Thumb and Fingerpick Adventure

[Everton FC]

I've decided I want to take another cut at thumb and fingerpicks. This is Day 1. Here are my "findings":

Thumbpicks - Herco/Golden Gate/Ernie Ball/ProPik/Black Mountain:
I like the idea of the Herco. I wish it fit more "snug". I also like the idea of the ProPik, but it wasn't me. The Ernie Ball was "eh". I had high hopes about the Black Mountain, after reading reviews. I like the way it fits, but still can't "accept" it, as a thumb pick. Yet! The Golden Gate seemed the winner, for now. It just fits right.

Fingerpicks - Dunlop Plastic/Dunlop Brass
After two hours of messing around, I came to the conclusion sound-wise, I like the Dunlop Plastic on my index finger, and the brass on my middle finger. Kind of like Bill Plaskett - I like this set up best. It's the one I've settled on, for now:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zrV3jBhZD1w

Ideally, a Herco Medium or Heavy that fit right would be ideal, as a thumbpick. I am going to try the Fred Perry thumb/fingerpicks, as well as the Nationals. I'll probably stick w/the Golden Gate, for now.

Any thoughts on all this?! The Butterfly Fingerpicks interest me, the Alaskan's "P.R." well... Brass vs. Glass slide is my next adventure!

[jontewright]

Thumb picks - I've tried most out there but keep coming back to the Black mountain and dunlop tortoise shell.
Finger picks - I wish I could get the hang of using these cleanly ...I've tried the Dunlop metal one's and the pro-pic finger tones. More practice needed on my part

Your combination sounds interesting. Good luck!

[Robin, Wales]

Having been a dobro player and bottleneck reso guitar player, I have been though a LOT of thumb picks and finger picks.

My preferred thumb pick is the Fred Kelly Slick Pick Delrin Heavy in regular size. This has the strongest fundamental tone that I have tried. I have a bag of burnt through Golden Gates and all picks Dunlop, Herco etc - they just don't last the course for dobro compared to the Delrin Fred Kelly Slick Pick. Plus, for standard acoustic guitar, that Delrin Slick Pick in Heavy is hard to beat for solid bass with plenty of volume.

Fingerpicks: Dunlop White Heavy Large (Celluloid I think) - but only if you have the string spacing (which I do on dobro and did on resonator guitar). They have a very strong tone and volume. When we were single mic' gigging with our bluegrass band I needed a lot of kick off the dobro - and these were the best fingerpicks for that. However, the fit is rubbish. I would buy a big pack and throw half away and reshape the others, plus add grip tape for gigs. I'd use them for bottleneck slide too as they had the power for acoustic busking or mic'd gigs (I never plug in).

For standard acoustic guitar I'm using ProPick 2 Standard Nickel double wrap at present - simply because I have them, and they fit fine. I'm sure that other metal picks would also work for me, I just like a fairly heavy gauge nickel. I'm not so keen on the tone of brass. I can get away with metal fingerpicks on narrower string spacing than I can with plastic ones, and they are much easier to use for my present acoustic guitar playing than the Dunlop plastic ones.

[donlyn]

Thumb and Fingerpick Adventure

Have you tried to use your own fingernails as picks?

Index, middle, and ring fingers at 1/16". Thumb about 3/32". Some shaping required, especially so as not to 'hook' a string.

Then you are ready to play anytime and anyplace. And no artificial picks needed to carry around.

Works on both 6 and 12 strings with few mis-picks. I let my fretting hand lead, and the picking hand knows just what to do.

Don
.

[Gas]

Been using Propick #2 #3 finger picks and just got the JD Crowe thumb picks from blue chip, both banjo and resinator. So far I'm happy. The fit is great.

[zmf]

Originally Posted by Everton FC

I've decided I want to take another cut at thumb and fingerpicks.

All the best at having another run at fingerpicks.

I either have no discipline when I've tried, or else I really enjoy playing without them too much. Maybe a bit of both.

[cc132]

I use a Fred Kelly thumb pick along with two Dunlop .025 nickel finger picks. This set works really well for me.

I played with bare fingers up until about two years ago, and now that I use picks, I can't go back. The only way to get used to using them is to force yourself to. Stop playing with your bare fingers. Practice with picks, going slowly. You'll get the hang of it faster than you might think, but the only way to do it is to do it. If you want that loud, brash, in-your-face sound, you won't get it any other way.

[Everton FC]

Originally Posted by donlyn

Thumb and Fingerpick Adventure

Have you tried to use your own fingernails as picks?

Index, middle, and ring fingers at 1/16". Thumb about 3/32". Some shaping required, especially so as not to 'hook' a string.

Then you are ready to play anytime and anyplace. And no artificial picks needed to carry around.

Works on both 6 and 12 strings with few mis-picks. I let my fretting hand lead, and the picking hand knows just what to do.

Don
.

I've always used flesh. My nails don't hold up. I have some slight callous on the fingers I pick with, so I get volume.

[Everton FC]

Originally Posted by cc132

I use a Fred Kelly thumb pick along with two Dunlop .025 nickel finger picks. This set works really well for me.

I played with bare fingers up until about two years ago, and now that I use picks, I can't go back. The only way to get used to using them is to force yourself to. Stop playing with your bare fingers. Practice with picks, going slowly. You'll get the hang of it faster than you might think, but the only way to do it is to do it. If you want that loud, brash, in-your-face sound, you won't get it any other way.

Yep.

I like the fact I can go w/fingerpicks, or flesh - two different tones, for different songs. I do like the combination I'm currently using in my opening post. It's really working for me. I can keep the Herco on snug if I wear a bandaid on my thumb. I now like the Black Mountain and an Ernie Ball I found lying around. The ProPik I have was used, and now the metal is so bent I can't get it to fir snug. If it did fit snug, I think I'd like it. All in all, it's been a fun way to spend an afternoon with a cold craft beer, while the wife knits, and the four kids have things going on w/their friends. That "Peaceful, Easy Feeling"!

I will someday try the Fred Perry's, as well as a set of Nationals.

[Robin, Wales]

I can remember that it was like trying to play guitar wearing boxing gloves when I first started using thumb pick and fingerpicks! I soon got used to them though.

I wore them away from the guitar and would tap out rolls and patterns while watching TV. That seemed to help me get used to them.

My nails are weak and thin. I have to use a reverse worn fingerpick for clawhammer banjo or it is really painful very quickly. I'm sure that most folks would not be able to relate to this, but for some of us thin nails are a factor. And for some situations you do need the power of fingerpicks, and the tone too.

I do play with bare flesh sometimes for that mellow tone.

[JayBee1404]

Originally Posted by Robin, Wales

I can remember that it was like trying to play guitar wearing boxing gloves when I first started using thumb pick and fingerpicks! I soon got used to them though…

My nails are weak and thin…….I'm sure that most folks would not be able to relate to this, but for some of us thin nails are a factor. And for some situations you do need the power of fingerpicks, and the tone too.

Yeppers to all of this, Robin. There are no substitutes for practice and perseverance.

My nails are weak and thin too, and my fingertips are very soft and somewhat ‘bulbous’ so, when I had to give up having my nails reinforced with silk-wraps/gel, fingerpicking with bare flesh and nails wasn’t an option and finger-picks were the way I had to go (I’d always used Dunlop ‘Heavies’/Golden Gate/BlueChip thumb-picks).

I tried a lot of finger-picks, but I finally settled on Propik ‘Fingertone’ nickels with the split-wrap - very easy to adjust for a perfect fit, and the hole in the blade allows for nice ‘feel’ and gives a smooth, comparatively ‘warm’ tone. I don’t do the Martin-Simpsonesque downward-flick thing, just upward strokes, so they work perfectly for me.

67674D8A-4850-4FDC-9553-00CF4654B805.jpg

As always, the standard disclaimer applies - IMHO. However, I realise that YMMV, and I’m cool with that.

[PineMarten]

Originally Posted by donlyn

Thumb and Fingerpick Adventure

Have you tried to use your own fingernails as picks?

Index, middle, and ring fingers at 1/16". Thumb about 3/32". Some shaping required, especially so as not to 'hook' a string.

Then you are ready to play anytime and anyplace. And no artificial picks needed to carry around.

Works on both 6 and 12 strings with few mis-picks. I let my fretting hand lead, and the picking hand knows just what to do.

Don
.

I had classical guitar lessons all through my teens, so playing with nails is quite familiar, but that type of hand position doesn't give me the tone or feel I look for on steel string. I get a better tone from my fingers with the heel of my hand closer in to the strings, which means the thumb meets the string more at the side than at the nail, so thumbpick plus short, rounded fingernails works best for me.
I also like the Fred Kelly delrin Slick Picks in Heavy, though I need a Large for my thumb.

[min7b5]

I've been using Alaskas and a Fred Kelly thumpick for almost twenty years. I think the Alaska's success depends a bit on your individual type of nail bed, but I love 'em

[steelvibe]

You have to try a bunch to find our what works best for you and your style. Comfort, speed, ability to attack, and tone will be different for everyone. I've tried a lot of thumbpicks; Fred Kelly Bumblebee, Slick Pick and Speed Picks. I've also tried Dunlop tortoise, Dunlop Ultex, John Pearse, and Black Mountain Jazz tip. Of all of these I like the Fred Kelly Speed Pick (Heavy) best for tone and comfort and speed. Imagine that, they are called Speed Picks for a reason. The Black Mountain is very nice too but doesn't have a fat of a tone and is a bit harder to get the speed I'm looking for

I cannot grow long nails with any level of success in my line of work, but I do like the volume longer nails can give. Unfortunately for me I have to keep them short. I've not tried many fingerpicks (and metal ones are out for me, which narrows the experiment field). I've tried Fred Kelly Freedom picks and AlasKa Piks. The Freedom picks sounded okay but I found them far too clunky for my style. The AlasKa pics on the other hand sound very good and feel and sound like real nails off the strings. I love them even though I'm still trying to get used to them. I credit our very own Eric Skye for discovering them.

[gibpicker]

Originally Posted by zmf

All the best at having another run at fingerpicks.

I either have no discipline when I've tried, or else I really enjoy playing without them too much. Maybe a bit of both.

+1. I never stuck with it long enough to get it down like I did on the banjo.