Clinton,

I fingerpick steel string guitar and I use to play with longish fingernails which required a lot of maintenance. If I broke a nail before a gig panic would set in and I get some of those plastic nails from the drug store and they'd work just fine on most occasions. I finally got tired of the whole drill and on the advice of a friend I cut my nails and left just enough back there to support the flesh of my fingertips. It took quite a few months, close to a year as I recall playing on the tips of my fingers but I finally got my volume back up to where it was and found thet the tone I was getting was far superior. I've got really tough calluses on my picking hand fingers now and ridges where the tips strike the string and find that if I skip playing for a few days it pretty much comes apart. Of course I don't consider that a hardship. Something to consider. Good Luck, Frankie