#16
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Music: Spotify, Bandcamp Videos: You Tube Channel Books: Hymns for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), Christmas Carols for Fingerstyle Guitar (std tuning), A DADGAD Christmas, Alternate Tunings book Online Course: Alternate Tunings for Fingerstyle Guitar |
#17
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I can adjust to f/p's over time but I much prefer playing bareback just as long as my nails hold up. I have no problem using a thumb pick and I should use it more often but I don't find it necessary. I have metal f/p's that work for me but they are uncomfortable and ever tried to work a mouse while wearing f/p's? I just find it onerous putting them on and taking them off and trying not to lose them. They do produce a nice clear tone though.
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#18
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Now tonight I was using 3 different finger picks. Kalena plastic (much like ProPik Finger Tones in shape), ProPik brass and ProPik Fingertones. I was playing my classical first with the Kalenas, then I switched to steel and the two metal picks were good, but I decided to try the Kalenas again and they were the best. The feel, spatial awareness and tone was really good.
Maybe what I like is going to flip back and forth for a while, I don't know, but each night the picks feel more and more natural for me. I can't get over the clarity that picks bring to the table. Bare flesh has that great intimate tone, but I struggled with volume at times. The picks add another dimension.
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Barry My SoundCloud page Avalon L-320C, Guild D-120, Martin D-16GT, McIlroy A20, Pellerin SJ CW Cordobas - C5, Fusion 12 Orchestra, C12, Stage Traditional Alvarez AP66SB, Seagull Folk Aria {Johann Logy}: |
#19
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Music, to do it well, is a hard and worthy endeavor.Make music you believe in. Play to please yourself. Make art and if you are sincere others may follow. |
#20
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#21
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Thank you for the tip. I ordered a few different types from Deering. Waiting on them to arrive. Hopefully, I don't end up going down the fingerpick rabbit hole too badly.
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#22
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The Kalena fingerpicks have an edge with my steel string, they are decent on the nylon. The ProPik finger tones are good on nylon also, but a little "raspy" sounding on the steel strings.
I've been using the Fred Kelly Speed thumbpick, the Bluechip is nice too, but the Speed pick feels more natural. I just got a few of the Fred Kelly Freedom Poly (clear) finger picks. I'll report back on them.
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Barry My SoundCloud page Avalon L-320C, Guild D-120, Martin D-16GT, McIlroy A20, Pellerin SJ CW Cordobas - C5, Fusion 12 Orchestra, C12, Stage Traditional Alvarez AP66SB, Seagull Folk Aria {Johann Logy}: |
#23
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Today's update -
Steel string: Fingerpicks: It seems the Fred Kelly Freedom Poly picks (the clear ones) have the edge now. After I sized them by running them under hot water and the stretching them a few times they fit well. I was just relaxing and playing pretty well all things considered. Thumb picks: I had started the night with the Fred Kelly Speed Pick, which really felt great, but after a while playing with the Fred Kelly Freedom finger picks I found that I was missing a lot with the thumb. I was whizzing over the top of them, so I switched over to the Bluechip JDL and that was much better. I ordered another Bluechip JDL and 2 sets of the Freedom picks to have as backups. Now I have to find a decent case to keep my picks.
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Barry My SoundCloud page Avalon L-320C, Guild D-120, Martin D-16GT, McIlroy A20, Pellerin SJ CW Cordobas - C5, Fusion 12 Orchestra, C12, Stage Traditional Alvarez AP66SB, Seagull Folk Aria {Johann Logy}: |
#24
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Having been on a bit of a similar journey, I thought I'd share the latest.
My needs are all for steel-string guitar and primarily my playing is vocal accompaniment. So, maybe my instrumental needs (and chops) are not as much of an issue. Anyway: I did buy and try some of the ProPiks. I liked the #2 the best (they are a little shorter and wider on the paddle side). The double-band is comfortable and secure, but fiddly to get adjusted. Nonetheless, I can see why people swear by the Propiks. They are very well made and heavy, which gives them a better tone than the cheap Dunlops, to my ear. The clicky scratchy thing is still there with metal on metal, though. I'm sure that will lessen with practice. However, in light of that, I did have a pack of Dunlop plastic fingerpicks. I had tried them in the past and thought, "no way." The shape seemed weird and I couldn't make them work. After a couple of weeks using metal fingerpicks, I think I'm more accustomed to the traditional fingerpick (paddle on front of finger) shape/concept, so I tried the plastic Dunlops again with better results. They still feel clumsier than the metals, but the tone had some merit - especially the reduced clickiness compared to metal. The consistent tone between the plastic thumbpick and plastic fingerpicks can be desirable to me. They also have a little flex or give, so if I catch the backside of one on a string, it's less likely to go flying off. AND the noise if I inadvertently hit the top of the guitar with my fingertips is less noticeable. I put a set in hot water this morning and tried to shape them a little more to my fingers. They tend to be on the long and straight side. This may be an improvement, although I only had a little time to try it out. I do like the tone, though. They also seem to have some forgiveness for the type of half-fingerpicking/half-somewhat-strumming that I find myself needing to do as a singer. They are also louder than Alaska Picks. My fingernails are still damaged and too short for Alaskas. I'm also attracted to the utilitarian nature of the traditional fingerpick. You don't need ANY nails, so that's one less thing to fuss with as a guitar player. The amount of nails you need to make Alaskas work (while I do like them a lot) is almost as much as you'd need to play with your nails. I was trying to find examples of plastic fingerpickers. Jaques Stotzem seems to be the main one I can find. What he does with a thumbpick and only 2 plastic fingerpicks....wow. Amazing. Last edited by SGFletch; 08-15-2022 at 11:14 AM. Reason: spelling |
#25
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Well, my update is as follows (again thanks to Barry for motivating me to really give fingerpicks a proper try).
I had been doing pretty well, I thought, on propiks, for a couple of weeks. I am in Co Donegal with my family for a holiday for almost all of August and I managed to fit a guitar in the car, which was great. Also playing a weekly session in one of the local pubs here, which is even more so. Outside of that, I resolved to commit even further to the fingerpicks, and also to my harmonicas which is another story (having a lot of fun with them too). Anyway, on the FP front, I have begun to really like Fred Kelly clear polys. The feel more nimble than the propiks especially if I try to do a roll. They seem to suit my attack better, in that I don’t get unwanted noises from them. Although, I did have my propiks pretty nicely dialled in a this stage. I can get through some of the slower and easier parts of my repertoire on the Fred Kellys and be pretty pleased with the results. Something I thought I would never say. These appear to be real game changers for me in terms of the greater volume and projection I can achieve, given my live playing is 90% in unamplified pub settings. I would stress, I tried fingerpicks so many times over the years and always gave up on them. Then I had a moment of clarity where I realised that this was the exact same as when I tried thumbpicks unsuccessfully before it finally came together for me. There’s no real mystery to it - you just have to do it, and do it, and do it, and not let yourself not do it, and do it some more…
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McNally Custom Dread Adi/Hog, McNally Custom OM Cedar/Walnut 000-28 Lowden S32J Guild F-512e (Spruce/Rosewood) |
#26
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#27
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The best advice I got about switching to finger picks was "don't 'not use them'."
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Barry My SoundCloud page Avalon L-320C, Guild D-120, Martin D-16GT, McIlroy A20, Pellerin SJ CW Cordobas - C5, Fusion 12 Orchestra, C12, Stage Traditional Alvarez AP66SB, Seagull Folk Aria {Johann Logy}: |
#28
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Learning finger picks - 3 weeks in
I've been trying, relatively unsuccessfully, with finger picks for a year or so.
Ordered some of the Fred Kelly Freedom Poly picks last week and they are a game changer for me. I felt I got used to them after a couple of hours and also in that time I finally eradicated that 'scratchy' G string harshness. Something I've never managed to do with any of the others I've tried. I've tried... Dunlop metals - I wanted to make these work but could not lose the scratch scratch scratchy g string so basically that's all I heard. ProPik finger tones - had really high hopes for these after all I'd read but found them even worse than the dunlops....scratch, scratch! Alaska's - again high hopes but just could not get them to work and the whole having to keep your nails in shape to wear them thing was a real pain. Actually preferred playing with my nails once I'd got them to the desired length to fit those pesky Alaska's. I don't know what it is about these freedom picks, maybe that you wear them over the top of the nail rather than on the pad of the finger like the metal one's but they just seem a lot more natural to me. I'm seriously delighted to have discovered them (thanks to this wonderful forum). I was about to give up completely with finger picks and these really were my last shot! So much more clarity and volume than with my bare fingers. Hooray! I've just ordered some of the softer Delrin one's for quieter practice when my daughter is in bed. I think the key thing to take from this thread is that we are all different, what works for one might not work for the other. Just keep going until you find what you need to find, whether that be acrylics, picks, bare fingers, teeth, etc. Last edited by jontewright; 08-20-2022 at 01:25 AM. |
#29
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Barry My SoundCloud page Avalon L-320C, Guild D-120, Martin D-16GT, McIlroy A20, Pellerin SJ CW Cordobas - C5, Fusion 12 Orchestra, C12, Stage Traditional Alvarez AP66SB, Seagull Folk Aria {Johann Logy}: |
#30
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It's a shame people give up on metal picks. I think they sound great. |