings. 

If you discover that the intonation is out of whack, the best thing to do in my opinion is to take your guitar to a professional and have them fix the problem. The last thing you wanna do is make the problem worse or mess up your guitar really bad.

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I love playing around with various types of guitar gear so I started this website to share my guitar gear knowledge with the world. Enjoy!

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