Hey Luke! I'm personally a fan of capos. I think they give you the flexibility to play several different styles on the same instrument, and if you're interested in using the gurdy to play rock music (like I am!), I think they're a must. ;) I only have one capo on my current gurdy (to take the trompette up from C to D), but I'm getting a new gurdy at the end of the year, and both trompettes and both drones will be capoed.
The capos do have to be in just the right place (which your luthier should make sure of), but it's not the most painful thing in the world to have to do a bit of tuning after you turn your capo on. The capo I have now probably isn't in the right place (it was put on by someone who isn't a luthier or an expert player), and I usually have to tune when I use it, but I've seen plenty of much more professional capos where the player basically just flips a switch and is good to go. Of course, if you're worried about needing to tune a lot, maybe the gurdy isn't the best instrument for you... ;) Because capos or no capos, you will need to tune pretty much constantly! It's one of the joys of the gurdy. ;) Best, Sam On Sun, Feb 10, 2013 at 5:44 AM, Scott <[email protected]> wrote: > Hi Luke, > > Where are you located? > > Scott > > > Luke Raymond <[email protected]> wrote: > > Hi everyone! First I'd like to say hello as a new member to the group. I > ordered my first hurdy gurdy in early December 2012 from Altarwind Music > and am anxiously awaiting its arrival. I've never even seen or heard a > hurdy gurdy in person but when I first saw a video of Nigel Eaton playing > with Page and Plant I was blown away and thus began a bit of an obsesson > with the HG. A couple years later I finally have the means to purchase one. > I'm really excited to begin learning a new instrument , and such a unique > one at that. So, before I even have the gurdy I already have a question. > Drone capos: yes or no? When I spoke with George at Altarwind he said the > capos were pretty much the last thing that goes on the instrument so if I > decide I want them before it ships out I can always add them. Are they used > that often? Would I regret not having capos or is it more of a novelty? I > ordered the Moncur model which has 4 drone strings. I assume I'd need 4 > capos at $45 each if I decided to get them? What about tuning; on a guitar > there are frets so as long as the capo is between the frets you're good. > But on a fret-less instrument like the hurdy gurdy I would think the capos > would have to be in just the right place on the string to be in tune and > then you're trying to tune capos against each other plus the melody > strings. Sounds like it could turn into quite a hassle. As you can see, > I've thought about this quite a bit. It consumes my waking hours lol. > Anyways, I'd appreciate any advice and I look forward to becoming a hurdy > gurdiests! > > Cheers! > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "hurdygurdy" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy > > The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at > http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from > new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "hurdygurdy" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > > -- > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google > Groups "hurdygurdy" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected] > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected] > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy > > The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at > http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from > new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. > --- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "hurdygurdy" group. > To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an > email to [email protected]. > For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out. > > > -- -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected] To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected] For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/hurdygurdy The rules of posting, courtesy, and other list information may be found at http://hurdygurdy.com/mailinglist/index.htm. To reduce spam, posts from new subscribers are held pending approval by the webmaster. --- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "hurdygurdy" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/groups/opt_out.
