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Post by cgb on Jan 25, 2021 13:33:05 GMT
I've always struggled... I have the awful habit of biting my nails. When I first started out with fingerstyle I just used bare fingers and thumb, all the fleshy parts. I switched to a thumb pick to louden the bass notes. First easy one to try was the big thick Dunlop celluloid ones. Comfy for me but way too thick. I quickly found the Fred Kelly ones and almost exclusively used a yellow one for a few years, then orange.m (I do still use them as the mood takes me) I have quite fat thumbs and sometimes after a long session I could barely feel my thumb as the FK picks aren't very big. As a result I have moved onto the John Pearse ones and these are the best I have used so far.
As for my fingers though I've just played on the flesh. As said above, mainly because I have a tendency to bite my nails but I'm also a machinist in heavy engineering so if I do manage to get them long enough to be nice to play with I often break them at work (and they collect so much oil and muck!)
I will have to try fingerpicks again and also some of these suggestions. Last time I tried them in anger was on the 12 string trying some Leo Kottke tracks. I found them very clumsy and easy to catch the wrong strings etc. I am tempted to give the wire ones above a try!
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Post by fred7 on Feb 10, 2021 16:21:41 GMT
Interesting, I'd not seen those wire finger picks before. I keep a set of Alaska Piks for when I break a nail. Alaska Piks are different from conventional finger picks in that they are more like false nails. Mmmmmm. I had not seen the Alaska piks but they look good enough to try and as you say, to keep for breakages. Think I'll treat myself to a set of those and give them a go. Thanks. Post update. I ordered a set of Alaska picks to keep to one side for the dreaded day I break the next nail. Well today is that day and whilst cutting some wood for a Uke, I caught my thumb nail and broke it in the crucial place. So I picked the big pick from the pack and shaped it to suit. It worked perfectly and I didn't even have to 'Get used' to it - it felt quite natural. Thanks Matt Milton for bringing these to my attention - They're great.
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Post by andyhowell on Feb 11, 2021 14:25:07 GMT
fred7 "...whilst cutting some wood for a Uke". Sounds dangerous.
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Post by fred7 on Feb 11, 2021 15:51:39 GMT
fred7 "...whilst cutting some wood for a Uke". Sounds dangerous. andyhowel, Yes, I used some Wenge for the neck, that stuff carries a flick knife - it's hard.
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Post by andyhowell on Feb 11, 2021 18:45:22 GMT
fred7 "...whilst cutting some wood for a Uke". Sounds dangerous. andyhowel, Yes, I used some Wenge for the neck, that stuff carries a flick knife - it's hard. fred7 I have a wenge guitar and I wouldn;t want to argue with it ...
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maninashed
Cheerfully Optimistic
Mad Farmer Liberation Front
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Post by maninashed on Feb 15, 2021 9:02:05 GMT
One I found of some benefit was using a hand moisturiser that includes Keratin. e.g. Vaseline Intensive Care. There really was a benefit to the nails. Obviously not as strong as artificial nails, but although a managed to play OK with a thumb pick I could never get the hang of artificial aids on the fingers. At the risk of being gross I'll add that in by an odd coincidence when I started using it for my finger nails I was using a thumb pick due to a verruca/wart type growth at the end of my thumb under the nail (I was careless with treating a couple of foot verrucas at the time ). I'd been trying the usual medical solutions for these with no success. Within a week of using the moisturiser the one on my thumb had gone. Tried it on my foot too - also worked. Odd because the verruca/wart occurs due to a virus that causes an excess amount of keratin, a hard protein, to develop in the top skin layer. Why adding Keratin to something caused by Keratin should kill it I know not. Mark I second the Vaseline Intensive Care Hand and Nails. Made a big difference to my nails. I used to use plastic fingerpicks but do't need them anymore after using it.
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Post by jwills57 on Feb 24, 2021 12:09:43 GMT
Lots of good suggestions here. I have thinner, rather brittle nails and have been doing the following for years, very simple and inexpensive. I never cottoned to gluing artificial nails of one kind or another under my nail. So what I have been doing is buying artificial nails as you can buy in any grocery or pharmacy and just super gluing on top of my own nails. I clean my nails really well first by washing with a dish detergent because dish detergent has a de-greaser in it. Then I select a nail from the kit and do a bit of trimming. The secret for making this method last is the super glue--I always use a brush-on glue which I think is better for controlling the application. Spread the glue directly on the nail and then immediately take your prepared nail and slide it into place. I tend to slide the artificial nail around a bit on top of my real nail as a way to make sure the artificial nail gets coated evenly (about 2, 3 seconds) then slide into place and press, rolling from the left edge toward the right edge. Bonding is almost immediate. Then I file to exact shape and buff. My nails this way last about 8-10 days, and if a nail gets flipped off or just drops off, it's a very easy repair--just repeat the above process. I like this method as I said because it's simple and works for me and, most importantly, is completely under my control. The whole process take maybe 10 minutes. But I like what the great American fingerstyle player Ed Gerhard said--"You start out playing the guitar to get girls and end up talking to middle-aged men about their fingernails."
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Post by lavaman on Aug 7, 2022 8:39:25 GMT
But I like what the great American fingerstyle player Ed Gerhard said--"You start out playing the guitar to get girls and end up talking to middle-aged men about their fingernails." Time for me to join the debate. I used to have wonderfully strong nails but over the last couple of months they've become brittle and started to split longitudinally towards the cuticle. I've also developed longitudinal ridges which I guess is a weak point. Mrs lavaman says it's 'cause I'm getting old but I wonder if its related to my covid infection last March. I found this thread very informative and 2 weeks ago I started using Sally Hanson diamond strength nail hardner along with a nail and cuticle oil from Superdrug. It's working! I've had no new splits and last night played a gig without worrying if my nails would last the evening. Many thanks to those who contributed to this thread. Iain
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Aug 7, 2022 13:20:01 GMT
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Post by lavaman on Aug 7, 2022 15:32:29 GMT
(I use the matt version of OPI). Wimp
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Aug 7, 2022 15:47:53 GMT
(I use the matt version of OPI). Wimp The gloss made me look like Joan Collins ....
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Aug 7, 2022 21:42:20 GMT
Wimp The gloss made me look like Joan Collins .... Should have gone to Specsavers, John... Keith
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Phil Taylor
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Post by Phil Taylor on Aug 8, 2022 8:38:56 GMT
I am cursed with many afflictions, including pathetic spindly nails. This is obviously a serious disadvantage to an aspiring fingerstyle guitarist. Well I don't really agree with that. I don't play with nails and I can still enjoy playing fingerstyle. Ok I'm not a great player or even good but there are lots of excellent professional fingerstyle guitar players that are. Even Tarrega played with no nails for the last 9 years of his life. I can understand the struggle (and burden) if that is what you want to hear but it all seems a bit of a palaver to me Phil PS I do envy the techniques that some great players use that could probably only be executed using nails but I probably wouldn't be able to do them anyway
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Post by fatfingerjohn on Aug 8, 2022 9:32:17 GMT
The gloss made me look like Joan Collins .... Should have gone to Specsavers, John... Keith I did but they'd sold out of nail varnish.
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RichT
Sore Fingers
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My main instrument is: Taran Tirga Mhor, Bown SJ, Sands S,
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Post by RichT on Aug 30, 2022 6:34:13 GMT
I do my own acrylics. It's not easy to find the stuff but it lasts for a long time. The way I do it is far from professional and I recon quite wasteful but does achieve decent results. I'm happy to pass on the process or do a video if anyone is interested.
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