Thread: Finger Picks
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Old 08-26-2005, 08:14 AM
tomhyzy tomhyzy is offline
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Join Date: Jan 2003
Location: Buffalo, New York
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I play a lot of fingerstyle on my 714CES. I had some classical training in college, but due to my very weak right-hand nails, I kept breaking nails on the steel strings. Broken nails makes it very hard to get consistency in attack, which for me is one of the keys to right-hand technique.

I used ProPik Fingertones for a few years, and I liked the attack I got from them, but there was this annoying "ping" from the steel fingerpick on the steel string. About six months ago, I switched to Alaska Piks, and I love 'em. You get a nice fat, fleshy sound from the pad of your finger on the initial attack, but you also get a nice clear bite from the plastic pseudo-nail part of the Alaska Pik.

Some very important things to note about the Alaska Piks - it's VITAL that you (a) get the correct size for your fingers and (b) file them down to the correct length. If you try to use them right "out of the box", you'll probably wonder why people like them so much, they'll be way too long. Follow the instructions that come with them for cutting them down to size. You'll probably want to get a few extra ones, too, I know I've screwed a few of them up by cutting them down too far.

Good luck with the search - it's taken me years to get to this point, but it's great when something works for you, you'll know pretty quick.

Tom Hyzy
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