Early Terz guitars - 'avec capo'

[Rob MacKillop]

I'm rereading Heck's book on Giuliani. On page 51 he mentions the terz guitar, and Leonhard von Call's Quartet Op.121 for 'Guitare avec Capo d'astro...'

 

It seems the earliest terz guitar was a regular guitar with a capo on the third fret. It got me wondering about period capos. The earlier English Guitar used a screw-type capo, with holes drilled into the neck of the guitar. I haven't seen that on any classical-period guitars. Are there any photos of period capos? 

 

It seems perfectly reasonable that the terz was born this way, with luthiers subsequently responding to players' demands. Who made the first terz? Stauffer, perhaps? Was it just a Viennese thing?

 

 

[Lars Hedelius-Strikkertsen]

Actually Hans Kockelmans has a friend that makes these old capos. I had Hans order one for me.

[Rob MacKillop]

Does it work well? Does it affect the tuning and pitch? I hope it doesn't...

 

Any images?

[Rob MacKillop]

Ah, so they are like the capos used by many flamenco guitarists today...

 

Who makes them, Hans?

[Jelma van Amersfoort]

I use one like that, bought from Madinter.com...

[Jelma van Amersfoort]

[Alexander Batov]

Rob, I'd say that a smaller size / string length guitar that would be suitable to be used as a 'terz guitar' would have always been there: throughout the baroque, romantic and later guitar-making and / or -playing traditions. This is not to say that smaller than terz-size guitars were also made. Terz guitars made by Stauffer are perhaps among the best sound-wise, as are his 'normal-size' guitars too (in my highly subjective opinion of course ...).

[Jelma van Amersfoort]

Here are some very pretty flamenco capos that can easily pass for 19th century capos I believe:

http://www.verdi.com.ar/capotrastes.html

And I think that website belongs to one of our members :-)

 

 

[Rob MacKillop]

Well, I've seen it all now - a capo museum. And why not, indeed? 

 

OK, Hans, order me a capo!

[Chris Despopoulos]

Not that it has anything to do with it, but there's also a ham museum...

http://www.museodeljamon.es/

[Rob MacKillop]

I see the 2nd Law of Thermodynamics has entered stage left...

[Chris Despopoulos]

Ha!  Made me guffaw!  To introduce a modicum of order, I give you this wild quote, found at:

http://www.flamencoshop.com/capos/home.htm

"Maestro Patiño, born in Cadiz in 1829 - 1902, is credited with the invention of the cejilla or capo as a device to raise the pitch of the guitar to suit a singer. He often said that the guitar was made to accompany the song."

But then I've heard some Spaniards actually suggest Walt Disney was Spanish...  I think as an exaggeration coming from the story that the Disneyland castle is modeled after Segovia.

[Chris Despopoulos]

Let's not blame the maestro for having been made the subject of an urban legend...  And it would be a study to see when the cejilla was introduced to Flamenco.  I really think there are some interesting correspondences, and interesting disconnects as well, between so-called early guitar and Flamenco guitar.  I don't know if that has been studied, but I bet there's lots to learn.