A U.K.-based company called Fretlocks has introduced its new single-fret capo.
Think about that for a second; it's a capo for one string.
This could, no doubt, create opportunities for new chord shapes and licks that are (or were) impossible.
Fretlocks stick onto your guitar's fretboard while two tiny blades "fret" a single string; if it's difficult to picture this in your mind, don't worry, there are two demo videos below. There also are three different sizes of Fretlock, depending on string gauge.
Here's some information from a medium.com blog post about Fretlocks:
Guitarists across the world have always been in the hunt for ways to create new sounds. However, their songwriting has traditionally been limited by having five fingers on each hand (at most!), forcing them to create sounds within these constraints.
But now these limits are about to be stretched with the launch of a new hand-crafted, single-string capo. Unlike most other capos that go across all the strings, guitarists can now use Fretlocks to trap any string in any position they like.
“I came up with the idea when I was trying to figure out a way to play a particularly difficult line and needed extra fingers to hold some strings down," said co-founder Jonny West, who came up with the original idea. "After a number of different designs, I came up with the final Fretlocks design that actually works whilst keeping great sound quality.”
Fretlocks will be available very soon via fretlocks.com. They'll cost £15 for a pack of six and £25 for a tin of 12. For even more useful information about Fretlocks (including the answers to a few FAQs from guitarists), head here.
For more information, visit fretlocks.com.
