Capo/Slide Converter for Raising Guitar String Action Review

Good idea but...

I was on the fence about ordering this product. I play a lot of slide guitar and sometimes use a capo for different keys. I play mostly acoustic guitar these days. My hope was that I could raise the action just enough to get clean slide playing while still being able to fret notes. I tried it first without the additional spacer that raises the strings more. Getting the device… read more on the guitar was a minor pain. I eventually got it on and realized right away that the strings were much too high to play any fretted notes. The product specs say that it raises the strings 3 mm (about 1/10 of an inch) or 1 cm (.39, nearly 4/10 of an inch). Whatever the specs say, it raised the strings far more than one tenth of an inch. My guitar was terribly out of tune no matter how I adjusted the device. I deemed it an unusable product as it was difficult to get on the guitar and produced unsatisfactory results. I decided to try using just the slotted piece that sits over the fret, with a standard trigger capo behind it. It worked. The action was still too high to play fretted notes, but it was a much simpler process than fumbling with the elastic strap. Overall, an interesting idea but poorly executed. I won't be using it. They could sell just the slotted piece that fits over the fret.

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Works Great if you have jumbo frets and use 9's

Low action, jumbo frets, and 9's are a nightmare for amateur slide players. I don't use the slide often, so I didn't want to have a guitar specifically set up for it. This capo is the ticket. I don't use the extra sleeve, and it raises the height just enough for me to be able to sling my slide up and down the neck quickly and with ease. However, I do not know how much I trust jamming… read more a metal rod in between my strings and fingerboard. I won't be using it on my roasted maple fingerboard.

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Works great on my strat style guitar

I am very happy with how this works. I see another review here mentioning it as a cheap toy and fearful it could damage wood. First, the fact that is an elastic strap doesn't make it a "cheap toy", it actually makes it less likely to harm the instrument. I've used clamp style caps in the past that would be more heavy duty but that style is way more likely to make a mark on the back… read more of the neck from the tight clamping action. Second, if your guitar is so rare or expensive or fragile that you dare not strum it, then don't use it. But if you are like the 99% of guitar players that actually play their instruments, this can be used without fear. Would the early blues greats that used butter knives as slides on a chipped up old guitar be afraid to use this to make cool sounds with? Of course not. I can tell you that is lifts the string action so that you can use a slide without the sound of the slide hitting the frets. Sounds way better. It also has a removable insert to allow for more or less height adjustment to the action. The best part is that it's easy to put on and take off without any hassle other than having to retune the instrument. I'm less enthusiastic about using it with my Ibanez that has a Floyd rose tremolo with locking nuts because of the retuning not being so quick and easy with that style guitar, but it does still work and would be great for studio use. Otherwise, for those with a fixed bridge or non-floating trem, this is easy...just detune to give the strings some, put the capo on, retune, and have much better sounding slide guitar fun.

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Forget it

This the first time a Dunlop product has been made with such cheap components and doesn"t look like a product manufactured with pride. The plastic tube and the stretchy synthetic band makes me think it"s a toy for a kid who just got his first guitar. But the stated purpose of it is advanced. I am not sure that the company"s claims of low risk to wood components will be supported.… read more Also I cannot agree that tuning and sting damage is unlikely. I am really a big Dunlop fan and they usually make very good quality product for lower costs but they missed the mark on this one. I am very sensitive to damage to expensive guitars that may be subtle to new musicians but how can someone spend $500-5000 for a quality instrument after obsessing about everything from tonewoods to pickups and more, then buy a $20 product as a shortcut that could cause serious changes to components they have probably discussed ad nauseum. I AM NOT AN ANTI-CAPOIST, but not area to cut costs. And maybe I am just a clumsy old fellow who is unduly inflluenced by decades of unhappy outcomes when metal meets rare wood or expensive strings in a number of instruments I played years ago.

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A Great Product!

Raising the action on a guitar in order to play slide is easier said than done - especially if you don't want to permanently alter your guitar. The Jim Dunlop Capo/Slide Convertor is exactly what I needed. It just slips under the strings, raising the act about 2mm. This makes my slide playing so much better. I love it!

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