To use finger picks or not?

Subject: To use finger picks or not?
From: GUEST,Stour Delta
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 06:22 AM

That is the question. I'm sorry if this topic has previously been done to death, having done a search i couldn't find anything.

Did Robert Johnson use picks? In that famous photo of him he is clearly wearing a thumb pick but you can't see if he also wore finger
picks.
Surely to get that clear punchy sound he must have, but were they commercially available or did those old blues players have to make their own?

What are 'catters own opinions on using picks?

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: Leadfingers
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 06:29 AM

If you have a calcium problem and dont grow decent finger nails the only options are bare soft finger ends or picks. I personally have used finger picks for so long,I dont think I could play without them.
I do know people who think you get the REAL sound out of a guitar WITHOUT picks,and others who have tried piacks and never got used to them. Like so many things ,I think its all subjective and down to personal preference.

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: Joybell
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 07:08 AM

I made myself get used to finger picks when I was working without amplification, walking around tables in a restaurant. At first I had to tape them on with Cellotape. Sure is hard to use the toilet, or eat your meal wearing picks but it can be done.

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: dwditty
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 07:11 AM

The answer to this is purely personal. Anyway you get "the sound" you want is fine. Fot me, picks are in the same category as sunglasses, nail clippers, flashlights, etc. I simply cannot keep track of them. One benefit of just using your fingers is that you are ready to play whenever an opportunity presents itself - you are always equipped. But that is just me.

dw

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: GUEST,Stour Delta
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 07:12 AM

I'm aware that some purists believe that picks should not be used.
There was a thread not so long ago where someone expressed dismay that they knew someone who played a Martin with picks! As if it was a crime.

I suppose it all depends what sort of style you're playing and how you want it to sound.

Lonnie Johnson almost certainly did to get that clear ringing to his playing.

I have cogitated long and often on this subject and go through phases where i use picks then i'm anti them, do others have this quandry?

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: GUEST,Strollin' Johnny
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 07:26 AM

Picks aren't the only answer Leadfingers. I used fingerpicks for years until I plucked up the courage to visit our local beauty parlour and had nail extensions with fibre-glass overlaid. My nails are like rock now, and I get volume but with the nice ping you get from the finger-ends. I can also fell the strings better, so I reckon I'm playing more accurately now.
Johnny

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 07:27 AM

Bare soft finger ends or picks are not quite the only option.

I like my acrylic nails, they give the same tone as finger picks but are much more versatile.

Martin Simpson and Tony McManus are just two of many world class players who use acrylics.

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: GUEST,Strollin' Johnny
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 07:28 AM

And there's no farting about putting them on before you start a set, no worry about them falling off, and no numb finger ends caused by having the picks so tight they cut off your fingers' blood supply :-)
JB

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: breezy
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 07:47 AM

use picks if you want to be heard,you develop feel for volume,but you have to shape them so they fit,pluck and in coldweather elastoplast em on cos they can drop off in cold weather of close to freezing and you wont notice until the guitar goes quiet>
If you know your about to perform then put them on ready in advance .
Always keep them in a little box that you keep in your guitar case and be disciplined and put them away when your done playing.
I regard them like hamers in a piano. Without them you cant be heard and the quality of the guitar sound can be lost.
Picking without f-pix is akin to strumming without a pleckkie.
Most of those who dont use them are still playing in their living rooms and not peformers, neither do they have they patience to practise nor experiment.
No manicurist charges here, or gluing,
one minute they're on , next moment they're off, but now I digress.

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: Hamish
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 07:49 AM

Nic Jones used a thumb pick but no finger picks: in fact he bit his finger nails down to the quick and had pretty well no nails. But he got the sound that folkies today still crave.

Personally I prefer a flat pick and fingernails: but my missus hates long fingernails, and so I grow 'em when I have gigs coming and trim 'em in between times.

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: Grab
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 08:07 AM

Alaska Picks are a pretty good compromise. They fit onto your fingers as an extension to your fingernails so you don't have the getting-used-to-them problem - just get the hang of how long they are, and you're sorted.

I tried the "standard" finger/thumb-picks, but I could never get the hang bcos they're so different from playing normal fingerstyle. You need to totally change your picking style to use them, which is a pain.

One note with Alaska Picks is that the plastic ones tend to have a lot of mould lines (flash) and sharp edges on them which dig into your fingers. You can greatly improve the comfort by smoothing them off with a file where they grip your fingertips.

Graham.

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 08:22 AM

Here's a previous thread. Or try searching the Forum for finger pick or finger picks -- there are quite a few others. Be aware that acrylic nails come with a health warning.

Years and years ago I saw blues guitarist Dane Fone in Walsall (England), and asked him about his nails. He said "feel that," and offered me a finger. His nails were as hard as, well, nails. Most of us have the wrong parents for this solution ...

Steve

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: GUEST,Stour Delta
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 08:22 AM

I tried those alaska picks, couldn't get on with them and ended up going back to 'nationals.'
The only well known performer i've seen using them (alaskas i mean) is Christina Olson.

In theory they sound great but they don't seem to have caught on.

Strolling Johny's right about them falling off sometimes. It certainly adds a bit of excitment when one falls off into the sound hole during a performance!

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: GUEST,Strollin' Johnny
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 08:31 AM

And no messing around with little boxes stored in your guitar case, no farting about with elastoplast, no having to mind-read the MC of the club I'm playing in. Manicurist costs about the same as a cheap set of strings (one 'treatment' costing 8 to 10 quid each month). And I AM a performer - have been for 42 years, and I practise as much as most and more than some. Picks - tried 'em all, Alaskas, Nationals, Dunlop - gimme the extensions every time now. Freedom!

Still use the thumb-pick though (Herco 'blue' medium - 'proper' type, not a plectrum on a thumb-ring, for you afficionadoes out there) because it puts your wrist and thumb in the right position, prevents your hand falling into that bloody awful 'claw' position beloved of so many 'bare-end' players.

JMHO
Johnny

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: Dreadnought
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 10:04 AM

Steve, you mentioned that "acrylic nails come with a health warning".

Is this the fungus issue mentioned on another thread or were you thinking of something else that I've managed to miss?

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: s6k
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 10:25 AM

Ahh Robert Johnson... a thread has to be good if his name is in it.
Yep, i'd definately say it was a matter of personal preference to use a pick, finger picks, or just fingers. it also depends on what type of music you play, if you are playing some fast riffs, you will need a pick but if you are playing arpeggios or gentle melodies maybe you would be best using fingers or finger picks.
Thats not to say you HAVE to, but if you can play better using them then go for it, it all comes down to how comfortable you are, some people can use picks well, others can't.
As for the legend that is Robert Johnson, I believe he used his fingers on most of his recordings.

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: Steve Parkes
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 11:09 AM

Dreadnought, yes, it's the nasty-things-growing-under-the-falsie Iwas referring to. I was going to give it a try till I read about that. I think if your manicurist is scrupuously hygeinic it shouldn't happen. Nail tips are a bit safer, I'd have thought.

Steve

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: Murray MacLeod
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 11:30 AM

Fungus under the nails is simply another urban myth.

I have had acrylic nails on my right hand for the last five years, for the last five years by many different nail techs,and nary a trace of fungus.

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: Merritt
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 11:37 AM

A couple of years ago I saw a neat listing of monster guitar players that had them divided into categories: barefingers pickers, flatpickers, fingerpick-pickers, use nails, etc. There are plenty of people (dead and living) who use(d) these different techniques and get/got excellent results. To echo what others have said, try 'em all and see what feels good, gives you the sound you want, etc.

I'm a 90% barefingers picker with a percussive sort of picking/plucking style. Look for brighter strings and tonewoods on my guitars. Flatpick some tunes and use a flatpick often for slide. But slide is a good example, some slide tunes IMHO sound much better when I'm playing with bare fingers; you get a different range of effects and tones with the slide.

- Merritt

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: Bee-dubya-ell
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 01:32 PM

Some occupations preclude being able to grow (or buy) playable length nails. For example, most women probably prefer that their gynecologist not have long nails. Personally, I make my living as a potter and, believe me, long nails and clay are mutually exclusive. Might as well try to throw pots with a knife. I can also see how long nails just wouldn't be worth the maintenance hassles for auto mechanics, plumbers and other folks with "dirty" jobs. I know that every time I work on my own car the only way to get my nails clean is to cut them off.

If I was able to, I'd prefer to play with natural nails. But, since I can't have nails I use picks.

Bruce

Subject: RE: To use finger picks or not?
From: GUEST,Tunesmith
Date: 04 Dec 03 - 02:26 PM

I'm a big fan of the product " propik" . They are metal finger picks but a section corresponding to the finger pads is cut away. This allows the player to "feel" the string. Give them a try. I love them.