If you can get a good sound out of unbent, angled fingerpicks, by all means, do so.

If you find your sound is too harsh, or something, try bending them.

I too have been considering bending them a bit, although they're not as easy to bend as some others. The thing is, I try to get whatever picks I'm wearing to work with my hand position as much as I can. But as I change my hand position, I feel like I need to adjust my picks.

If I'm resting the side of my hand on the strings at/near the bridge (24th fret or beyond), then the angled Propiks work quite well, as the pick is angled in such a way as to allow me to pick comfortably without twisting my wrist too much. If I pick further out towards the nut (ballpark 12th fret), I need to rotate my wrist a little, and here the picks would need to be anlged the other way to get the same effect. So it's kind of a dilemma.

Also, I find I'm starting to curl my fingers under my hand a bit more. This is why I'm considering bending the picks a little (although for now I just shove them on a little tighter, so that the pick part doesn't stick out as much).

I play a lot without finger picks, and that's where I work on my hand position. My philosophy with pick adjustments is to try and match my "no picks" hand position as much as possible.

Anyways, if that made any sense at all, then give yourself an 'A' for reading comprehension.

With their tips bent inward and soldered together, they never get caught between the strings. What's interesting though is that they have a different voice depending on whether you're plucking toward or strumming away from you.

And they work for pick dampening too, though a brief metallic sound is heard whilst pushing the 'points' between the strings (as when any metal pick first strikes the string). Very percussive sounds are also feature of this type of pick.

In both cases I use .018 Dunlop finger picks and Golden Gate thumbpicks. I like the light guage picks because they easily fit my fingers and are comfortable (got the idea from JB).

For the electric set-up I bend the fingerpicks to closely fit the contour of my finger tips and trim some material from the tip of the thumbpick, then polish it. The Ric and Fender require picking not too deeply and of course hard picking is not needed that often on electrics.

For the acoustic set I don't bend the fingerpicks as much. I find that approach gives me more power (leverage) for hard picking, which is something I frequently do on the reso. I leave the thumbpick full length for the same reasons.

I use a Gary Swallow bar for the reso and a bullet for the electrics, so I have two seperate pick/bar bags.

By the way Howard R., after several months of regular use I have yet to drop the Swallow bar or accidently knock it off the dining room table onto the ceramic tile floor. Does this mean I have to relinquish my title as Lord of the Dings?

I have wondered where someone with skill could take this idea. I can do simple rakes and arpeggios, but fail at flamenco-type-flourishs.

I did send a set of three to a local hero, Bob Brozman, who, if you've heard him play his acoustic arsenal of National Tricones and Weissenborn Hawaiians, surely has seven fingers on his picking hand anyway.

The only other similiar finger pick I've seen is an interesting fragile wire type that sitar players use for bi-directional picking. I've not seen what the (claw hammer) banjo players may use.

[This message was edited by HowardR on 08 February 2004 at 05:25 AM.]

"Two-pick Rick"

I heat it up in some boilin' water and bend it around the contour of my finger ... so that the front edge is even with my fingernail.

I like the "equivalent" tone it produces ... relative to my thumbpick.

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www.horseshoemagnets.com

[This message was edited by Rick Aiello on 07 February 2004 at 06:55 AM.]

quote:

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I have yet to drop the Swallow bar or accidently knock it off the dining room table onto the ceramic tile floor. Does this mean I have to relinquish my title as Lord of the Dings?

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Yes Bob, I'm afraid so, but don't fret, you are now an honorary Cling-on. May the farce be with you.

I'd like to try one of those bars. I've heard good things about them also.

I give it my Seal Of Approval.
(Imagine crossed cigars over a field of little Miller bottles!)

[This message was edited by Budd Kelley on 08 February 2004 at 03:42 PM.]

As a new member, I want to say that it is great to feel so welcome.

2/13 edit: I need to charge my brain - Can't get a 137 meg JPEG to e-mail to you. IPS protocol problem. How did I get this far in life without these skills? (Missed out on all of that 'hot-tubbing thing' too) I could put them in a box and overnight them faster than this! I'd sure like everyone to see them, so I'll pound on at it.

[This message was edited by Karl Schaefer on 13 February 2004 at 05:27 PM.]

I had no idea I was e-mailing my finger pick 'pic' to a distinguished person such as yourself, and I'm grateful that a man in your position has offered to help me post.

Thank you in advance for your time sir, and, you'll find the 87 meg jpg file was sent to you via an alternate internet service provider.

I remain humbly indebted, your (new) four-neck-friend, Krayz Karl.

Oh, where did you find the OEM pant type hangers? Fender did make the original shirt style up until '58, like I have. Your's look better!

quote:

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a man in your position has offered to help me post.

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That position is usually 180 degress....but seriously folks, you've all been waiting with bated breath, and many of you with bad breath,
and so without any further ado....the "Bipick"

I don't suppose you've got any extras lying around you'd be willing to part with...

The reason I don't use them too often is that they seem awfully noisy, but I was playing an acoustic and whacking it pretty hard. Part of the downpicking style is the percussive effect of string noise - but it was too much for me, and the damping didn't sound good either. It might work better on an electric, with a subtler technique.

I play clawhammer banjo, too, and have tried a couple of ways to find/adapt fingerpicks that could do down-and-up-picking. The Propiks flew off at unpredictable and usually inconvenient moments. I bought a set of those mizrabs, the Indian sitar picks, and I liked them, but when I did blindfold A/B tests everybody liked the sound of standard picks or bare fingers better.

The search continues, but I think you're on the right track.

[This message was edited by John Kavanagh on 21 February 2004 at 11:34 AM.]

Bipicks have huge sound on Dobro, and might mean a new term for Banjo: Sledge-Hammer. With Lap/Hawaiian amp work, flat compression rakes, straight up picks, or upward plucks produce different voices due to the PART of the pick TIP that leaves the string. That choice of tone is doubled if you add the direction of the stroke. (As if we didn't already have enough to keep track of!).

By "upping & downing" at the same time, I'm all caught up in the tones (but, not the strings). Now, if I could just do it all 'In Time' ...!

I bet you Northern players can. Please e-mail your address for an unmarked plain wrapper pack-o-picks.

Include your guage preference: lights "ring", and heavies - uh, have "character". You will need to guess on finger size so I can get'em close. For reference, Danny Gatton had BIG fingers.