Adventures in new fingerpicks ...

[K-wey]

For ten or twelve years, I've been CA-gluing hard acrylic nails on top of my natural nails to play steel sting guitars fingerstyle. Everyone knows that's not good for your real nails. Several months ago I had to pull off the acrylics and give my real nails a rest, and time to heal and grow out. They were in bad shape.

So I began trying out various slip-on alternatives for fingerpicks and thought some of you might be interested or might want to comment.

1) Standard plastic tortoise-shell color finger picks. These are way too loose on my fingers so I taped them down with strips of fiberglass packing tape. (An old technique, BTW - I found a video of John Fahey playing live on German TV, and he was using exactly this technique.)

Verdict: Very fiddly about getting the exact position right on the fingertip to get a consistent pluck angle. Wrapping and re-wrapping the tape for correct tension. I got acceptable results, but it takes a few minutes. Okay tone, a bit dark.



2) Fred Kelly: These slip over the end of your fingertip and don't rotate. I put these in boiling water for a few minutes to soften the Delrin plastic and then jammed them on my fingertips to mold them a bit. Uncomfortable for a minute but not unbearable. The plastic doesn't change shape much.

Playing with them on is at first like trying to ballet dance in wooden clogs. Takes some getting used to but you get used to it. They won't rotate on your fingertips. They do have the correct angle for plucking and I could get pretty accurate after a few minutes of sounding horrible. Main beef is that they take a lot of the sparkle/ highs off the treble strings.




3) Alaska picks: The idea here is that you slip them over your fingertip, then hook your nail over the last bit of pick. I get it. I also can't do that since I have no nail extension (they're all filed down, to heal). So I just put them on and played them like the Kellys. It's a tight fit and that's a good thing. They don't rotate either.

Great treble sparkle and perhaps the easiest of these three systems to get used to. Certainly the least alarming-looking. The last bit of pick is perhaps too long but you can file them or snip them back. I was initially hitting other strings with them, which while inaccurate gave a weird sort of cool sloppy Kottke ringing chime of unexpected notes and overtones. But like the others, I got used to them in five minutes or so and was playing pretty accurately.




Hope this was useful. What other kinds of fingerpicks and systems have you folks used?

=K

[TBman]

Try these. I like them and the Alaska.

https://kalenainstruments.com/products/fingerpick

[JayBee1404]

I’ve tried virtually every type of fingerpick known to man and beast, including the three kinds in the OP’s post. The Fred Kelly Freedom picks were a painful, dull-sounding waste of time, the Alaska Piks were not painful but never felt secure, plastic picks also felt insecure, clumsy, and sounded way too dull.

Propik Fingertones (the ones with the split wrap) are top of the pile AFAIC. Easily adjusted for a comfortable fit, nice warm tone but with clarity in individual notes, not ‘clicky’, and the hole in the blade gives a good ‘feel’ of the string. Their only drawback is that, like all ‘traditional-style’ fingerpicks, they don’t permit down-strokes, only up-strokes, but that’s OK for Travis picking and suits my playing style. Highly recommended.

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[pvfederico]

I too was using acrylic treatment for years. However, I stopped during the pandemic. I worked on getting my nails cured of the damage done by the acrylic, and now use my natural nails every night with my steel string acoustics. I have never damaged a nail from guitar playing.

The only problem for me is that I'm lazy, and don't sand them down until my longer nails start tripping over the strings.

[zuzu]

I've got half a cigar box of them...my favorites are the Propik Ftones, but, to me anyway, that's a bit like saying you prefer one colonoscopy procedure over another.

It's early days, but for the past week or so I have been hitting my fingertips with 60 grit sandpaper with quite a bit of pressure, but just a couple of times. I do it perpendicular to the direction of the guitar strings just where each finger strikes the string, thumb as well. I know there is a hardening of my fingertips, and I believe I can hear a bit more pop from my bare finger attack...but...that may be wishful thinking and there are no actual calluses yet, and if they do develop they might not get the sound I am seeking. But, this is what I'm currently trying.

[NeptuneBlue]

I think you're wearing the normal tortoise ones backwards. In my experience they are much more stable if you have the flat/blade of the pick coming up from the pad of your finger instead of over the nail. It keeps you from being able to pop strings if you have an aggressive style, but gives you a much better sound if you stick to and perfect your up stroke

I use metal ones (Dunlop 0.018 nickel) in the manner I described. Much easier to bend those to fit my fingers and I find that using my preferred Monel strings keeps away the zingy tone some people complain of. I do hate the sound of metal thumb picks, though, so I just use Dunlop ultex or hercos, depending on how loud I want to be.

I want to try those Propik ones some day, though

[6L6]

I've been using these picks seen below since 1965. Sometimes I add a third metal fingerpick.

I was told long ago that the best thing for keeping them on your fingers is to just use your own spit.

Yep, good 'ol spit. It dries very quickly and works perfectly.

My fingerpicks are size 0.013. They bend to any shape you want and stay there.

[The Bard Rocks]

I have been using Crossroads picks on my autoharps. Nothing else compares (if you think guitar strings are tight, next to autoharp strings they are like wet spaghetti). I can easily go in both directions with them - and, unlike Fred Kellys, they stay on perfectly. Nothing goes flying with a backstroke, nothing drops off.

What they are is a clear latex (?) "fingertip" into which is fastened a plastic nail, one which is actually trimmable. Slip it over your finger to the 2nd joint and it stays on. Moistening your finger first makes this easy to do.

Their disadvantage is the flip side of their selling point. They don't come off easily when you want them to. It takes several seconds to get each one off. And they are not cheap, like $13 each - well worth it to me.

Crossroads also makes a thumb pick that works better than any I have ever had: it's the same latex fingertip and imbedded into it is a flat pick. You can switch flatpicks with one of your own yet they do stay in and of course the whole thing stays on. I have found them to be the closest thing to your own fingernails, all without the pain, wear and tear, and with the greater volume that you get from picks.

My only affiliation with Crossroads is being a very satisfied customer. If they are in any stores, I am not aware of it. Elderly used to carry an earlier version.

[steelvibe]

The aLasKa Picks got me the best results, especially as I modified them. I used a Dremel tool with a sanding wheel, and really got them perfect.

I could trudge through and really get acquainted with them even further, as I do love the volume boost and accuracy I get with them, but they just feel too weird. I do decent with them at home but worry I would not be able to control them for live performance, and that is not good- even if only psychological.

So, I'm back to natural and keep my I, M, and A nails ramped and very short (tips from Michael Watts). I'm really happy with the "connection" I'm getting with my instrument again and the warm tones.

[jontewright]

Dunlop brass .020 are my favourite. Quite like National's too but they're a bit heavier.
I've tried the plastic Dunlop and Fred Kelly, hard to bend and get a good angle on the string and cumbersome imo.

[Nymuso]

Originally Posted by 6L6

.
I was told long ago that the best thing for keeping them on your fingers is to just use your own spit.

Yep, good 'ol spit. It dries very quickly and works perfectly.

Yup. After trying various adhesives over the years and even gluing sandpaper inside the finger picks, I read this tidbit on a banjo forum. It’s free, readily available, works better than anything else and keeps people from stealing your finger picks.

[RJVB]

Some more adventuring ahead: https://butterflyfingerpicks.com/howtomake.php

I made a number for myself using brass wire, because the demos and a quick attempt with leftover electrical copper wire suggested they give a very natural tone and I hoped they'd allow me to give my fingertips some rest from time to time.
The better succeeded ones confirm that, and that they give a very natural tone and it's relatively easy to mix the use of some flesh. I think they're also supposed to be anchored by your nail but yours should reach a sufficient length for that in the time it takes to get the materials and make a few.

I ended up not using them because they don't stay in place well enough unless I make them really tight (esp. when playing rest strokes IIRC), and as soon as they come even a bit off they start catching under unintended strings and getting pulled off even more.

EDIT:

Originally Posted by steelvibe

So, I'm back to natural and keep my I, M, and A nails ramped and very short (tips from Michael Watts). I'm really happy with the "connection" I'm getting with my instrument again and the warm tones.

+++
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCNKyOynL8o

He hardly uses his nails for upstrokes AFAICT, and using his approach myself (minus the beauty parlour buffing) and with nails as short as he shows them you really have to want to use them during an up stroke in my experience.

[Robin, Wales]

Originally Posted by K-wey

Yep - wrong way around - which is why you are having to tape them.



I use bog standard nickel fingerpicks (National, Dunlop, ProPik) like acoustic guitar players have been using since the 1920s. They work just fine.

[difalkner]

I had the same issue and did the fake nails thing for several years. Then my wife bought me this - https://www.amazon.com/Bluebonnet-Nu...dp/B07BHVBBFW/ - and I began taking two each morning. After a few weeks my nails began to look better. After a couple of months my nails were back to like they were years ago.

Now I take one each morning and my nails are hard, stand up to daily fingerpicking, and I don't plan to make any changes or try anything else. Btw, it's the Biotin in this that makes the nails grow so really any of these supplements that contain Biotin should work. We tried another one but the Biotin was so low in it I had to take about 4 to match one of these so we switched back.

I'll soon be 71 and my hair is getting pretty thin on top. Our Worship Pastor said, "Well, at least the nail part is working..." - LOL!

[steelvibe]

Originally Posted by RJVB

+++
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fCNKyOynL8o

He hardly uses his nails for upstrokes AFAICT, and using his approach myself (minus the beauty parlour buffing) and with nails as short as he shows them you really have to want to use them during an up stroke in my experience.

Lol, Yep this is the video that inspired me to try it. I do use micro-mesh but only once per month. The ramping/ filing I do at least weekly, but nothing like this 45 min regimen Michael is talking about- but he is a pro, I am most certainly not. Love that guy's sense of humor though

As a person who refuses to do my nails professionally (too much of a hobbyist, expensive, bad for nail beds, and afraid I'd become an immediate addict/convert), I've tried several picks with unsatisfactory
results. Even considered Butterfly picks (thanks for your thoughts), went so far as hitting up Guitar Center for a used drum stick. However, as crafty as I can be I couldn't bring myself to paying the price for copper wire at Hobby Lobby, and spend all that time on making something that I would not like or would never use. This is my problem with any finger picks; I have a bad habit of not taking the time to put them on to get the desired results. I just want to play and so pick up my guitar and do just that. I get immediate connection and total unencumbered interface with my guitar.

I think my chase of fingerpicks is officially over.