One of the most underrated tools in the guitar or bass player’s toolkit is the capo. Capos essentially allow you to change the tuning of your instrument without touching the tuning pegs.

With a capo in your gig bag or hardshell case, you can play anything. Of course, you can play songs that require a capo. But you can also transpose covers into different keys or experiment with your original songs to determine which key is best for your voice.

Acoustic and electric guitar capos are essential tools for musicians who want to explore different keys without the need to retune their instruments. Clamping the capo onto a specific fret of the guitar neck effectively shortens the guitar strings, allowing for easy transposition and enabling players to match their vocal range or adapt to various songs. The capo applies even pressure across all strings, ensuring consistent tension and maintaining the correct tune. This tool is particularly useful for simplifying complex chords and alleviating strain on the fretting hand, making it easier to play intricate passages. High-quality capos are crafted with durable gear mechanisms that provide reliable performance, ensuring they stay firmly in place during even the most dynamic performances. Whether you’re a beginner or a seasoned musician, a capo is an invaluable accessory that expands your musical possibilities.

However, that doesn’t mean capos can’t also be aesthetically pleasing. At Gibson, we offer a range of beautiful and functional capos tailored to your preferences and needs. With a variety of different-colored capos made to match the hardware of your guitar, you can find the perfect option for a put-together, matching, or complementary look. Some of our capos even have inlays on the front, so it hardly looks like you’re using a capo at all. Others, like the Hummingbird™ Burst Capo and Hawaiian Koa Capo, are made with the same gorgeous wood as our guitars.

While capos are predominantly found on acoustic guitars, you can use them with any instrument. An acoustic guitar capo becomes an electric guitar capo in seconds—all you have to do is switch instruments. Standard capos can even be used on bass guitars, although some 5-string bass guitar models have wider necks that require larger capos than standard units.

Ultimately, if you don’t have a capo in your toolkit, you’re missing out. Some songs are simply unplayable without one. Many more won’t sound right without a capo on the correct fret. With that in mind, it’s worth picking up at least one capo to keep with your guitar at all times. If you have more than one guitar, play outside of the home often, or have a recording studio, you may even want a capo for every instrument.

Whether you need one capo or five, purchase the right capo(s) and all of the best tools from Gibson.