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Post by deathbyoatcake on Feb 20, 2015 22:53:10 GMT
Every now and then I've had a decent thumbnail by accident - one that makes for a good tone, strong nail, right length. I've tried different shapes and bevels of the rip, different sandpapers, scissors, files. Today I did something that might be a breakthrough, so I thought I'd see what people here do.
I wanted to thin the thumbnail a bit, feeling sure it's thickness was making for a dulled tone, where the notes my fingernails attend to have brightness. I struck on the idea of thinning the nail from the front, so that the wet and dry (240 and 600) didn't make the back, contact side of the nail so smooth that it'd be almost certainly to cause a dulled sound. I'd thought of the difference between the .50 and .75 Herco Flex picks, and what I'd heard about The Edge filing his Hercos on bricks. By thinning the nail a bit and not using finer than 600 grit I thought I might get nearer the Flex 50 than the 75. This seems to be right, it's an improvement anyway. I lost a bit too much length while experimenting but when it's a millimetre longer I'll know if I've finally cracked this. But I may learn better things here. I do remember a YouTube video of a fella filing his nails by hanging sandpaper on his strings and making as if to pluck, thinking it would influence the shaping. I've lost that video now though, bur maybe it's common? If I had more length available I'd try grazing the tip - okay, all right! - against bricks or rough sandpaper but I'll leave that till there's 5mm to work with. As the Bishop wept to the actress.
I want a firm bass but with some brightness. I'm getting the firmness from not using the thumbnail's side, pointing the thumb at the strings, but the thickness and shape of the nail seem to dictate the level of brightness.
Thanks.
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Feb 20, 2015 23:26:02 GMT
I've always struggled to get a thumbnail I'm truly happy with, no matter how I shape or thickness it. Good to hear you've got yours sorted though deathbyoatcake Always had a love-hate relationship with thumbpicks too. For many years I used Dunlop or Planet Waves ones, but only after I'd shortened them considerably as well as thinning them on both sides. But, I've finally found true happiness with Fred Kelly Speedpicks, which I can use as supplied, and which give a tone similar to my fingernails. They are also comfortable to wear. Keith
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Post by deathbyoatcake on Feb 21, 2015 0:05:58 GMT
I still haven't tried the Speed Picks but their Slick Picks are good, less click noise than the Dunlops. Hard to find left handed though, and a right-handed one digs in toyour thumb a bit too much.
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ocarolan
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Post by ocarolan on Feb 21, 2015 0:10:19 GMT
Ah, never thought about the leftie aspect for thumbpicks! But, good to see someone else around on the Forum at this hour! Keith
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Post by scripsit on Feb 21, 2015 2:56:35 GMT
I'm someone else who finds the Fred Kelly thumbpicks to work straight out of the box.
I'd like to be able to play without a thumbpick. For a start it would be sort of like a 'no condom' expression of freedom.
More seriously, players like Tony McManus obviously get plenty of bass without one (can do those weird triplets, too). I just get flubby stuff, with or without a nail.
I've noticed that some people as they age give up the thumbpick to relieve hand damage and correct posture and so on. I think Leo Kottke is one, although that was also fingerpicks. Al Petteway is often playing 'naked right hand' in recent videos, and believe he was getting some hand and joint pain, too.
Kym
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Post by vikingblues on Feb 21, 2015 11:02:58 GMT
I've used Fred Kelly Slickpick Delrin thumbpicks since I took up acoustic guitar seriously. I see they do have "lefty" ones, but seems only to be in Heavy, not in Light or Medium - bit bizarre that. I have been able to use them straight out of the box and they felt natural very quickly - I found they gave a much more natural sound than the plastic variety. I used to use my thumb / thumbnail when playing classical and electric too, but got plagued by warty growths just on the end of the thumb trying to hide under the nail. Given that this also caused deep splits in the skin it didn't make for a pleasant experience trying to pluck steel strings! I was fortunate back when I used the nail of having a decent strong nail with enough flexibility for decent tone so I've not had to try remedies - so no use there to this thread. But it seems logical to me that as thickness / density of pick affects tone a huge amount so will the thickness / density of the thumb nail - seems like you're on the right track with your experiments. My quandary at the moment is that after some 18 months or so that warty growth appears to have cleared up - the constant sanding down and applying acid solution eventually has maybe paid off - and do I return to using the thumb and nail or keep using thumbpicks. Or do I do a mix of the two depending on the music? My attempts in the first day or so of trying out using the thumb again meant often missing the strings completely with the thumb of course. I'm not yet convinced the problems away for good though so I'm keeping the query to myself on hold. Mark
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Post by deathbyoatcake on Feb 22, 2015 12:20:01 GMT
Undiluted tea tree oil from Holland Barrett (tiny £5 bottle in a bigger box) might burn that growth off well and truly if it comes back.
I suppose some people like to use the thumb itself or are happy with a dulled bass so that it matches what the bass is like on arranged band music, a bit more background-y, but it's not for me. I'm going to thin my thumbnail a bit more today although if I go too far it'll have to be thumbpicks for a few weeks so I feel a bit of trepidation. The actual quality of my nails is great now - they used to be weak, flippy things but even cutting down on the dairy produce hasn't ruined them.
I'm going to order some more thumbpicks in a sec, including right-handed Speedpicks. The tip looks weird though - are they intended for sliding a normal pick between those prongs or do you use them as they are? I did try and find a YouTube video to answer this, unsuccessfully.
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Post by ocarolan on Feb 22, 2015 16:39:01 GMT
The Speedpicks shape is clever, and intended to be used as is - the slots give extra flexibility to the tip by effectively lengthening the blade, without it having to be too long beyond the thumb. You'll feel it when you try it, and either like it a lot, or not at all! Let us know eh?.
Keith
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Post by Akquarius on Feb 22, 2015 16:43:43 GMT
I'm still with Dunlops. So far I didn't feel the need to look for others. Maybe I should give some alternatives a try.
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Post by Banadog on Feb 22, 2015 17:24:38 GMT
Eagle Music sell left handed Fred Kelly speed picks. I prefer them to to my thumbnail.
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Post by Andy P on Feb 22, 2015 19:05:04 GMT
A timely thread for me as I'm attempting to find the definitive method of getting a good, balanced picking sound.
For the first time in a long time I have grown a good set of nails (and I need to touch wood here). I'm using Mrs Breedlover's "Nail Envy" to protect them and said wifey also fixed a crisis for me last week by effecting a superb repair, using toilet paper and nail glue, to my index finger nail which was tearing across a long way down. But no matter what shape I have my thumbnail, I can't play fluently with it as the strings tend to get caught underneath its leading edge. I've tried turning my hand round so that the thumb is pointing more at the strings (as described above) but I can't get used to it.
I've practising now with a Fred Kelly speed thumbpick but the problem with this is that it produces more volume that the fingers, so the overall sound isn't balanced. The higher notes are getting lost. I've tried shortening the pick a little as I don't need all that length, but I haven't got an ideal solution yet.
Ah, I've just realised that there are three different grades of speedpick available (doh!). I have the light and medium, so I'll get hold of the white heavy gauge and see if it cuts down the twang a little. Ideally of course I'd prefer to be able to play louder with the fingers but I don't think my nails are best suited.
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