Oh, and, JustaPicker--very nice summary! I will mention(as mentioned before) that Doc and Chet both thought that Merle used more than one finger! Also will mention that Doc Watson has said that it took him a year and a half to get that thumb/index thing down--I have seen a lot of people who can do this, mechanically, but still don't get that lilting feel to it--you really have to listen to Merle a lot, which, you ought to do, even if you aren't learning to play like him--