At IBMA this year I had the pleasure of spending some time visiting with Phil Elliott of Elliott Capos. As bluegrass conversations go, we talked about music, family, and church. One particular aspect of a conversation with Phil is that you’re bound to talk shop about capos. Phil spends his days in a machine shop behind his house, individually handcrafting the finest capos available.

I walked away from the conversation in possession of a brand new Elliott Elite Capo for my guitar.

I owned one of the original Elliott push buttons for years, until it disappeared at a gig several months ago. I’d been laboring along with a standard, spring-loaded, clamp style capo until now. What a joy it is to once again have an Elliott capo on my Collings!

And this new Elliott Elite is even better than the original. The Elite design is so slender it doesn’t get in the way at all. This capo really is smaller than the previous model I had, which was smaller than the standard variety spring-clamp capo. This sleek design really serves to keep the capo out of the way of your left hand as you play.

The Elite also features a longer saddle (leather padded), which makes it easier to keep the capo centered on the instrument neck. And of course, the patented Elliot push button design.

Speaking of design, these capos are finely crafted and even though it’s a small piece of hardware, you can sure feel the quality of the craftsmanship when you hold it in your hand. The screw mechanism is smooth, nothing seems loose, but neither is it overly tight. The push button is perfect, easy to use, yet secure enough that you have no fear of it coming unlatched during use.

The real advantage of this sort of capo lies in the thumb screw. As opposed to a spring-clamp sort of capo, the thumb screw allows the player to adjust the capo to have exactly the correct amount of tension on the strings. Not over clamping, allows for a very transparent sound which doesn’t adversely affect tuning the way a spring operated capo does.

If you are looking for the best capo, look no further. The price tag is serious at $160, but if you’re serious about your music, you can’t afford to use anything less.

The guitar version comes in the following standard neck widths: 1 11/16″, 1 3/4″, 1 13/16″, and 1 7/8″. If you need something special for a different neck width, give Phil a call and he’ll take care of you.

For the banjo, you have the options of a B capo or a C capo.

I took a few photos of the capo to share with you. I hope these give you a sense of the capo’s size and craftsmanship.

Clay Hess has been making waves as a guitarist since he first hit the scene in a big way with Ricky Skaggs & Kentucky Thunder in the 1990s. He has since had a memorable stint with Mountain Heart, and is currently touring with Sierra Hull.

Rick Hayes Instruments, makers of dreadnaught guitars and F-5 mandolins, is proud to announce today that Clay will be endorsing their mahogany guitar. It is a solid wood guitar, made with Honduran mahogany back, sides and neck, and high grade spruce for the top. The fingerboard and bridge are of West African ebony, and the guitar sells for $2999.

As you might expect, Clay speaks very highly of the guitar.

“The Rick Hayes guitar I have been playing for the past year is one of the top five guitars I’ve ever played. I recorded most of my new recording with a 1938 D18, which is my favorite guitar. I recorded the rest with the Hayes guitar. I’ll let y’all try to tell which is which because I can’t.”

More details can be found on Rick’s web site.

Colorado Case Company is going pink in October in observation of National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. They will donate a portion of the sales price this month if you order in pink.

During the month of October only, you can order any Colorado Case Company branded soft case, case cover or rigid case in pink.

We will then donate 25% of the base case price to the Susan G. Komen Foundation. This money will be used to help find a cure for breast cancer through increased research and awareness.

In addition to this gorgeous pink color, we will be embroidering a pink ribbon on each case at no extra charge.

This offer is only valid through the end of October 2009. Full details online.

Ever since I first started playing bluegrass music 35 years ago, I have been hearing stories of musicians parking their acoustic instruments in front of stereo speakers to help break them in faster. The idea was that music from the speakers – vibrating the instrument when you weren’t playing it – would achieve the same natural “break in” effect as playing it all day long.

I never tried it myself, but know many pickers who swear by the practice, insisting that it helps new instruments open up faster, and offering a more balanced tone and response more quickly.

This is the concept behind ToneRite, a product developed by a trio of stringed instrument-playing engineers to provide a more direct, efficient method for accelerating this process.

The company was founded by Augi Lye, Ryan Frankel, and Hans Yeakel after Lye became frustrated that he didn’t have the time to play his new cello enough to break it in adequately. Augi had a background in acoustical physics, and enlisted Frankel (with his military signal processing expertise) and Yeakel (an industrial engineer) to assist in developing a product that could be demonstrated to deliver the goods.

Their first production model was debuted in 2007, and the new Luthier Model design was introduced at the IBMA convention last week.

The ToneRite sits atop, or rests against, the bridge of your instrument where it delivers a specific set of frequencies to the vibrating surfaces. The company’s testing indicates that a minimum of 72 hours of use on a new instrument generates dramatic results, and recommends 2 or 3 similar 72-hour treatments in the first few weeks.

Regular use for an hour prior to playing a few times each week is also recommended for maintaining the tone and responsiveness of an older instrument.

Grasstowne mandolinist Alan Bibey is a fan…

“The ToneRite supercharged my instruments to their max in volume and tone! One of the most useful new products I’ve seen in a really long time!”

ToneRite models are available for guitar, mandolin, violin, viola, cello and bass. Prices range from $150-$250.

Full details can be found on their web site.