I was thrilled to win the gold/dragon abalone capo in the recent give-away. I felt like the kid in Willy Wonka with the Golden Ticket! Thanks forum & Josh & especially Thalia!
So, here is my take on the "Golden Capo":
It is the prettiest capo I have seen. It is extremely well made, and a solid bit of equipment. I have no doubt it is worth every penny that the retail price reflects.
These are various capo's that I have relied on:
"Bird of Paradise", Thalia, D'Addario, Schubb.
I like the Bird for it's light weight, adaptability to any 6 string, classical, or 12 string, and bird-like charm. It has a pretty tall profile above the neck, but smaller where it counts, on the treble side. The cam/ratchet mechanism is reliable. This one sits out where I might play different guitars casually.
The D'Addario is very light weight and has a small unobtrusive presence above the fretboard. And heck, it's red.
The Schubb is light, solid, reliable, and small - actually the smallest amount of obtrusive presence above fretboard.
The Bird, D'Addario, and Schubb all require some manipulation when applied. The Bird needs to be ratcheted down, then is released with a lever. The D'Addario needs to be adjusted each time with a round knob...on and off. The Schubb has a range of several adjacent frets, before it needs to be adjusted with a knob as the neck profile gets thicker as you move up, releasing with a lever. The Schubb is the one I go to when it counts, for a performance setting.
The Thalia is beautiful and solid, and with a hard squeeze it applies quickly, and definitely works well for adjusting quickly to change keys in the middle of a song - the only one of these 4 that works well for that. It's really the only "one-hand" operator. Of these 4, I have to say that the Thalia is the most impressive visually, and it performs as promised.
However, the amount of pressure needed to put it on is a problem for my hand, due to a congenital condition...sometimes I can't get through one set without pain. Thalia plans on reducing the spring tension and moving the cam in their version 2 capo. I also have a hard time accommodating a lot of capo below the fretboard, where this one works best. It is a sturdy work of art, but I am not likely to rely on it in a performance situation.
