Finger picks? Yes or no?

[mclarry53]

Friends,

For decades, I used metal fingerpicks (national cuz that's what was around) with no thumbpick. About three years ago, I started trying the Travis-style palm muting and found I needed a thumbpick to get my hand at the right angle to do the muting. Now I always use a thumbpick.

Since I've always used fingerpicks, I can't say much about learning to use them, but it feels very natural to me and I think I'm able to get a variety of tones and effects with them. On the negative side, I can't really play without them! When I try fingers and nails, it just feels unnatural!

On a side note, I switched from steel to brass a while back and to my ear, they produce a much mellower, less brittle tone. And I second Rick's recommendation of Cling-pro picks--very comfortable, stay on, and nice tone.

pick on,
Larry

[Cams]

Thumpick yeah, fingerpicks no. I wish I could get used to them as my nails are terrible, but the only ones I've come close to being able to get used to are the Alaska piks and they need some nail, so might as well use the nail.

[FrankHudson]

I started on nylon string and thought serious players were fingerpickers. But even with nylon strings I got terrible blisters on my right hand finger tips and broken and uneven fingernails.

I assume regular bare flesh players have a calluses on their plucking fingertips. I didn't have much trouble getting those on my fretting hand when I was starting out, but the stroking rather than pressing action just seemed to make painful blisters.

Obviously moving to steel strings only made this trouble worse, so for a good while I tried to learn fingerpicking with a thumb pick and 2 to 3 finger picks. I was able to get sort of banjo roll going and the resulting sound was sort of like a music box. For some reason (maybe I didn't practice right, maybe something in my mental makeup) I could never get the rhythmic variations I wanted.

Eventually I moved down to just a thumb pick and one finger pick. At that point I could get some variations, but then I began to notice that it was all alternating between the thumb pick and one finger in various patterns. At that point I just figured I might as well use a single pick, a flat pick, and play the same thing with the single pick playing what two digits had been doing.

More the past two decades I've been 98% a flat pick user. I've used my bare fingers when playing bass, but I could never play a whole set that way without the painful blistering--and even on bass I use a flat pick mostly. I will play guitar bare-fingered, though strictly limiting the amount of playing before the blistering occurs. Funny thing is, when I try to use my old thumb pick and fingerpicks I've totally lost the ability to use them. I'd suppose a few hours of woodshedding might bring some of that back, but I've not seen the need.

[Steel and wood]

I play Travis style with a thumb pick and metal banjo fingerpicks on fingers one and two. (I don't use finger three). If I switch up my playing to more of a banjo roll style, then for whatever reason off comes the thumb pick.

I only use fingerpicks for practical reasons because I refuse to grow nails and bare flesh doesn't feel right. I'm still not completely sold on the metal Dunlop fingerpicks nor their sound but after years of experimenting with just about everything there is out there, I make them work.

[vintage40s]

Originally Posted by vintage40s

... Started Travis picking in the '60s with bare fingers. Added thumb and finger picks. Dropped the finger picks. Stayed with thumb pick alone for decades and still do...

Back in the day, I used metal finger picks first, then plastic. I got them out and tried them for the first time since then.
The metals were crude and jangly, even got caught under the strings. The plastics fitted and felt OK, greatly increased the volume of the treble strings, and required more precision.
I think what steered me away from finger picks was the "relaxed finger segment technique". Instead of clawing at the strings with curled fingers tipped with picks, you let the ends of the fingers hang straight and limp. The strings could be picked or swept.

[desert2000]

When playing fingerstyle, I prefer playing guitar with bare fingers/flesh. But my regular gig is playing unamplified in a small restaurant. If the crowd is loud, I'll put on my National banjo picks: plastic thumb and metal index & middle fingers.

[vindibona1]

I can do just fine with a thumb pick. But try as I might, I have never been able to get used to finger picks. I've got metal ones and three kinds of plastic ones. Still, no go. I guess I have to depend on my fingers and the little bit of fingernail that I allow to grow.

[menhir]

Bare naked fingers only.

I used picks in the past and still do when called for.
Thumb picks, too.

Fingerpicks? I'm one of those who just can't seem to get used to them. I tried. But they just don't work for me. They always feel like they're in the way, for lack of a better term.

[Glennwillow]

I used to use finger picks on my fingers until osteoarthritis made my fingers so crooked that I could no longer wear them without extreme discomfort, maybe even pain. So I transitioned 20 years ago to a thumb pick and my short fingernails.

If I had a choice, I would use finger picks, though Alaska picks seem like the way to go today. Today they don't even make the kind of finger picks that I used to wear.

I get what I consider to be good balance between my flexible thumb pick (Fred Kelly Slick Pick, Ultra Heavy) and my short, stiff fingernails. But finger picks provide some advantages, including more volume. I do, however, think that my overall tone is better without finger picks, which can sound a little harsh. By the way, I tried metal finger picks once and abandoned them within seconds. I hated that super harsh tone.

- Glenn

[jseth]

Even back in the folk music days of the early 60's, I could not get a handle on fingerpicks of any sort... they just got in the way for me...

Now, a thumbpick? Definitely... had to learn how to Travis pick, and getting nice strong bass notes is a big part of that, but...

I found that, when I began performing, I would alternate between a thumbpick (for some songs) and a flatpick; invariably, I would drop one or the other on stage - try to find a pick on a dark, carpeted stage in the middle of a set! - so I decided to try a different method.

I began holding the flatpick and using it like a thumbpick, for alternating bass notes, and I'd use my other fingers for any sort of picking... that was back in the late 70's, so by now it's pretty much second nature to me, and I've found that there are very few, if any songs that I can't play with this method... maybe Doc's Guitar, but that's not really in my repertoire!

[macmanmatty]

Thumbpick and fingerpicks for me. I used be like the majority of people on this thread. I'd I don't need fingerpicks , I can't use them , they are awkward to use and I pick better with out them. Not one word of that is true. Once I got used them they were magic. It did take time get used to them but once I did they improved my guitars tone 1000%. More bass, better note separation better attack, more note evenness across the tonal spectrum , and louder. Now, every time I play with out fingerpicks on with a plugged in guitar ; I'm shocked at how weak and thin my guitar sounds and how lacking the bass is. So fingerpicks and thumbpick (white plastic national) only for me unless the song requires strumming upstrokes . I can't palm mute without using a thumbpick and fingerpicks. Also by using fingerpicks you are making sure that a great tone is delivered from your instrument every time you play and making the sounds guys job much easier. Use fingerpicks the sound guy will thank you.

[JonPR]

When I first started teaching myself fingerstyle (mid 1960s), I had a full set of plastic picks (one thumb, 3 finger). I liked the sound they made, but I never got fully comfortable with them. After a couple of years I added a nylon-string to my guitar collection (then I had three!), and started playing classical pieces, obviously with fingernails, which felt a lot better.
On steel string, the better I got at the technique, the more the picks seemed to get in the way. I could play a lot faster with nails, and get more variety of attack - even if the volume wasn't always quite as good. I also found the picks tended to be either too tight (getting uncomfortable after a while), or too loose (moving around too much).

My nails always grew pretty well, so I didn't suffer from chips or breakages (barring accidents or carelessness). I have an especially strong thumbnail, which I can grow long enough to pick bass strings even with my wrist resting on the bridge, so I never found thumbpicks necessary. (A lot of the players I admire used a thumbpick with fingernails.)

When I started to teach fingerstyle, some years back, I thought I ought to get back into them so I could teach students who wanted (or needed) to use them. I still didn't like the plastic ones, but I was pleasantly surprised by metal ones that form a ring which allows your fingertip to still feel the string. https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Fin.../dp/B000NGVQKO
Despite being metal, they have a good mellow tone. And - being metal - they can be bent to a comfortable fit. However, the only time I ever use them is if I break a nail and have to cut it right back.

For strumming, however, I always use a flatpick, and play electric mostly with a pick. If I strum with my fingernails, it wears the corners down really quickly, so the nails then need trimming back into shape.

[RP]

I started out using a thumbpick but no fingerpicks and still play finger style in that way. I keep all fingernails cut very short so I'm playing with my fingertips. My only justification is sheer habit....

[Mr. Jelly]

For those that may not know you can use boiling water to shape plastic picks to fit like you want them to. They uncurl or get larger as the water makes them soft. Then put them in cold water to stop them or harden them. I use all plastic thumb and finger picks. I have several different sets to use depending if my hands are a bloated or not.

[JonnyBGood]

Originally Posted by JonPR

I was pleasantly surprised by metal ones that form a ring which allows your fingertip to still feel the string. https://www.amazon.com/Stainless-Fin.../dp/B000NGVQKO
Despite being metal, they have a good mellow tone. And - being metal - they can be bent to a comfortable fit. However, the only time I ever use them is if I break a nail and have to cut it right back.

Hmm interesting, it would be handy to have a back up as you say. I never bothered with these things as I assumed they were really for banjo players and that the 'steel on steel' sound on an acoustic would be too bright and nasty, but maybe I should give them a whirl. Four quid for a set of picks is great.

I see the same supplier has them on Ebay UK also, so no big Amazon postal fees.