dAndrea Spider Capo Standard (SPD STD)

I previously had 2 spider capos about 5 years ago and they had great potential as the catalyst for yielding very fruitful creative output. unfortunately, they were lost and I had some unfortunate turbulent, traumatic years where I so wasn't in the position to be creative.
Thankfully, this period of my life is over (it's just the small matter of the whole world that's under duress now...)
Anyway, last year I bought a few Chinese spider capos from eBay last year which were a lot cheaper. The 1st 2 weren't as good as these of course and very awkward but actually usable, but I gave one to a friend and ordered another one, but it was TOTALLY unacceptable because the thread of the screw wasn't long enough for coverage of even a 43mm guitar nut. I couldn't get my money back and was of course loathe to buy any more of the cheap Chinese versions of this product. So after a while, knowing the potential of these products I went 'back to Daddy' as it were and invested in 2 of these proper ones.
Why 2? Well, there are so many combinations of open chords you can make with more than just one.
The thread of the screw on these is just about suitable for 52mm nut, full size classical guitars.
With careful positioning I have also used these on 12 strings, which sounds great, and takes the hassle out of open tunings on a 12 string!
I would stress, to be helpful that I have found these spider capos aren't great for a more curved fretboard like a traditional fender type.
I look forward to getting a 7 string soon and using my spider capos on that.
If I get an 8 string, then I will definitely be buying one of the XL versions.
Brilliant product. I see these almost as a trade secret for creative innovative players, which I altruistically, yet reluctantly encourage to explore.
Just make sure you DON'T buy imitations, you will most likely get ripped off with something that doesn't work or at best have a greatly inferior product.
Also, make sure you are using it properly when you 1st get one, before grousing about how it doesn't work, as even I have heard a professional admit, who in his excitement, didn't follow the simple, basic, straight forward instructions. Their website is very helpful and has many suggestions for various positions of tunings.
Thomann has the best price I have seen for this product. It may seem a lot for a capo, but I think these are worth far more than their weight in gold. Such fun to explore new possibilities.

Another important rating for this capo apart from handling and quality is what use it has for the musician. Its taken me a while to get my head around using this capo as I haven't really understood what it can do until now. Apparently you can do lots of flash stuff either side of it around the 5th fret, but I'm not in to technical prowess playing so I didn't get very far with it at first. Consequently, for some time I didn't know what use I was going to have for this capo so I left it in the drawer.
Very recently though, I found myself needing to work around E minor open tuning for one of my songs to introduce more overtones on some of the chords, but I don't like to tune strings higher because of string breakage and I didn't want to detune to D minor. So I tried the Spider capo and found that I was able to combine an Eminor open string sound and revert to some of my regular chords when I wanted to as well. This has enabled me to get the best of both worlds (EADGBE and EBEGBE) for this particular song and I wouldn't have discovered this if I had not got this capo as an additional part of my kit.
On the handling part it is a bit fiddly compared to a regular capo, but you can adjust it to fit any fingerboard width. Also, the tension on the strings can be gauged, which is good as it limits tuning issues.
Quality-wise it I initially wondered if the plastic string pieces would be strong enough, but after some use now it seems very well made and none of the parts have loosened off at all.

Although I've messed about with different tunings on the guitar, it isn't something I've really explored. I've considered buying the Spider capo for quite a while, before taking the plunge on my last Thomann's order.
Unlike most capos, it does not attach round the guitars neck, instead it fixes on the edge of the finger board with a clamp to tighten it. The manual warns that it is possible to damage the fingerboard, if you fit it incorrectly- which made me a wary of using it on a casual basis i have to admit.
The capo is made of plastic,with felt pads to protect the finger board. The tightening clamp section is made of metal. The capo is able to hold down individual notes, by a series of plastic arms that swing down pressing on each string. It is necessary to adjust these arms as the string spacing changes along the neck.
I found it rather awkward to fit and quite often lost patience with it. Once attached it opens up a wealth of different tunings, a lot that would not be possible normally. There are suggestions provided, to get you started.
Unfortunately I do not have the talent to fully exploit the possibilities and for the time being it is just a novelty I sometimes mess about with. I also have the 'glove'attachments, which allow open strings to be played as harmonics, unfortunately I seem to be misplaced them, but I think that they would more in line with what I'm looking for.
At some point I will sent a guitar up especially for the Spider capo and will concentrate on learning to use it properly, at the moment it isn't much use for casual use.

This is very useful for everyone who wants to experiment with different tunings, but this device opens also much more possibilities. I find myself very creative the idea to put it higher up the neck to for pedal on high notes...
The constructions look ok, you have to readjust the individual levers for different neck width or different frets.
For someone who wonders if its possible to use it as an immediate "key switch" kind of Mike Manring thing , its not that easy, you have to fine the exact position of the levers to apply the right pressure on the string.

In conclusion, this is not a gimmick, its a a piece of gear that in the right hands (or necks...)can be really useful.