In our last post we covered the period between 1900–1950 which saw the emergence of new styles of music that gave new prominence to the guitar like Blues and Country. In this article we will cover the period from 1950–1970, where the guitar's popularity rises even further. with the birth of Rock and Roll. During this era we will see a few new capos come into the limelight, especially the Hamilton. This capo joined the Bill Russell as the dominant two products on the market. The Jim Dunlop Toggle capo also enjoyed some popularity.
Rock And Roll in the 1950's
The 1950's were are time of social change in America. As soldiers returned from WW2 the country saw a new boomer generation. This boomer generation moved into the new expanding suburbs where each family could pursue the American dream. There were new controversial styles like Blue jeans, and new controversial ideas that spurned powerful movements, like feminism and racial equality. The forces of social change had a number of outlets, and a key one was music. In these twenty years many people experimented with new sounds and styles of music. Rock and Roll music grew out of blues and country as an expression of the cultural mood of the young people, growing up in this changing world. Country music developed into the 'third wave' with musicians like Gordon Lightfood, John Denver and Chet Atkins. Blues had a post war revival with musicians like Muddy Waters and John Lee Hooker. Perhaps the most important new genre, though, was rock and roll.
The Rock and Roll of the 1950's was not the heavy metal of later bands, but a groovy dance music, championed by artists like Elvis, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino and Buddy Holly. At the time, this music was exciting, experimental and boundary breaking. These musicians, as well as others, had enormous popular appeal and inspired many young people to begin playing the guitar themselves.
This first explosion of new music generated an even bigger explosion in the 60's of experimental and popular music known and Rock. If you go and look at the Wikipedia about Rock music you will see they have many sub-genres of Rock that were birthed in the 60's. Here are a few of the musical movements. There was the British Invasion, with massive bands like the Beatles and the Rolling Stones. There was Blues Rock, more solo focused music with players like Eric Clapton (Cream) and Muddy Water and even Led Zeppelin. There was the revivalist folk rock: musicans who used the guitar to say something, like Bob Dylan, Joni Mitchell and Joan Baez. There was Psychedelic Rock, with Jimi Hendrix and Pink Floyd. There was pop rock, soft rock, and then a bit later, Glam Rock, Prog rock, Punk rock and more!
There were also technological developments that spurred on the growth of Rock and Roll, notably the invention of the solid body guitar and the improving power of amplifiers. Gibson released their Les Paul in 1952 and Fender released their Telecaster in 1950. While these were not the first solid body guitars, they were the first widely available ones. These guitars allowed musicians to plug in their guitars into amplifiers and even experiment with distortion and reverb effects.
The main point to make here is that there was new social environment where a musical culture flourished in many places, and the guitar was at the center of most of this music. At the beginning of the 50's the guitar was a rising star; now the guitar was king and would be for many years. This rising prominence paved the way for a rise in the need of capos.
The Capos of the 60's and 70's.
As there was a growth in the popularity of the guitar, so there was growth in popularity of the guitar. There was three capos that are most popular during this era. They are the Bill Russell, the Hamilton and the Dunlop Toggle capo. We have already covered the Bill Russell in our previous article. This little elastic based capo was already popular but the 50's, and remained in the consciousness of guitar players
The Hamilton Company.
The Hamilton company was a subsidiary of another company called Krauth and Benninghofen. This company was founded in 1883. They manufactured various items, including music stands. Their music company was called Hamilton because they were located in Hamilton, Ohio. This company still produces high quality stands.
Someone from their company was kind enough to provide us with a few details. Bill Carpenter recalls that Hamilton had three capos: the KB19 screw adjusted, KB19A lever adjusted and the KB21 Fret Spanner. The earliest record of the KB19 in the 1939 company manual. The KB19A, which is the one that gained popularity, was introduced in 1948. We have found bands in the 50's using this capo, so that date makes sense. The third capo was a bit strange. The KB21, named the Fret Spanner had a unique shape and was not a commercial success.
The Hamilton KB19A
The capo that became very famous was the one with a lever mechanism. Andres Sterner calls this a "Yoke and Spring" type. There is a metal bar across the top that can swing open and closed. This bar is covered with clear rubber that clamps down on to the fret board. The body of the capo is U-shaped. There is a larger spring and level mechanism on the bottom. You first swing open the top bar, then slide the capo onto the neck, then close the bar. Once attached, you squeeze the lever which brings the bottom piece snuggly against the neck.
This design has a few attractive features. First, the lever mechanism is faster than the screw mechanism of the KB19. A capo that is easy to use is loved. Second, the tension is adjustable, meaning you can get the right amount of tension to eliminate buzz with creating too much intonation problems. The angle at which the lever works is good, allowing for fairly accurate pressure. Third, the capo is well made and solid. It grips well and feels good to use. We note that the top bar looks flat, which is a problem. Most acoustic and electric guitars have rounded fret boards. So, we suspect the Hamilton would have some intonation issues.
The Hamilton's Popularity
This was an extremely popular capo in the 60's, perhaps surpassing the Bill Russell. We have collected pictures of a number of famous musicians using one in our Hamilton Capo Gallery. Some of the names in the gallery include three of the The Beatles (Paul, John and George), Bob Dylan and Keith Richards.
The Dunlop Manufacturing Company
Jim Dunlop was Scottish engineer. In 1965 he founded the Dunlop Manufacturing Company, which is today a large guitar accessories company. They sell strings, guitar pedals, including the MXR line and the famous Cry-Baby Wah-Wah, picks and...well... capos. Dunlop was working for another company when he founded his part time business, and he had enough success to go full time in 1972. His first product was the "Vibra Tuner," and early guitar tuner. His first successful product was the Toggle capo, called the "1100.' It's really cool to know that it was a capo that got this company going.
Jim Dunlop applied for a capo patent on Nov. 3 1965, the same year he started his company. The legend is that someone told him there was money to be made if someone invented a capo that could work on twelve-string guitars. So, he went about trying to invent a strong capo.
The Dunlop Toggle Capo
If you've never seen a Dunlop Toggle capo, you might not recognize it as a capo. It is a simply design, as most great capos are. This capo is even smaller than the Bill Russell, and operates on a similar principle. The main body is a thin metal channel with a five notched grooves. Underneath is a solid rubber piece, which actually grips the guitar. There is a plastic lever attached to a fabric piece with is in turn attached to the metal body. The idea is your wrap the fabric round the neck of the guitar to hold it on. The plastic piece has little bits that notch into the metal body. There are different notches for different neck sizes, so this capo is somewhat adjustable. Further, the fabric is slightly springy, which allows for some give.
You may be surprised to hear this, but thus capo holds REALLY well. This capo is very easy to get on, and once it is on it is gripped. Thought it is a little thing it feels more solid than even a Kyser once it is strapped on. Remember, Dunlop was trying to design a capo that would work on a twelve string guitar, which means it needs extra strength.
There are a few models, the 11, the 14 and the 15. We're not really sure what the difference is, except the 15 has only two notches. What we can tell you is that each model is still available, and each model has a flat option for classical guitar and a curved option for acoustic and electrical.
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