[TBman]

Originally Posted by btbliatout

Thought I'd share something about Alaska Piks I recently experienced.

I have one somewhat hooked nail on my picking hand (my 'i' finger). I've always considered it only mildly hooked, as with the correct filing/shaping, my nail has never limited me thus far (I'm about to complete my 5th year of private lessons).

Well, it never limited me until a week ago. I've been working on this piece that's at ~110BPM and there's a handful of spots that have these flurries of 16th notes. And that darn hooked nail, no matter the filing I tried, just has too much of a snag/drag/hook effect for me to get to tempo. Once I kind of figured out the problem, I thought it couldn't hurt to put on my Alaska Piks to see if they'd help. POOF, it was like magic. My 'i' finger glided through the strings just like the rest of my fingers. Problem solved.

Don't get me wrong, I have always felt like Alaska Piks are cumbersome. It's generally more difficult to play with them than without, so it's not some magical thing I recommend everyone try. But if you have a bit of a hooked nail that's giving you a problem, you may want to consider giving them a try.

I had given up on finger picks, and then this past July I tried again. I was using ProPik metal, but they are too noisy for my classical. I had some Kalena picks and they feel fine and are much quieter. Tomorrow I'm going to see what works best on my steel strings.