Right size capo for CBOMs

[5Guitars]

This isn't about which brand is best; it's about what size is best: I've found that a Banjo/Mandolin capo is often not quite wide enough for a Mandola or Octave Mandolin, but a Ukulele capo usually works fine. Just my experience.

[mandocello8]

i use kyser 12-string guitar capos. i find the 6-string guitar capo is not quite strong enough against 8 strings of the OM. also check that the curvature of your fingerboard (flat or radiused) matches the curvature of the capo (straight or concave).

[Simon DS]

I got a really nice guitar capo, they used to be quite cheap on Amazon.
Then I put the capo at seventh fret on my octave, marked it up and hacked it down to size in a wood vice.
(jaws and the two handles).
Then a 10 minute sanding/polishing job later and it's a really nice octave mandolin capo.

[Chris Calley]

I use a D'addario drop capo. It's a little shorter than a guitar capo and has fit two of my OMs perfectly.

[Melt_in_the_Sun]

Really depends on which instrument you have and how high you want to capo. I can use a Shubb C5r on my Octolindo, but the neck was too thick on my friend's Weber. Length is OK on the Octolindo; i can go up to about 7 before I run out of space on the rubber pad. Some necks are much wider (or narrower).

Might help a future searcher if you say which instrument you have and which capo you are happy with!

[5Guitars]

OK, 'Melt', fair enough: I've found that the D'Addario Ukulele Pro Capo (a hair wider than their Banjo/Mandolin Pro Capo) works well for me up to the 7th fret on both my Eastman MDA315 Mandola (1 11/32" nut width) and my Eastman MDO305 Octave Mandolin (1 12/32" nut width). Both instruments have a fingerboard radius of 12", and the capo is not radiused, but it doesn't seem to matter. (FWIW, I've used Shubb C9's on all of my guitars for many years.)

[Borderreiver]

I'm using a G7th Heritage capo on my Fylde Octave Mandola and my Fylde Short Scale Bouzouki's, in the size "Banjo Wide", which caters for a fingerboard width of 45mm (1 3/4"). I like the capo, it fits well, and it's a quality product.
Their "Adaptive Radius Technology" takes care of any radius on the fingerboard. The published "Spec" says a maximum neck depth of 26mm (1").
Fylde are renowned for having thicker necks, certainly thicker than my Foley Octave, but the capo accommodates this well, with plenty of room.

[Mandobart]

CBOM's are less standardized than guitars. The fretboard on my 10 string mandola is very wide - like a guitar at nearly 1-3/4". My Michael Kelly OM is almost as narrow as a mandolin. My custom F4 OM and 10 string F4 mandocello are wider than most other brands too.

The biggest factor for a good capo fit IME is fretboard radius. My Cricketfiddle instruments are flat, so some guitar, ukulele or banjo capos may have the right width but they're typically made for a radiused board.

I ditched the Kyser Klamps long ago. They tend to apply too much force so the instrument is pulled out of tune. I've been using Paige yoke style capos for a while now on all my fretted instruments and they work great. Guitar capo on my mandocello and mandola, regular banjo capo on my OM. I have the smaller banjo capo which works on my mandolins. Yes I said mandolins.

[5Guitars]

Oops, my guitar capos are Shubb C1's or S1's, not C9's.

[Amandalyn]

I’ve had good luck with the Thalia capo on my Forster GBOM. They are very strong, easy to slide and come with several changeable pads for different radius sizes.

[mandocello8]

[capo] ... apply too much force so the instrument is pulled out of tune.

how can this be? you place the capo on the fret, so at most the string is pulled from open to the fret, same as if you play a bar chord? true, if you put capo between frets, it will pull the string past the fret all the way to the fretboard and it will be too sharp. (curve of capo must match curve of fretboard, flat or radiused, otherwise the middle strings will be loose).