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Old 12-11-2016, 09:31 AM
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rick-slo rick-slo is offline
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Location: San Luis Obispo, CA
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JonPR View Post
I don't get this personally. The angle of the end of the finger can't have any impact. It only affects the direction of string movement. The nail is going to slide off the string the same way.

The curve of the fingernail toward the palm is supposed to be eliminated by filing the nail to remove any "hook" effect caused by a curve in that direction - precisely so that it can't catch on the string, and will simply slide off, the tip releasing the string. IOW, the shape of the fingernail might make a difference to how the string sounds (although it's still hard to see how), but the same shape fingernail will produce the same affect whichever direction it leaves the string.

Even so, I can hear for myself that a rest stroke sounds different from a free stroke (same string, same fingernail), and I'll admit I can't yet understand why. IOW, your explanation makes no sense to me, but I can't think of one that makes more sense!
I have already explained, due to the shape of most peoples fingernails (even when nails are short), why it makes a difference in tone. It does help to think in very small physical dimensions and very short time intervals around the moment the finger leaves the string. That is where variability in magnitude of the string's harmonic and inharmonic partials is set up. How smoothly does the fingertip leave the string ("gritty" = more inharmonic partials, smooth = less inharmonic partials.) Accounting for this the rest does not matter (downward or sideways finger motion or where the finger ends up after leaving the string).
It is pretty easy to test it out when (controlling for volume and distance from bridge) by using a smooth flatpick at various tilts and comparing that to what happens with a fingernail. Or another example: pick with tip index finger perpendicular to the plane of the string and plane of the guitar top. Then, keeping finger perpendicular to the top rotate the wrist towards the bridge so that the fingertip picks the string at an angle (say up to 45 degrees or so) and listen to the tone become more mellow.
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Last edited by rick-slo; 12-11-2016 at 12:31 PM.
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