Now I know how women are with their nails

Cecil6243 · #1 03-28-2021, 07:38 AM

Started growing out the nails on my first, second, and third fingers of my picking hand. Gotta say I love the sound vs. just my fingertips! I use nail strengthener and take biotin daily. But I do have to be careful with my everyday work as it's easy to break or crack them.

I looked into the add on nails but this is they way to go for me. What about you?

Pattern · #2 03-28-2021, 11:21 AM

I’m lost as far as fingernails go. I don’t know what to do to make them work well. If I just let them grow out naturally they seem to have too much bend, like as if your looking at a bridge from the side, or a rainbow shape.

Once they get out past my finger a little ways they start catching on the strings and it prevents me from playing smoothly. I’ve tried letting them get nice and long and then filing the underside flat to get rid of the bending edges but that just gets rid of the part of nail that usually contacts the strings on the thumb side of each nail and makes everything awkward.

This probably doesn’t make sense without pictures lol. Just here to see what comes up on the topic

NormanKliman · #3 03-28-2021, 01:13 PM

I’m fortunate in that I don’t need glue or anything. Just enough nail past the fingertip for a nice combination of nail and flesh, and a few swipes with an emery board every few days to keep them at the right length. I put the emery board on a table and drag my nails across it one at a time, toward me for the pulling side (arpeggios, etc.) and away from me for the pushing side (rasgueados).

With everything shut down and restricted, this has been a great opportunity to observe nail growth.

Quote:

This probably doesn’t make sense without pictures lol.

No man, "thumb side" makes it perfectly clear.

DukeX · #4 03-28-2021, 01:23 PM

Flesh only for me. I had to stop growing my nails 20+ years ago because my OCD (constantly filing, shaping, obsessing) made me crazy. I even had a file set at work.

Cecil6243 · #5 03-28-2021, 08:46 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Pattern

I’m lost as far as fingernails go. I don’t know what to do to make them work well. If I just let them grow out naturally they seem to have too much bend, like as if your looking at a bridge from the side, or a rainbow shape.

Once they get out past my finger a little ways they start catching on the strings and it prevents me from playing smoothly. I’ve tried letting them get nice and long and then filing the underside flat to get rid of the bending edges but that just gets rid of the part of nail that usually contacts the strings on the thumb side of each nail and makes everything awkward.

This probably doesn’t make sense without pictures lol. Just here to see what comes up on the topic

I think you have to get used to them. At first my nails were hitting in places they shouldn't but over time my fingers seemed to have adapted.

jseth · #6 03-31-2021, 11:02 AM

I've been using my fingernails (index, middle, ring) since I began fingerpicking in the mid-60's.

I used to grow them longish, but, as someone observed, they tend to crack and break fairly easily when they're longer...

In the late 70's, I began using a flatpick between thumb and index and the other fingers to grab clusters of notes or to employ patterns of picking... I was getting into jazz harmony and theory, laying more single note lines... but I didn't want to give up fingerpicking, either. It took a few years of practice until I felt competent with my fingerpicking using this method; one of my "litmus tests" was playing the Davey Graham tune, "Angie", feeling that, if I could pull that off, I was doing okay!

Around that time, I also began keeping my nails shorter; just peaking out from the tip of my fingers. They are much more durable and far less problematic at that length for me. Yes, I do a lot of maintenance work on them, but, hey! I'm a guitar player, what else should I do except take good care of my equipment while playing a lot?

I have a Wolfram glass file, which is very nice... I'll use that after trimming the nails to the desired length... and then I use Micro-Mesh to finish and polish - first 3200 then 8k. I don't do the whole process but every three weeks or so, although I will touch things up in between times.

Last summer, I downsized all my instruments to have just three to play for the rest of my days... I had the 12 string and the electric guitar I wanted, and ended up with a Goodall Concert Jumbo for my 6 string. It's a lovely guitar and sounds/plays amazing, but very quickly I realized that it "wanted" my picking nails to be a bit longer than my previous 6 string (of some 40 years) in order to get the tone I wanted to hear. Not a lot longer, and not much trouble to recalibrate the length.

Over the years, it has taken a LOT of discipline and cultivating awareness of my right hand; more than I already had done since I realized I was a "life long guitar player". I've gotten nearly ambidextrous, doing a lot of things left handed, especially those things that tended to break nails - like playing Frisbee, for instance! At the same time, I've gotten away from activities that just don't work for fingernail health and longevity, such as bowling (having low back "drama" also contributed to that decision!).

All worth the efforts, as having and producing the tone I want is a big part of expressing myself fully on my instrument...

ChetPreston · #7 04-05-2021, 06:20 PM

Biotin is legit. I take 5-20mg a day and noticed a big difference after the first 6 months (after all the new fingernail grew in to replace the old. I have all 5 grown out on my right hand. It used to be a huge problem before they got stronger. I would break them playing sports all the time and then try to epoxy them back together (which does work to a certain extent for incomplete breaks). But I stuck with it for a long time now (going on a year and a half) and they are much more durable. I get some pretty bad hits during football and basketball but rarely have a problem. Girls be getting jealous. My recommendation is to stick with it if you like the sound and it becomes easier and more rewarding over time.

Blueser100 · #8 04-06-2021, 10:58 AM

Not all women like long fingernails. I prefer to play with bare fingers.

NormanKliman · #9 04-06-2021, 11:38 AM

Ani Difranco is another, with that adhesive tape.

JERZEY · #10 04-08-2021, 10:04 AM

I dont have a choice. I have large hands and my fingers barley fit into xxxl gloves. The dull tone with terrible attack my fingers naturally produce is just not audible. Maintaining nails is the last thing I would like to be doing on a daily basis but its my only option. Using fingerpicks is simply not going to happen.

MinorKey · #11 04-08-2021, 10:09 AM

I tried growing nails a few years ago when I thought I was serious about classical guitar and so had to have nails (not so of course) but I soon gave up the fight. I was working in a supermarket at the time, on the shop floor, pulling cages about, opening boxes. They didn't last long.
Now I just keep em short.