In the beginning, I learned with a thumb pick only, then found I could use the finger picks if I wanted that sound. More often than not I don't use them, but will if I want that tone difference.

Anyhow, I got some advice on the issue from a couple of people who know, and they advised to just stick with the picks, that I'd get a more consistent tone with them, and that I'd get proper volume with fingerpicks, which will be essential when I take my Fender Dual Pro out of the woodshed-- whenever that may be-- and start playing with other folks. And you know what? Despite my initial aversion to fingerpicks, I'm getting quite used to them, and they are feeling more and more natural to my fingers. Like D. Schubert noted above, the big thing (for me, at least) was that it took a while to get the picks tweaked just right so that they felt OK on my fingers-- so that they were snug, but not overly so.

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1952 Fender Dual 8 Professional
Peavey Delta Blues

[This message was edited by John Pelz on 26 April 2004 at 08:03 AM.]

But I do practice with picks a lot, hating them much of the time, but doing it.

I always hated the feel of fingerpicks. It's what kept me from pursuing banjo (plus my banjo has been in the shop for 3 years). Now I love my picks. I hate taking them off.

When I started playing lap steel, I thought "hey, I can be the guy who doesn't use picks!" But it's just not the way to go.

Once I forced myself through the initial frustrating and awkward phase, the picks made everything much easier: crosspicking, banjo-style rolls, consistent tone, tremolo picking, harmonics, etc.

I really like the ProPik split finger picks. They feel comfortable right out of the pack (for me, anyway).

ProPik also makes a fingerpick that may help you make the transition--a "hollow" tip that lets your fingers hit the strings.

I read something which Buddy Emmons posted on the forum a while back. He said that he played for a while with fingernails only and he couldn't tell any difference between that sound and the sound of fingerpicks.

I've been practicing that way now for about 2 years and it seems to be true. I used to play only with my fingertips and my tone was very muddy.

If you use your nails however, you can get a sound which is very close to metal fingerpicks but with a lot more comfort and ease of playing. I keep my nails relatively short but with maybe 1/16 of an inch (or maybe even a little less) of nail and this enables me to get a good plucking action without needing long nails. I do always use a thumb pick though.

This editorial is from the desk of :
Bobbe "sorefingers" Seymour

[This message was edited by BobbeSeymour on 26 April 2004 at 07:53 PM.]

Buddy Emmons
Member
Posts: 1126
From: Hermitage, TN USA
Registered: AUG 98
posted 09 March 2000 12:31 PM
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Bob,
My favorite finger pick is the old National with the nickel silver (I think) alloy. The picks I'm referring to have a nice rounded dish shape in the blade. Several years ago Mike Cass ran across several dozen pair of old Nationals, so I bought all of them and gave him half.
The closest shape to the old Nationals that I've seen today are the Kaiser or George L finger picks. The one thing I don't like is that the gauge is a shade too light for the way I pick. Otherwise they are very close. If I could get a set of George Ls chromed, it might beef them up to the right thickness for me.

When I take my fingerpick off and hold it next to my finger and view it from the side, the angle or curl of the blade is pretty much that of the bottom of my finger. When I put them on, the shaft sticks around 1/8 to 3/16 of an inch above the nail. Holding my hand with my palm facing me, the wear pattern on the finger picks is at the upper left tip of each blade.

My favorite thumb pick is a Dunlop clone, which won't help you a bit. I had one at the last NAMM show in Nashville and gave it to Mona Lewis to take to Dunlop's booth and see if he had any more. She came back and said he didn't appreciate seeing it because it was a phony. So when I run out of those, the next best thing for me will be a National medium. The National mediums vary so much, I can't even recommend one. All I can say is the one I like is about the size of the blue thumb pick that was popular, only it doesn't slide around on my thumb when I pick hard. From the thumbnail angle, the shaft sticks out approximately 3/8 of an inch. George L also offers a good thumbpick although a teeny bit on the light side.

I would love to drop the fingerpicks altogether because I have played as long as six months without them and really liked it. I played on some Step One recordings, played a few concerts, and even the convention in St. Louis one year without finger picks. The only thing that got me back into picks was when I tore a nail before going on stage one night and had to put a pick on my finger to protect it. There's something about the feel of the guitar that's not there when you have a piece of metal between the fingers and the strings.

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Bob Grado, Williams D10 (lefty), Peavey 1000,
Profex ll.

sw

When I stared on steel, I would stumble with fingerpicks until they drove me crazy, then take them off and play bare until I was happy again.

But now, there's something extremely satisfying about sliding on those picks and sitting down behind the steel--it's like suiting up and going to work (with more fun, less pay). Plus girls seem to dig the sight of all that shiny metal.

Either way, you'll know you're playing incorrectly when there isn't a smile on your face.

Maybe all those girls dig the "shiny metal' thing cause it makes them think of rings....

Don't put an eye out!

[This message was edited by Pete Burak on 27 April 2004 at 03:58 PM.]

quote:

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But now, there's something extremely satisfying about sliding on those picks and sitting down behind the steel--it's like suiting up and going to work (with more fun, less pay). Plus girls seem to dig the sight of all that shiny metal.

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I did a bluegrass gig a few weeks ago where I played pickless not by design (I left my picks at the house). It was definitely the most creative I have ever played in that environment. But man were my fingers aching...

I'm used to wearing fingerpicks while playing the dobro. Though, when I play lapsteel and acoustic fingerstyle guitar I always use fingernails and a thumbpick. I have a girly routine for keeping my nails in shape. I like using my fingertips/nails/thumbpick on the lapsteel, because I have a lot of control over muting individual strings with my fingertips--like pick blocking, without the picks. I also feel like I have more control when using my fingers on the pedalsteel. Using nails as opposed to just bare fingers helps with the tone, I think, but I wonder if I'm just not tuned into tone of pedal steel enough to recognize whether I'm getting a decent sound or not. I'm worried that it may be like when I started fingerpicking guitar and initially used fingerpicks--it took me a few years to get tuned into the sound enough to recognize that my tone was immensely better using my fingernails. I'm worried that I may have the opposite revelation about my pickless tone on the pedal steel.

Any comments or suggestions?

[This message was edited by Dylan Schorer on 30 April 2004 at 05:24 AM.]

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