Alaska Piks

[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.

[Ken Carr]

Hi TB have you ever tried the Fred Kelly finger picks? That's what I use on nylon and steel strings. I'm not saying that you would like them more than Alaska picks, but they work for me. They don't take too long to get used to. For a $15.00 (for three) experiment, it might be worth it. If you do, get the large ones. I have them in both materials, but I use the Delrin picks most of the time.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by Ken Carr

Hi TB have you ever tried the Fred Kelly finger picks? That's what I use on nylon and steel strings. I'm not saying that you would like them more than Alaska picks, but they work for me. They don't take too long to get used to. For a $15.00 (for three) experiment, it might be worth it. If you do, get the large ones. I have them in both materials, but I use the Delrin picks most of the time.

Ken,

Yes, I really liked the Fred Kelly delrin picks. They are, right out of the box, a little noisier than the Kalena picks that I'm using now though. I think I could file the Delrin picks down so that they were just like how a nail should be though. Good project for a night when I'm in the mood. They might be almost completely silent then.

I'd like to see a ProPik Fingertone pick made out of delrin plastic.

[Andyrondack]

Originally Posted by papmrt

Yep I tried APs but my biggest issue with any wrap around pick is that feeling of them rubbing and whacking against each other. It’s just something that bugs me and can’t seem to get by it.

I have used Alaska Piks for about 10 years now, certainly to begin with I had that picks rubbing against each other problem mentioned above but in a short time it went away so I guess I must have adjusted my finger position so the picks didn't contact , it wasn't really a conscious process it just happened.
Sometimes if I don't play for a few weeks the clacking together thing starts happening again but just goes away after about 10 mins, this is all about the brain making micro adjustments to the position and movement of fingers and that takes time, for me it was not too long a time which is why I stuck with them.

[ethanay]

In addition to the other issues mentioned (which arguably I could have adapted to), the biggest issue for me was always it put technological limitations what was technically possible to do on the guitar while I was wearing them. The biggest one was I could no longer do flams with the back of my fingernails while doing strong rhythmic strumming accents (although I'm sure any moderately-accomplished flamenco guitarist would cringe at my "technique").


I really wanted them so I could just keep my nails short. But a few things changed so that I just use my nails now:
1. I do keep my nails pretty dang short compared to a lot of folks who play with nails, so they really aren't in the way at all in the "rest of life" and are less likely to break.

2. I've learned to make do with just one nail file, and use pressure variation to reach different levels of "polish." I also don't bother with a super-high level of polish, either. I almost always have the file on me

3. Getting my nutrition/general health sorted has made my nails a LOT stronger and less resistant to breaking (either excessively brittle or thin or just weak). That said, if I go through a period of stress or sleep deprivation, then my nails will break much more easily.
4. It took years for me to learn how to shape my nails, not by how I (or anyone else, for that matter) thinks they should look, but according to how the "string see's them" (that concept courtesy of Pumping Nylon), so that I get a ramp that feels great and very effectively sets strings into directional vibration perpendicular to the top (vs parallel to the top, which produces a very thin and weak tone...has it's place, but it's a niche thing, IMO) without any catches.