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Post by oustudent on Oct 22, 2018 17:59:55 GMT
I always used a thumb pick until I went on a Stefan Grossman workshop about 8 years ago and he suggested I should consign it to the bin and use my bare thumb, which I did. However, I have taken to it again and I am very surprised at the improvement in tone that I am getting. I am a follower of Adam Rafferty who used a thumb pick but has now moved to thumb for 99% of his performances. See below www.adamrafferty.com/2014/10/18/should-you-use-a-thumb-pick-for-fingerstyle-guitar/ Any views, are you 100% thumb or pick or do you mix it up? John
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Post by RodB on Oct 22, 2018 18:28:17 GMT
Many years ago I played with thumb and finger picks to get attack - mainly because of the music I played (ragtime/blues) and the fact that I wanted to be heard playing into a mic with an unamplified guitar. Now 100% thumb and fingers - short finger nails, flesh of thumb. For my taste this emphasises the melody with enough support from the bass. I can still dig in with the thumb if I need. Contrary to what Adam says in the article I don't see speed affected by the choice.
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Martin
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Post by Martin on Oct 22, 2018 18:59:42 GMT
Used to use a thumbpick and figured I wanted to be able to play even when I didn't have one, so ditched it and now play exclusively with fingers (even strumming) and when I try one now, the bass sounds a bit too loud and harsh to my ears. Just what you're used to though, as there are some outstanding players (even on this very forum) who sound incredible playing with a thumbpick.
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Post by andyhowell on Oct 22, 2018 20:37:54 GMT
I use a thumb pick most of the time. I wish i hadn’t started using it but that was a long long time ago!
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Post by vikingblues on Oct 22, 2018 21:40:22 GMT
I used a thumb-pick for several months due to a problem with the skin around my thumb-nail.
I started with a standard plastic one and it was discarded quickly as the sound was very harsh compared to the real thumb. One made from delrin proved much more mellow, and I was quite happy with the sound and how it felt.
But when my thumb had recovered I had a go without a pick again, and haven't used a thumb-pick since. I do play pretty gently though so I don't need big sounds from the bass line.
For the last 5 years when I played electric guitar I very rarely used a pick / plectrum of any sort even for that. In the minority there but I preferred it. I think I prefer the feel of my fingers / thumb contacting the strings directly, and it gives more options for changing the type of sound.
Mark
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Oct 22, 2018 22:44:24 GMT
Playing "out" - Thumbpick and fingernails, occasionally flatpick and fingernails. At home, sometimes bare thumb, sometimes as "out".
For me, a thumbpick works fine for upstrokes when playing fingerstyle, which bare thumb doesn't.
I tend to get a bassier sound with my bare thumb, but also a much quieter sound with gentler attack.
Keith
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Riverman
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Post by Riverman on Oct 22, 2018 23:02:53 GMT
I played with fingernails for many years, then quickly took to using a thumb pick for some reason. I liked the attack it gave, and the crisp articulation of notes especially on faster tunes. Then two things happened: my fingernails starting getting very brittle (probably advancing years ), and a professional player whose opinion I respected said that on alternating bass tunes I was playing beats 2 and 4 louder than 1 and 3. Although in some ways this fitted with the type of music I was playing, it started to bug me and I didn’t seem able to adjust the attack of the thumb to even out the volume, with my increasingly fragile fingernails making the bass - treble balance off too. So I ditched the thumb pick and for a while played with bare flesh on both RH thumb and nails. This took a lot of getting used to, not to mention pain as I built up callouses on my picking fingers. But as someone said to me (I think it may have been lavaman), “If it’s good enough for Woody Mann...” A reminder that it’s no use blaming your fingernails, or lack of them, if you don’t sound good! About three years ago I decided to try acrylic nails on the RH index, middle and ring fingers. I don’t have them overly long, so the sound comes from a mixture of flesh and nail, but they give good volume and don’t break easily. They need redoing about every three weeks, with a bit of filing in between to keep them the right length. But back to the original point: with these I can play with or without a thumb pick, as the song requires. Though I don’t use one often now, it’s nice to have the choice.
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Post by dreadnought28 on Oct 23, 2018 0:17:31 GMT
Thumb for the past 30 years.......
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Post by Cams on Oct 23, 2018 7:30:18 GMT
I like to use one if I have one, and I tend to carry one in the hash pocket of my jeans. I had lessons with El McMeen once and he was a strong proponent of using one. This is for fingerstyle mind you, not so much Travis picking. He said that most players he's taught play too quietly, so the thumb forces them to play more articulately.
I don't mind playing without one, but prefer to use one.
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Post by pender on Oct 23, 2018 8:04:34 GMT
I play with the fingers, only. Laurence Juber plays without a thumb pick and he is one of my favourites fingerstyle players.
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Post by lavaman on Oct 23, 2018 9:27:08 GMT
I've never felt comfortable playing with a thumb pick. I like the intimacy and control that flesh on string gives you. Yes you have to build up callouses but then we've all had to do that with the fingers on our left hand. I don't use my thumb nail - I'd have to hold my hand in what for me would be an unnatural position.
I play with bare flesh on my finger tips too and keep my finger nails short but long enough to dig in for a louder / brasher sound now and then.
We all have our own signature sound. You have to choose a technique that you're comfortable with that gives you a sound you like.
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leoroberts
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My main instrument is: probably needing new strings
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Post by leoroberts on Oct 23, 2018 9:45:56 GMT
Thumb pick and fingernails every time. If it's good enough for Ralph...
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Post by scripsit on Oct 23, 2018 10:57:29 GMT
when I started to learn fingerstyle, ten years ago or so, I began with thumbpick and fingernails (thank you, Martin Simpson).
This is still the case, although I am a great admirer of Al Petteway, who often abandons the thumbpick when he wants a particular sound (I think he's had hand problems/arthritis, by the way). It's a different sound for certain pieces, and I've tried every once in a while, but I feel I've got much more control with thumbpicks.
My nails are strong, so I haven't needed to go to acrylics.
Kym
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Post by scorpiodog on Oct 23, 2018 11:24:15 GMT
I file my RH thumb nail asymmetrically and play with that and fingernails. I've never really got on with a thumb pick, though I have experimented with one. I've tried them made of different materials. I've filed them down into different lengths. I've tried adjusting the shape and size of the bit that goes around your thumb with hot water. Nothing seems to work to make them usable to me.
So I've given up and the weirdly filed thumbnail is what I use all the time. It has the advantage that I can't forget to take it with me!
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Post by Amit on Oct 23, 2018 12:04:28 GMT
I use a thumbpick with metal fingerpicks exclusively, can't manage without them!
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