Graveyard Digging To Search For Some Old Guitar Capo History

You’ve read our article about the history of capos we did a little while back. With Halloween being around the corner, we’re taking a trip to the past to resurrect some spine-tingling information about Kyser’s older capos and styles that are no longer with us today. Grab your guitars and candy for this one!

Kyser Endpin Puller Capo

Some of the original Kyser Quick-Change Capos, like shown above, didn’t always have the curly-Qhandle on the top of the body.  Milton Kyser added the curly-Q later down the road because he thought it had a more attractive look and helped stop your fingers from slipping off the capo itself. The *clears throat bodies, like the one gray shown above, had a hole that was supposed to be used as a bridge pin puller when changing strings on your acoustic guitar. However, guitar players, skeletons, and creepy ghouls of the past would use this hole as a place to hold their lit cigarettes while playing. Kids, don’t try this at home! Capo showed above: “Old Clear Anodized Capo.”

Copper Vein and Silver Vein Collection

Introduced in the early 2010s and now discontinued, the Copper Vein and Silver Vein Quick-Change Capos, were two of the last capos Milton Kyser brought himself to market. He was especially fond of the Copper Vein color because it reminded him of a worn, brown leather-style finish. Since then, these specific powder paint colors have become increasingly popular! Capo shown above: Copper Vein (Bottom) and Silver Vein Capos (Top).

The "Old Wavy" Capo Design

Over the years, a few different types of body styles have been introduced for the Kyser Quick-Change Capo. The “Old Wavy Style Acoustic Capo” features waves or ridges along the body and handle. This style was in production from the mid to the late 2000s. Guitar players and strange creatures liked the look of the ridges, while some called the capos “ribbed” and appreciated how the waves helped their sweaty claws or hands grip the capo better while performing live on stage. Since then, we’ve gone back to the smooth traditional body style that you see in stores today. 

Fender Red Electric Guitar Capo

Believe it or not, Kyser Musical Products and Fender® actually had a collaboration together a few years back to launch the Fender® x Kyser® Quick-Change® Red Electric Guitar Capo. This marked Kyser’s first collaboration with Fender®. These capos were manufactured and sold from 2013 to 2014 with more than 20,000 units being shipped worldwide. The concept behind this project was to perfectly match the red color from Fender's® logo.

The body of the Kyser Quick-Change Eletric Guitar Capos at the time (this one included) had very tiny ridges across the nose as a way for players to easily differentiate this capo from the classic acoustic Quick-Change capos. We’ve since gone back to the original smooth body for all our capos.  

The Future

Who knows, maybe we’ll bring back some of these styles. You never know….

Be sure to check out some of our Halloween "treats" and other guitar capos to add to your trick-or-treat bucket this year! Happy Halloween!