D’Addarrio Cradle Capo

The D’Addario version of a cradle type capo, much like the Elliot’s, except a price that I could stomach($50/60). It was delivered and I used it on my next gig. Worked well and I feel that the intonation was better than my Kyser. But the tradeoff is that the cradle capo takes more time to get on the guitar and adjusted.

There was a problem….

After about a month of use, I started to see that the screw I used to tighten the cradle wasn’t rotating well. I could still use it but it didn’t feel right. After a few weeks, the screw was pretty much stuck in place. I figure that the threads were crossed and eventually seized after a while. I had a capo that was useless to me.

D’Addarrio Stands by Their Product

I got on D’Addarrio’s web sight and contacted support explaining my issue. Within a few days, they had a replacement sent to me and all I had to do was send the broken one back to them. I was pleasantly surprised because I haven’t had the best of luck with companies and their warranties. Their support person recommended that I register my D’Addarrio gear through the players circle. Reason being, is that it’s easier to get warranty claims resolved.

The new capo has been working great for me so far. I swear that it felt like there was a bit of resistance when tightening the cradle. I was afraid that I was going to go through the freeze up all over again. So I took a drop of WD-40 and put it on the threads and me concerns dissolved instantly.

Final Thoughts on the D’Addarrio Cradle Capo

This is a solid capo that works great and the price is easier to handle than some of the more expensive “boutique” capos. D’Addarrio’s standing by their product and getting me a replacement so fast gives the guitar player some added assurance that they won’t be stuck with broken piece of sh#@.

What capo is your goto?!

Making the switch

Was thinking about using cradle style capos instead of the Kyser spring loaded ones. I liked the aspect of being able to move my capo above the nut when I’m not using it; easy access and storage. I saw that Billy Strings does the same thing and it made sense. I found out that he uses Elliot Capos and I’m sure they make a fine capo but I’m not going to spend 200+ dollars on one. Settled on the D’Addario cradle capo and so far so good. I noticed that my intonation with this capo is better than with the Kyser.

Ditch the Kyser capo?

I won’t be ditching my Kyser capos. I love them and for the amount of guitars I have, they are more economical than the cradle capos. I will be using the D’Addario for my upcoming shows and the Kyser will be the backup. The biggest lesson is to always have a backup!

Note: I was able to fix my Kyser capo after comparing it with my others.