Seeds of frustration and nail care issues

[charles Tauber]

From Mr. Chapdelaine's article:

"I think that possessing beautiful tone is most of what it takes to play great."

That, in a nutshell, is what most classical guitarists spend much of their focus and efforts doing. That involves endless hours of working on the technique that produces beautiful tone. This, in my opinion, is one of the primary differences between classical guitarists and many other guitarists.

Certainly, classical guitarists want instruments that sound good, but, in general, their focus is more what they bring to the music, tonally, than what the guitar, itself, brings to the music. By contrast, many - not all - non-classical guitars are looking for the tone to be provided by the individual instrument - with or without electronics to shape the tone.

As a gross generalization, classical guitarists focus more on themselves and their abilities to create beautiful tone, while many non-classical guitarists focus more on finding the right guitar/electronics to provide the tone they want. That has been my experience, anyway.

[rick-slo]

Originally Posted by charles Tauber

From Mr. Chapdelaine's article:

"I think that possessing beautiful tone is most of what it takes to play great."

That, in a nutshell, is what most classical guitarists spend much of their focus and efforts doing. That involves endless hours of working on the technique that produces beautiful tone. This, in my opinion, is one of the primary differences between classical guitarists and many other guitarists.

Certainly, classical guitarists want instruments that sound good, but, in general, their focus is more what they bring to the music, tonally, than what the guitar, itself, brings to the music. By contrast, many - not all - non-classical guitars are looking for the tone to be provided by the individual instrument - with or without electronics to shape the tone.

As a gross generalization, classical guitarists focus more on themselves and their abilities to create beautiful tone, while many non-classical guitarists focus more on finding the right guitar/electronics to provide the tone they want. That has been my experience, anyway.

Generally true but aided by the fact that a classical guitar is tonally potentially more nuanced than a flattop guitar, and also of course the relatively compositional complexity of the classical guitar repertoire.

Segovia is my favorite tone master.

On Chapdelaine's flattop recordings IMO his best sounding recordings are those where a pickup sound is mixed in.

[FrankHS]

Originally Posted by rick-slo

Segovia is my favorite tone master...


On Chapdelaine's flattop recordings IMO his best sounding...

Speaking of M. Chapdelaine and Segovia, there's a Youtube of Segovia scolding a young Chapdelaine in a master class! (Not hard to find the clip.)

[pf400]

Originally Posted by skinnerb

----------I tried this and the nail beds turned to jelly, and it took many months for them to return to normalcy and even then it was still dicey.

Above quote is regarding having acrylic nail tips installed, as I stated that I get this done every 4 or 5 weeks. Your nails should not "turn to jelly"...just insist that the person working your nails doesn't thin them out with the drill as she scrapes off the residue. Tell him or her to avoid doing it at all, or just go very lightly. My current nail person knows to do this now and although the nail beds do thin out, they are not so thin as to prevent refurbishing every 4 or 5 weeks.

[nightflight]

I used polygel nails (a cross between acrylic and gel) for about a year and a half - they are light and somewhat flexible, none of the chemicals you use with acrylic nails. I loved them... but they started to cause my nails to lift from the nail bed. I had to stop, and I'm back to toughing it out with my natural nails. I do use oil (vitamin e or a variety of nail/cuticle oils) and that helps a little bit. I keep my nails as short as possible but long enough to get the tone I want. In a pinch, I'll use a plastic nail with an adhesive back (no nail glue), and then I shape the nail. These stay on for 4 or 5 days.

I did not have much luck with Rico nails. The glue dots they provide would not stick on my nails. And it's too fussy having to put the nails on every time I sit down to play (I might sit down multiple times during the day).

[Pitar]

I like classical guitar playing. But, I cheat. I plug into a Fishman SA-220, roll in the reverb and have a lot of fun. My nails are pretty tough but they get abused doing other things. Still, I manage to keep them fit enough to play. They extend just beyond the flesh enough to be the last things releasing the strings. I used to keep them about 3/16ths of an inch long and that took some doing to keep them fit for use. Eventually I began making my own from 0.010" thick clear acetate sheet and bonding them on with superglue. They worked great. But, the constant exposure to abrasives, acetone and superglue took a toll on the natural nails beneath so I stopped that. Now I keep them just long enough to work for me.

[TBman]

Anyone use clear nail polish to protect the tips of the nails?