Key gadget strikes a chord with guitarists

JIM Duncan was an out-of-work musician when his girlfriend told him it was time to get a job. Instead, he invented a device that is gathering its own fan base.

He has created a keyring for the capo that musicians use to slide up and down the neck of a guitar to change the pitch.

The trouble for Duncan was, when it came time to make his guitar gently weep, he could never locate his capo.

So the concept of creating the capo as a harder-to-lose keyring was born.

Its success came after Duncan's decision to approach legendary amplifier brand, Marshall, to endorse the product.

As a result, Duncan's capo keyring, bearing Marshall's logo, is available for sale on its website as well as in music shops. Duncan has since sold 50,000 of the keyrings in ten countries.

Having taken up all the support he could find, from the Job Centre to the Business Gateway, he resisted one piece of advice to have the keyring made in the Far East.

Instead he chose to work with a Glasgow injection moulding firm, Pascoe Engineering.

Clive Robinson, a technology adviser at Napier University's EDTC Technology Gateway, another of Duncan's supporters, said: "This is one of the best products I have seen coming through our centre.

"It is not only a great design in its own right but it is a great vehicle for marketing such as company endorsements. It is also very well put together."