Poor tone from picking with ring fingernail

[dkstott]

I agree with B3N... I play with shorter nails on my nylon string guitars.

The Wolfram file combined with Micro-mesh under the nail has improved my tone.

Since I began using the Wolfram file, I have no need to trim my nails anymore. A quick filing of both hands keeps them trimmed.

But my technique with the Wolfram file never got my right hand nails quite polished enough, so I've added Micro Mesh to my process.

I purchased this multi pack from Strings by Mail for $9. It includes 6 sheets of 2,400 to 12,000 grit... A small piece lasts forever for final buffing of the nails.

https://www.stringsbymail.com/microm...eets-5349.html

It's just a simple 5 minute process every day or so..

Originally Posted by B3N

This is my take on nails :

- Make sure your nail is not too long (1mm is fine for me) : long nails take time to take care of and if one breaks, takes a long time to grow back.

- Don't worry much about the shape at first. Make it follow the shape of your fingertip, using a glass file. Glass files are the best for shaping the nails.

- Make it really smooth underneath the nail and from side to side, using Micro Mesh for example. I like sheets because it's easier to go underneath the nail, which is the part of the nail in contact with the string. That's the crucial point. More than length and shape. It is just that with shorter nails and round shape, it is more forgiving.
I use Micro mesh, but only 1500, 3200 and 6000 sheets. It is enough. For nylon strings you may want to go to 8000 or 12000 but steel strings wear nails quickly anyway...

So : make it short with a nail clipper, make it round with a glass file, make it smooth with sanding sheets...

It takes about 5 minutes a day. Well, a lot more at first but once you find what you like, it is way quicker. Another restroom activity :-D

Another thing : with short nails, you can keep a classical position and play with nails, then take a "Tommy Emmanuel style" hand position, much closer and parallel to the strings, and actually play with flesh. That will give you a wide array of tones available...

[B3N]

Originally Posted by SprintBob

I never cut my nails anymore, I use a Wolfram file and to be honest I think that has kept them a lot more healthy and resistant to breaking, splitting, and chipping. A nail cutter is pretty harsh as it really rips and tears the nail and you'll spend as much time with the file repairing the damage. Good luck.

I actually completely agree. I haven't cut my nails in a very long time. And it is true the nail can suffer from being cut, especially if it is stiff.

So, make it short and round with a glass file, smooth with Micro-mesh ;-)

[s0cks]

If it's any help I had the exact same problem. Like you my ring finger nail is a lot more curved (a far more pronounced arc shape when viewing the fingertip head on).

I thought I was destined for bad ring finger tone, but I overcame it.

Make sure you are bending the finger at the first (the big) knuckle where it joins the hand. For some reason, when originally using my ring finger I was bending from the second knuckle (even though I was doing it correctly with my index and middle). You can practice this without the guitar too. Just swing the finger back and forth past the edge of some surface (edge of a desk maybe). The idea is that the finger is otherwise very relaxed and glides over the string. If there is any tension there, you tend to get an unpleasant twang.

Secondly. Assuming the above technique is right, just practice. I would pick some simple travis picking songs that can be played with thumb and 1 finger, and just play the whole thing with my thumb and ring. In other words, use that ring finger a lot and learn to love it. You will naturally get better with it and adjust it's positioning oh so slightly for best tone.

So yeah. Bend from first knuckle (like waving goodbye with your fingers). And use it a lot.

[JeffreyAK]

I don't know if this is relevant to your particular problem, but one thing I've noticed in the past is if a string sounds dead when I pick with a particular finger, sometimes it's because my picking angle or force is different with that finger and maybe especially that string, and I slap the string slightly on the next fret, giving a dreaded plink tone. Picking with a different finger, or picking at a different fret or on a different string, I might not get a plink. The solution there is just to be a bit more consistent in picking side-to-side and not up/down, with all fingers in all positions.

[B3N]

Originally Posted by s0cks

Make sure you are bending the finger at the first (the big) knuckle where it joins the hand. For some reason, when originally using my ring finger I was bending from the second knuckle (even though I was doing it correctly with my index and middle). You can practice this without the guitar too. Just swing the finger back and forth past the edge of some surface (edge of a desk maybe). The idea is that the finger is otherwise very relaxed and glides over the string. If there is any tension there, you tend to get an unpleasant twang.

Secondly. Assuming the above technique is right, just practice. I would pick some simple travis picking songs that can be played with thumb and 1 finger, and just play the whole thing with my thumb and ring. In other words, use that ring finger a lot and learn to love it. You will naturally get better with it and adjust it's positioning oh so slightly for best tone.

So yeah. Bend from first knuckle (like waving goodbye with your fingers). And use it a lot.

+1

I'll add that the least efficient way to put a string into vibration is to pull it. That is what beginners instinctly do. And when you do the first thing the string will do is to slap against the frets, producing that unpleasant twangy, zingy tone.

When you push the string towards guitar's top (with a rest stroke) or at least in an angle that is parallel to the top, you prevent the string to touch the frets when you release it. Volume therefore increases, as well as fatness. And that can be achieved with a first-knuckle motion. That is the base of the classical technique to produce tone.


Look at how tone is produced on a bass guitar :
- rest strokes (pushing the string towards the top) for fat tone
- pops (pulling the string ) for that mid-scooped, bottomless twangy tone. That's kind of similar to chicken pickin.

Same on guitar : rest strokes produces the fattest tone. Chicken picking, the most shrilling.

[B3N]

That video is one of the most comprehensive way to understand how tone is produced on the guitar.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ36c3_6jks